Eco-innovation in Slovakia

EIO Country Profile

2018-2019

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Eco-Innovation Observatory

The Eco-Innovation Observatory functions as a platform for the structured collection and

analysis of an extensive range of eco-innovation and circular economy information, gathered from across the European Union and key economic regions around the globe, providing a much-needed integrated information source on eco-innovation for companies and innovation service providers, as well as providing a solid decision-making basis for policy development.

The Observatory approaches eco-innovation as a persuasive phenomenon present in all economic sectors and therefore relevant for all types of innovation, defining eco-innovation as:

“Eco-innovation is any innovation that reduces the use of natural resources and decreases the release of harmful substances across the whole life-cycle”.

To find out more, visit www.eco-innovation.eu and ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap

Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission.

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Eco-Innovation Observatory

Country Profile 2018-2019: Slovakia

Author: Boglárka Ivanegová (SUSTO – Sustainability Tools)

Coordinator of the work package: Technopolis Group Belgium

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Acknowledgments

This document was prepared with the support from:

• Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic

• Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

• Slovak Business Agency

• Slovak Centre for Research and Technical Information

• Institute for Circular Economy

A note to Readers

Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not

necessarily reflect the position of the European Union. A number of companies are presented

as illustrative examples of eco-innovation in this report. The EIO does not endorse these

companies and is not an exhaustive source of information on innovation at the company level.

This brief is available for download from

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/country_profiles_en

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Table of contents

Summary .............................................................................................................. 2

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 3

1 | Eco-innovation performance ............................................................... 4

2 | Selected circular economy and eco-innovation areas and new trends .. 8

3 | Barriers and drivers to circular economy and eco-innovation in Slovakia 11

4 | Policy landscape in Slovakia .............................................................. 14

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 19

ANNEX: Policy strategies and instruments ........................................................... 24

List of abbreviations:

EC European Commission

Eco-IS Eco-Innovation Scoreboard

EEA European Environment Agency

MŽP SR Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic

MŠVVaŠ SR Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic

MPVR SR Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Slovakia

MZVaEU SR Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

NKÚ SR Highest Controlling Office of the Slovak Republic

SAŽP Slovak Environment Agency

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Summary

The Slovak Republic, with an overall score of 62, ranks 23rd amongst the then 28 EU Member

States on the 2019 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard (Eco-IS). Slovakia’s position declined when

compared to the last reporting period (when it was on the 20th place), and the country now

performs under the EU average in all the five components of the Eco-IS.

Similarly to the last two reporting periods, the weakest components of the Eco-IS are eco-

innovation inputs and eco-innovation outputs, reflecting the persistently low share of both

public and private support for research and development activities, as well as the fragmented

eco-innovation institutional framework. The share of eco-innovation related patents and

publications remain low, and so is media coverage of eco-innovation and circular economy

topics. This is followed by low socio-economic outcomes, highlighting the low share in the

export of products from eco-innovative industries and low added value of environmental

protection and resource management activities.

On the bright side, with regards to resource efficiency outcomes, the water productivity of

Slovakia continues to grow and is now three times the EU average. Slovakia performs best in

the component of eco-innovation activities, thanks to a high number of ISO 14001

certifications. Nevertheless, the number of certifications decreased when compared with

previous years.

Multiple barriers impair Slovakia’s eco-innovation performance, including the continuously

weak research and development system or the overall quality of the Slovak business

environment. Companies lack reliable information, support, and motivation to adopt eco-

innovations. Educational objectives do not align with the need to transition to a climate-

neutral society. The potential of digitization for sustainable development should receive more

attention.

However, multiple new platforms for information and best practice sharing are emerging. The

evolving start-up ecosystem and projects of regional collaboration are driving the eco-

innovation agenda forward. The circular economy policy landscape is getting more robust, and

the transition to resource-efficient, low-carbon, and circular economy is now considered

imperative for both the country’s 2030 Strategy of Environmental policy until 2030 (2019), as

well as within the program statement of the new government. The overall improvement of

Slovakia’s lagging eco-innovation performance will depend on the effective implementation

of these ambitions.

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Introduction

Waste management, air quality as well as habitat and species protection pose the main

environmental challenges in Slovakia. Despite the introduction of multiple important

measures in the area of waste management over the last couple of years, Slovakia is at risk of

not meeting its 2020 municipal waste recycling target of 50%, with reaching only a 38,1%

recycling rate in 2018. At the same time, the landfilling rate of municipal waste remains one

of the highest in the EU at 53,8% in 2018 (MŽP SR& SAŽP, 2019).

