Introduction
<\/strong>The Lisbon Strategy, adopted in March 2000, is a long-term socio-economic program of the EU. Its goal is to make the economies of the Union countries the leading economy in the world by 2010. This goal is to be served by the following actions, along with an appropriate concentration of public expenditure:
– rapid transition to a knowledge-based economy, including the development of the information society, research and innovation, and the development of appropriate qualifications and skills
– liberalization and integration of sectors such as telecommunications, energy, transport, postal services, and financial services
– development of entrepreneurship through: deregulation and the removal of administrative and legal barriers, easier access to capital and technology, and the reduction of state aid that distorts competition
– growth in employment and a change in the social model through: professional activation, improvement of education, modernization of the social security system, and the reduction of poverty and social exclusion
– care for sustainable development, i.e., socio-economic development in which the process of integrating political, economic, and social actions takes place, while maintaining environmental balance and the durability of basic natural processes, in order to guarantee the ability to meet the basic needs of individual communities or citizens, both of the present generation and future generations.<\/p>
The goal of this Strategy is to make the EU the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy, and innovation and innovative activity are to be the starting base of the Lisbon Strategy. As part of the actions implementing the Strategy, the Environmental Technologies Action Plan occupies a special place. It combines the goals of the Strategy, such as economic growth, employment growth, and innovation, with the priorities defined in 2001 in Gothenburg, namely the improvement of environmental quality and the balancing of development. It is assumed that in the medium and long term, the development and widespread implementation of environmental technologies will cause both economic growth and the competitiveness of EU economies, and will contribute to a significant balancing of production, supply, transport, and consumption not only in the Union countries but also globally. In view of the above, the area of environmental technologies is defined and characterized in the further part of the article. Logistics technologies are also indicated, treating them as an important component of environmental technologies, constituting an essential tool on the path to sustainable development.<\/p>
Environmental technologies sector<\/strong>
The term environmental technologies can be understood in many different ways. However, according to the definition adopted in the European Commission communication Environmental technologies for sustainable development<\/em> and repeated in subsequent communications, environmental technologies are understood as technologies (actions) that, in relation to other competing technologies (actions), are relatively less burdensome to the environment<\/em>. It should be added here that the concept of less burden on the environment is understood as generating less pollution, using fewer resources in a more rational way, ensuring the reuse of products and waste generated, and ensuring the disposal of waste produced. Environmentally friendly technologies are not just individual technologies, but entire systems, including know-how, actions, procedures, goods, services, equipment, and even techniques and standards of organization and management.<\/em><\/p>
In light of the above definition, the environmental technologies sector is a horizontal sector cutting across all other socio-economic sectors, including those related to supply, production, distribution, and transport. The essence of this sector is both actions leading to the dissemination and use of existing environmental technologies, as well as innovative ones and innovation in this area.
Innovative activity and innovation are at the heart of both the Lisbon Strategy and the Environmental Technologies Action Plan. Innovative activity includes scientific and technical, as well as organizational, financial, and commercial activities aimed at developing and implementing new or significantly improved products and processes. Although R&D activity is a very important and unquestioned source of innovation and inventions, innovation and innovativeness are phenomena and concepts much broader and more complex than just the successful implementation of research results. Current experience shows that innovations are the result of complex interactions between R&D entities and economic entities and the environment in which these units and entities operate. Taking into account environmental media, product life cycles, and the role in sustainable development, the division of environmental technologies into the following areas is assumed:
– resource acquisition (minerals)
– sustainable production
– sustainable consumption
– sustainable logistics systems \/ sustainable logistics chains
– sustainable waste disposal
– protection of water, soil, air
– prevention of global climate change.<\/p>
The article comes from the “Logistyka” magazine 1\/2008.<\/p>