In 2019, the industry remained the most significant economic activity in Slovakia, accounting

for 24,5% of gross value added, which was the fourth-highest amongst EU member states

(Eurostat, 2020a). In 2018, the industry was also the largest waste producer out of all

economic activities, followed by transport and storage (MŽP SR& SAŽP, 2019). The circularity

rate of Slovakia, explained as the share of material resources coming from recycled products

and recovered materials, was 5,1% both in 2010 and 2017, which is half of the EU(27) average

of 11,2 % (Eurostat, 2020b & 2020c).

As the 2018 Report on the State of the Environment informs (MŽP SR & SAŽP, 2019), multiple

challenges persist for various constituents of the environment, for example, with regards to

the quality of surface and groundwater bodies. In 2018, only 39% of all the municipalities had

the public sewage system built, serving only 68,4% of the population. The health condition of

forests is considered worse than the European average. In 2018, 72,1% of all the forests were

commercial forests, used primarily for timber production (MPRV SR, 2019). Forests with the

unnatural composition are much more vulnerable to climate influences as well as biotic

factors, such as bark beetles and woodworms. Furthermore, 38,5% of agricultural lands are

potentially threatened by water erosion, and 29% are influenced by soil compaction.

Particulate matter pollution has been one of the most significant problems, causing severe

public health concerns. In 2016, approximately 4 800 premature deaths could be attributable

to PM2.5 exposure (EEA, 2019). Slovakia also belongs to the EU countries with the highest

PM10 daily values. The primary sources are solid fuel burning within households for heating.

In fact, according to the Ministry of Environment, approximately 120 000 households use

boilers that are more than 30 years old (MŽP SR, 2019a). Another major air polluter is the

transport sector, which calls for significant improvements in transport system efficiency,

including multi-modality, and improved deployment of low- and zero-emission vehicles (EC,

2020a). The share of renewable energy on gross energy final consumption was 11,9% in 2018,

while in 2016 it was 12% (Eurostat, 2020d). It is questionable if the national goal to achieve

14% share of renewable energy will be reached.

The research, development, and innovation, including eco-innovation, environment remains

suboptimal, with competencies being distributed among multiple government bodies without

comprehensive coordination. Both public and private investment into this sector are one of

the lowest within the EU.

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1 | Eco-innovation performance

The analysis in this section is based on the EU 28 Eco-innovation Index (EcoI Index) for the year 2019. The Eco-I Index demonstrates the eco-innovation performance of a country compared with the EU average and with the EU top performers. EcoI Index is a composite index that is based on 16 indicators which are aggregated into five components: eco-innovation inputs, eco-innovation activities and eco-innovation outputs as well as resource-efficiency outcomes and socio-economic outcomes.

The 2018-2019 EcoI Index indicates the decline in the eco-innovation position of Slovakia for 2019 when compared to the 2016-2017 period. Nonetheless, it is important to note that 5 new data sources replaced sources used in the previous reporting period, which may limit the direct comparability of the EcoI Index results with the previous period (Spaini, Markianidou & Doranova, 2020).

In the 2019 EcoI Index, Slovakia is ranked 23rd among EU-28 countries. The overall index score of 62 indicates that the country is 38% below the EU average. While multiple ambitious strategies and policy measures were adopted in 2019, their effectiveness is not yet reflected in Slovakia’s eco-innovation performance.

Figure 1 EU28 Eco-innovation Index 2019, composite index

Source: EIO, 2019

Figure 2 illustrates the main components of the Eco-I Index, namely: eco-innovation inputs, eco-innovation activities, eco-innovation outputs, resource-efficiency outcomes and socioeconomic outcomes. Slovakia performs under EU-average in all of these components.

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Figure 2 Five components of the Eco-innovation index for Slovakia, 2019

Source: EIO, 2019

Figure 3 All indicators of the Eco-innovation index for Slovakia, 2019

Source: EIO, 2019

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• Eco-innovation inputs

This component explores the share of investments made in terms of financial, human, and

technical resources to support the emergence of eco-innovations. It takes into account the

relative priority governments give to investing in environmental and energy R&D, the share of

total R&D personnel on all employments, and the value of green early-stage investments. With

a score of 26, Slovakia ranks 24th in this category amongst the 28 EU countries.

Merely 0,01 % of GDP was invested in energy and environmental R&D, which partially reflects

the continually low share of both public and private investment in R&D (only 0,83% of GDP in

2018). In 2018, 0,8% of all the employed people were employed in R&D (compared to 1,48%

EU(28) average). This may, in part, be caused by the failure to attract students and researchers

as brain-drain remains a serious concern. At the same time, the share of R&D employees from

the private sector in Slovakia is under the EU average, which may partially be as multinational

companies don't usually establish their research centers in Slovakia. However, the number of

R&D personnel in Slovakia has grown over the past years, and in 2018 reached a historical high

since 2008 (MŠVVaŠ SR, 2019).

Between 2016-2019, the value of early-stage investments in clean-tech industries was 1 US

dollar per capita, which is very low when compared to the EU(28) average of 55 US dollars.

This low value comes of no surprise given Slovakia's continually low venture-capital

expenditures, and the above mentioned low R&D investments (EC, 2020b).

• Eco-innovation activities This component examines the eco-innovation efforts towards developing new or improved products or services and the introduction of eco-management schemes in companies or organizations. Slovakia performs strongest in this component, as it ranks 14th out of 28 countries, being only 5% from the EU(28) average. The first sub-index looks at the share of SMEs implementing actions to design products that are easier to maintain, repair, or reuse. Data shows that 0,14% of the firms surveyed implemented sustainable products, which is the 5th lowest value among the surveyed countries. On the other hand, Slovakia performs well within the second sub-index, which looks at the number of ISO 14001 registered organizations (per million of the population). With 310 certified organizations in 2018, Slovakia ranks 5th amongst EU (28) countries. Nevertheless, in 2016, this number was considerably higher, at 427 certifications. It is interesting to note that the number of organizations registered within the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme has also increased between 2016 and 2018, from 6 sites and 5 organizations registers in 2016 to 46 sites and 11 organizations in 2018 (EC, 2019b). This high number may reflect that certification is a precondition of participating in the supply chain of leading industries and may also show the presence of the Slovak economy in international trade, which seems to move from west to east in Europe, especially in the case of the automotive industry (Berényi, 2018).

• Eco-innovation outputs This component reflects the immediate results of eco-innovation activities. It includes the number of eco-innovation related patents, academic publications, and media coverage of eco-innovation and circular economy topics. With a score of 37, Slovakia reaches the 3rd lowest score when comparing eco-innovation outputs of all the reported countries.

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In 2016, 3,23 eco-innovation related patents per million of the population in 2016 were issued, which represents a slight increase since the last reporting period (in 2014, it was 2,09 eco-innovation related patents per million population). However, the country remains far behind the EU(28) average of 13,11 eco-innovation related patents per million of the population. This comes of no surprise, as Slovakia remains one of the EU's lowest performers in terms of intellectual assets, including patent, trademark and design applications (EC, 2020b). In 2018, 3,67 eco-innovation related academic publications were published per million of the population, compared to the 4,64 EU(28) average, which can be attributed to the overall low share of academic publications, when compared to other EU countries. With regards to eco-innovation and circular economy-related media coverage in 2019, with 117,61 hits on eco-innovation topics per million of the population in all electronic media, Slovakia comes fifth-lowest amongst the reported countries. Even though environmental issues are gradually gaining attention, their media coverage is not yet systematic. Other problems, such as corruption and organized crime, have dominated the media in 2018 and 2019.

• Resource efficiency outcomes This component explores the effects of eco-innovation on improved resource productivity. It measures material, water, and energy productivity and the intensity of GHG emissions. With a score of 84, Slovakia ranks 18th, slipping down two positions when compared to the last reporting period. While the material productivity (expressed as the GDP generated by material consumption of the country) has slightly grown over the last years, it remains under the EU average. In 2018, the material productivity of Slovakia was 1,67 EUR/ kg, which is below the 2,28EUR/kg EU average. The amount of material resources used per capita is close to the EU average; however, Slovakia generates much less economic value per unit of materials used (OECD, 2017) While energy productivity increased from the last reporting period, it remains under the EU average. This may be attributed to the high energy intensity of the Slovak economy (industrial processes such as metallurgy, cement production). Water productivity, illustrated by the share of GDP per total freshwater abstraction, was at 207EUR/m3 in 2016, which is nearly three times higher than the EU average of 70EUR/m3. This reflects that the Slovak economy is a less-water intensive economy. The intensity of GHG emissions in 2017 was 0,35 CO2 emissions generated per unit of GDP, compared to 0,28 GHGe/GDP EU(28) average.

• Socio-economic outcomes This component explores eco-industries export and employment, and the value-added in environmental protection and resource management. With a score of 52, Slovakia ranks 22nd within this indicator group. Slovak export focuses on cars, electrical equipment, and machinery. Whereas Slovakia is amongst the most successful EU countries in terms of the export of medium and high tech products (EIS, 2020), eco-innovation export is significantly lagging. In 2018, merely 0, 36% of total exports were from eco-innovative industries, which is approximately half the EU(28) average and lower than in the last reporting period. In 2017, 1,06% of the total workforce was employed in environmental protection or resource management activities, which is lower than the EU(28) average. Likewise, the added value in environmental protection and resource management activities contributed to 1,2% of

Slovakia's GDP, which lower than the EU(28) average.

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2 | Selected circular economy and eco-innovation areas and new trends

Despite the low eco-innovation and circular economy-related media coverage in 2019,

environmental topics are gradually forming an integral part of the popular discourse. As

special Eurobarometer no. 501, measuring attitudes towards the environment shows, 47% of

Slovaks surveyed consider nature protection to be very important (EC, 2020c). Environmental

topics also became more visible in the process leading up to the 2020 parliamentary elections,

and several political parties considered green topics a crucial part of their election programs

(TASR, 2020). Zuzana Čaputová, the president of Slovakia elected in 2019, also known for her

environmental activism, is also turning a spotlight on environmental and climate-related

issues.

The most significant environmental problem, according to 60% Slovaks, is the growing number

of waste (EC, 2020c). In comparison, climate change is the greatest threat for 27% of Slovaks

(the EU average is 53%). Even though Slovaks are not as concerned with climate change as the

average EU citizen yet, the concern over tackling climate change is growing. Between 2017

and 2019, there was an 11% increase in the share of people considering climate change to be

a severe problem (EC, 2019a), along with a 22% increase in the number of respondents who

took personal actions to fight climate change. The Slovak climate initiative's survey also found

(2020) great public support for measures to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change. 89%

of their respondents consider financial support for the energy efficiency of building principal.

At the same time, 87% agreed with support for renewable energy sources, and 83% with the

information and financial support for people suffering from energy poverty.

Events focusing on sustainable and zero-waste lifestyles and circular economy are growing in

popularity. Multiple cultural events aim to decrease their negative impact on the

environment, and the Fund for the support of Arts introduced recommendations for their

grant applicants on how to reduce their impact. There is a growing interest in the organization

of zero-waste events. Pohoda open-air summer festival, which welcomes around 30 000

visitors each year, was awarded “A Greener Festival” award in 2019, thus being recognized as

the greenest festival in Europe. Libraries of things are also coming into sight. The first was

established in the Bratislava Goethe Institute in 2016. Textile upcycling is becoming sough-

after, especially within the design and fashion industry.

The popularization of waste-related topics and sustainable lifestyles may, however, contribute

to some misinterpretations. For example, consumers, intending to make environmentally-

friendly choices, may have a higher impact on the Earth’s climate by adopting uncritical

approaches to proclaimed "natural" materials. This can be illustrated in the popular

replacement of plastic shopping bags with cotton tote bags or paper bags. However, life cycle

analysis of environmental impacts of the production, use, and disposal of grocery carrier bags

found conventional plastic bags (low-density polyethylene) to have the lowest environmental

impact (Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, 2018). Raising consumer awareness

should not run the risk of oversimplifying complex environmental topics, and the resource-

intensity of products should receive more public attention.

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To provide quality, reliable, and evidence-based insights, the analytical unit of the Ministry of

the Environment, the Institute of Environmental Policy, has produced multiple, high-quality

analyses. Over the past couple of years, they published on various aspects of waste

management, such as how to reduce landfilling, on the costs of PET bottles, and metal can

deposit schemes or on separate waste collection and producer responsibility organizations.

With the aim to improve the evidence and the overall practice of municipal waste collection,

several new businesses harnessing the potential of digitalization were introduced (see good

practices section).

As per information provided in the 2020 yearbook of electromobility, the number of charging

stations increased only slightly since the last reporting period (335 charging stations in 2017).

By the end of 2019, there were 350 charging stations, which is only by three charging stations

more than in 2018 (Hubinský et al., 2020). The demand for electric vehicles is notable, as

shown in the case of the state subsidy scheme for the purchase of electric vehicles (presented

in December 2019), which was exhausted within 4 minutes of its launch (Slovak Spectator,

2019). In 2019, 165 out of a total of 101 568 newly registered personal vehicles were electronic

(Hubinský, 2020). The overall number of electric cars is approximately 3000. According to the

predictions of the Ministry of Economy, there should be around 35 000 electric vehicles on

Slovak roads by 2030 (Pecho, 2020).

In 2018, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represented 99,9% of all entrepreneurial

subjects Slovakia and employed 73,2% of people within the private sector (SBA, 2019). Given

their extent, their role in adopting ecological innovations is crucial. According to the latest

audit (concerning the year 2019) in the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe

Principles (SBA, 2020a), 61,6% of SMEs did not perform any innovation activities, and 45,7%

stated that they are not even considering it in the future. Nearly a third of SMEs implemented

some environmental measures in 2019, which is a 0,2% increase from 2018. Nevertheless,

47,4% of SMEs did not apply any environmental measures and were not even considering it

for the future. Approximately 10% of public support received by SMEs in 2019 contributed to

improvements in environmental performance. In 2020, a fifth of SMEs would like to see more

public support for the introduction of eco-friendly products and services, and 22% would

prefer support for the digitalization of their businesses (SBA, 2020a).

At the same time, according to a recent survey examining the introduction of eco-innovations

in businesses commissioned by the Czech and Slovak Commercial Bank (ČSOB, 2020), half of

the companies are willing to give up part of their profit at the expense of environmental

investments. Companies are motivated by corporate social responsibility efforts, and almost

a third of respondents consider these actions right and natural. The most common action is

recycling, followed by the use of energy-efficient appliances.

However, data to examine the overall impact of these environmental activities is not available.

Robust sustainability reporting, such as through the application of the Global Reporting

Initiative’s standards, is missing in Slovakia. Measuring and contrasting corporate social

responsibility with corporate social irresponsibility is yet to become a norm.

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SENSONEO – Managing waste smarter

Sensoneo presents an integrated waste

management solution. It combines unique

ultrasonic Smart Sensors that monitor waste

in real-time using global system for internet

of things or mobile communication with

sophisticated software (Smart Analytics,

Smart Route Planning and Smart

Management system) providing cities and

businesses with data-driven decision making, and optimization of waste collection routes,

frequencies and vehicle loads, resulting in overall waste collection cost reduction by at least

30% and carbon emission reduction up to 60% in cities. SENSONEO produces two types of

ultrasonic sensors that can monitor any waste in bins of various type and size. They are

robust, water, and short resistant. The company also offers a citizen app, which informs

people about waste levels in all monitored bins and enables them to find the nearest

available empty bin.

Key words: waste, sensors, data-driven decision making

Link: https://sensoneo.com/

ELWIS - Smart Waste Evidence System, by

JRK company

Elwis offers a digital evidence system of

waste management for municipalities by

offers detailed information on waste

management up to a household level. It

combines a software solution with practical

data collection. Each household and waste

type is marked with an original identifier -

QR code or RFID chip. This data is scanned into the software system, and it is possible to

analyze it within a user-friendly application. The company offers training to municipality

employees, as well as with information campaigns for local inhabitants, as well as with data

evaluation. Based on information obtained through ELWIS smart waste evidence system,

municipalities can, with the assistance of JRK, design bonus schemes for households with

better waste separation results.

Key words: waste management, smart evidence system, waste separation

Link: https://moderneodpady.sk/

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3 | Barriers and drivers to circular economy and eco-innovation in Slovakia

Multiple obstacles, ranging from lack of reliable information to low research and development expenditure, limit the uptake of eco-innovations. These are coupled with various issues hampering the overall quality of the Slovak business environment. Up to 94% of SMEs consider the low stability and ambiguity of laws, while 81% small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the shortage of quality labor force as barriers to the growth and functioning of their business activities (Business environment monitoring, 2020). These issues are followed by concerns over corruption (77%), weak law enforcement (77%), quality and access to infrastructure (71%), market entry restrictions (66%) and, worryingly, organized crime and extortion (45%) (Business environment monitoring, 2020). Research on the key barriers of innovation activity in Slovakia identified bureaucracy and corruption as the main issues encountered by businesses, for example, through negative experiences with the non-transparent allocation of EU or other public funds (Lesáková, et al., 2017). These factors combined are likely contributing to Slovakia’s low eco-innovation performance and explain why eco-innovation and circular solutions are not (yet) amongst the top priorities or widespread practices of Slovak small and medium-sized businesses. The adoption of eco-innovations is also considered to be unprofitable. According to the ČSOB survey (2020), the most common reason for not implementing environmental measures is the belief that within their business operations, it is impossible to affect the environment. Additionally, there is a widespread belief that companies do not need to innovate while they are thriving on the market; as a consequence, many consider innovation to be a last resort. The emergence of the Slovak eco-innovating environment, as one of the informants of this report noted, is limited to islets of positive deviation. The development of a circular economy is hampered by a lack of reliable information or data limitations, such as missing data on the amount of waste produced and the type of their treatment or disposal procedures, due mainly to lacking catalog numbers for specific materials. There is also insufficient evidence of separated waste, or information on home composting (IEP, 2019 & 2020a). Government information systems need further improvement and optimization, with particular attention to those that collect, process, and analyze data. Hand-in-hand with this is the need for improved digitalisation, data sharing amongst public bodies and the provision of open data. The technical limitations of recycling and material recovery are also a barrier, as secondary materials have variable properties and hence are not in high demand. Similarly, available technologies have a limited capacity to extract valuable materials from waste. As per the Amendment to the Waste Act, untreated waste shall not be landfilled as of January 2021. However, multiple waste-processing organizations consider this deadline unrealistic, arguing they need more time and financial resources for the construction of new waste-treating facilities (Detersová, 2020). While several financial mechanisms are focusing on improving the quality of the environment, they are often not explicitly referring to eco-innovations. At the same time, more than half of SMEs do not have access to sufficient information about public support mechanisms (SBA, 2020a) or are discouraged by high administrative burden. Moreover, more than 3/4, or 76% of SMEs did not even apply for support in 2019 (SBA, 2020a). There is a notable absence of

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non-financial support mechanism, that could directly engage with companies and guide them through practical adoption of circular, or eco-innovative solutions. Existing environmental consulting agencies focus predominantly on compliance with legislation, rather than environmental process innovations, in other words, on the introduction of new or significantly improved production or delivery processes that aim to reduce the environmental impact of an organization. There is low awareness on voluntary tools of environmental policy, such as Environmental Technology Verification or information sources such EREK - European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre. The support for research and development, corresponding to 0,83% of Slovak GDP in 2018, remains one of the lowest in the EU and lags behind the 2,88% EU average (MŠVVaŠ SR, 2019). The business sector investment into research and development was at 0,41% of GDP; this low share might be explained by the fact that influential multi-national companies, which operate in Slovakia usually do not establish their research and development centers in the country. Many Slovak companies operate within global value chains with limited power and opportunities to develop and sell their innovative solutions to their clients. Slovak research is furthermore dependent on European Structural and Investment Funds, with approximately 39% of R&D investments relying on foreign sources, 89% of which are EU funds (EC, 2020a). As a consequence of the above-mentioned deficiencies, there is a vicious circle created by the low quality of the R&D system and the ability to attract students and researchers and, brain-drain remains a serious concern (EC, 2020a). Slovakia remains one of the least successful applicants of the Horizon 2020 program (NKÚ SR, 2018). One of the main obstacles is the fragmentation of the research, development, and innovation policy landscape. Decision-making and implementation competencies are distributed amongst government bodies without coordination, which often results in overlapping, even counterproductive work. The same is true for the agenda of eco-innovations. There is no eco-innovation strategy, nor a designated body that would be in charge of coordinating this cross-cutting topic. Even though educational policy aims to prepare students to succeed in future labor markets, more than half of the jobs that Slovak teenagers anticipate doing are at risk of being automated in the coming 10-15 years (Mann, et al., 2020). Educational objectives do not align with the need to transition to a climate-neutral society, and the extent to which themes like the climate emergency, circular economy, or eco-innovations are engaged with in the formal curriculum depends on the motivation of teachers. According to Šebová and Zeleňáková (2019), the formal environmental education systems “remains weak, essentially rigid and not efficient, increasing the environmental awareness of the Slovak pupil.” The rate of adults participating in adult education in Slovakia is one of the lowest among OECD countries (OECD, 2020). On top of that, there is a lack of lifelong learning opportunities focusing on eco-innovations or sustainability in general. On the other hand, legislative measures, international treaties and strategic frameworks on international, EU and national levels, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNGA, 2015) and its local implementation, are driving the circular economy agenda forward. The implementation of the new Circular economy action plan (EC, 2020d) will likely provide a new push, and the potential eco-innovations could be strengthened for effective green, post-pandemic recovery. Over the past two years, Slovakia began to adopt economic motivational tools to support the adoption of eco-innovations and circular solutions (presented in the last part of the report); their impact will be measurable in the years to come. Such is the ambitious case of green public procurement (GPP), which should cover 70% of all public procurements

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by 2030. However, according to the new concept of GPP, its share on all public procurements was 7,58% in 2018. Climate change is becoming an increasing concern of the Slovak public, as shown by the Eurobarometer (EC, 2019a), which corresponds to increased adoption of personal actions to combat it. The environmental performance of companies is also slowly getting into the spotlight, and business efforts are being rewarded through awards such as Via Bona Awards, highlighting responsible business and corporate philanthropy. In 2019, the application process for the Green Business Category had a dedicated focus on circular economy. In 2018, Via Bona established SDG awards. In its second year, 2019, the winner in the Leader Category was the Institute for Circular Economy, which is bringing together stakeholders to achieve systemic change within Slovak waste management. Public and expert awareness is growing through awareness-raising events. For example, in November 2019, the Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with the Slovak Environment Agency, organized a 2-day conference titled Eco-innovating Slovakia - Digitalization and innovation for a circular economy. New platforms for best practice sharing are emerging. For example, the Green Economy Information Platform (2018), managed by the Slovak Environment Agency, provides up-to-date information on policy documents, news concerning circular economy, green economy, resource efficiency. It is also space for companies to showcase their circular and green solutions. Waste Management Information System (ISOH) presented in 2019 unifies and replaces some existing waste management information systems in the Slovak Republic (RISO, the statistical survey on waste management by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, as well as third party information systems), is a tool for controlling the fulfillment of specified collection limits; but also serves to fulfill the tasks and obligations arising from the special legal regulations or international obligations of the Slovak Republic in this area. The development of the start-up and innovation ecosystems, including the establishment of the Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, are also contributing to the country’s innovation potential. Other networks, incubators, accelerators, and coworking projects, though not explicitly focusing on eco-innovations, could be their hidden driver, by providing supporting infrastructure. It is encouraging that, according to the 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, approximately 40% of total early-stage entrepreneurs in Slovakia agree or strongly agree that making a difference in the world is one of the motivations behind starting or running their business. Projects of regional collaboration have been significantly contributing to the cultivation of eco-innovation discourse in Slovakia. Two Interreg projects focused on Eco-Innovation in Slovakia 2016-2019. The ECO-INN DANUBE project led by the Centre of Research and Technological Information aimed to enhance the cooperation of innovation actors in the field of eco-innovations within the Danube Region. The Slovak Business Agency was a member of the MOVECO project, connecting partners from ten Danube countries for the cause of promoting transnational cooperation to accelerate the transition to the circular economy.

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4 | Policy landscape in Slovakia

4.1 Strategic policy framework

Over the monitored period, Slovakia strengthened its focus on the circular economy within

various strategic policy materials. In 2019, Slovakia made a decisive step by approving

its Strategy of the Environmental Policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 (the

previous Strategy - Principles and Priorities of the State Environmental Policy was adopted in

1993). This strategy identifies fundamental systemic problems and sets specific objectives

until 2030. The underlying vision is to achieve, by 2030, a sustainable and circular economy,

paired with rigorous environmental protection, minimal use of non-renewable resources and

hazardous substances, improved public health. Environmental protection and sustainable

consumption should become integral parts of public awareness. It envisions that by 2030 the

support for green innovations, science, and research will be at a comparable level to the EU

average.

Another strategic material of great importance has been drafted throughout 2018-2019 and

now awaits government approval. The Vision and Development Strategy of Slovakia by

2030 corresponds to the local implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development. It highlights sustainability, prioritizes the quality of life over economic growth

and effectiveness based on synergies and the integration of policies and their instruments

(MZVaEU SR, 2019). It consists of four so-called integrated development programs (IDP), one

of which is focusing on achieving an innovative and sustainable economy. This IDP aims to

transform the Slovak economy into an innovative green economy, which effectively utilizes

education and available resources and is environmentally and socially resilient to external and

internal adverse impacts. It aims to harness the innate potential of regions, the diversification

of economic activities, and to meet the needs of a low-carbon and circular economy.

Measures to achieve carbon neutrality are outlined in the 2030 Low-carbon development

strategy with an outlook until 2050 (approved by Government Decree 104/2020). These

include suggestions for the introduction or circular and innovative practices into industrial

processes, or strengthening the application of eco-design focused on reuse, durability, or

increased use of recycled materials. The Low-carbon development strategy supports the

development of new business models focusing on sharing, borrowing, and repairing. These

are shared by the new Waste Prevention Program 2019-2025 (approved by Government

Decree 86/2019), which focuses on moving away from material recovery as the only priority

in waste management to waste prevention, following the waste management hierarchy of the

Slovak Republic. This should be achieved by increasing landfilling fees, awareness-raising,

consistent application of the principles of green public procurement, and other voluntary tools

of environmental policy, such as EMAS, ecolabel.

The 2030 Digital Transformation Strategy for Slovakia (approved by Government Decree

206/2019) envisions that by 2030, Slovakia will become a modern country with an innovative

and ecological industry built on a knowledge-based and data economy. Effective public

administration should ensure smart use of its territory and infrastructure, and citizens use

their potential of the information society and live high-quality and secure lives in the digital

era. The first action plan for the digital transformation of Slovakia 2019-2022 (approved by

Government Decree 337/2019) outlines Slovakia's digitalization priorities for the upcoming

years. The first is to support the digital transformation of schools and improve labor market

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preparedness through the acquisition of digital skills and competencies for the digital era. The

second priority is to set the bases for a modern, digital, and data economy as well as for the

digital transformation of the broader economy. It is followed by the priority to improve the

capacity of public administration to utilize data for the benefit of the citizens. Last but not

least, it aims to support the development of artificial intelligence. There is no explicit focus on

the linkages between digitalization and circular economy.

The Strategy of Economic Policy 2030 (approved by Government Decree 300/2018) also

envisions Slovakia with a secure, smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the economy, built

on knowledge and innovation, competitive economy, effective use of resources and low levels

of unemployment. The first action plan to support the implementation of the strategy as

mentioned above - The Action plan for Economic Policy 2030 (approved by Government

Decree 605/2019) introduces measures to analyze the opportunities and challenges of

introducing the principles of the circular economy into selected economic areas (by

31.12.2020). In order to accelerate Slovakia's journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050, it

presents multiple measures, such as the electrification of railroads, the development of an

entirely environmentally friendly transport system, including low-noise and low-carbon

modalities. Furthermore, Slovakia should ensure an enabling environment to enclose material

flows and promote the reuse of recycled materials within the industry. It should also find

solutions to enhance the life-cycle and reparability of products, as well as their recyclability

and resource efficiency.

The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Slovak Republic was updated in 2018

(approved by Government Decree 478/2018). It aims to pursue proactive adaptation, optimize

the institutional framework and coordination on the national level, and ensure the sustainable

financing of climate adaptation measures. It aims for both horizontal alignment of climate

adaptation governance (into sectoral and socio-economic policies) and vertical governance on

local and regional levels. Furthermore, adaptation policies should contribute to improving the

resilience of companies and business activities on the adverse effects of climate change. In

December 2019, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic presented the Integrated

National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030 (approved by Government Decree

606/2019), which set a new renewable energy target, the share of renewable energy should

reach 19,2% by 2030.

The National Emissions Reduction Program (approved by Government Decree 103/2020)

presents priority measures for the improvement of air quality, such as the change of old

boilers and a shift from solid-fuel burning to other low-emission heat sources or support for

the insulation of buildings. It aims to increase support for vehicles utilizing alternative fuels,

revision of air pollution fees, or the evaluation of consumption tax for petrol and diesel. With

the goals to further support low-emission mobility, the Action plan for the Development of

Electromobility (approved by Government Decree 110/2019) was adopted. Measures include

direct support for the purchase of low-emission vehicles, infrastructure support as well

motivational support, such as labeling for vehicles or entry permits into low-emission zones.

In 2018, the Ministry of Economy presented the Action Plan of Intelligent Industry intending

to support research, development, and innovation, the labor market, and education or set the

basic principles of IT security and the implementation of the smart industry. The Ministry of

Education, Science, Research, and Sports engages with innovations through

the Implementation Plan of the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart

Specialization of the Slovak Republic, adopted in 2017. It focuses on five smart specialization

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domains, namely vehicles for the 21st century, industry for the 21st century, digital Slovakia

and creative industry, population health and medical technology, and healthy food and

environment.

The current environmental policy landscape, coupled with a rigorous implementation of all

the visions set out over the past couple of years, is likely to stimulate an enabling environment

for the development of a circular economy and better eco-innovation system and uptake. The

synergies between digitization and sustainable development will need to strengthen for

future policy developments. Despite the many critical strategic steps outlined above, there is

still a significant gap between the environmental and the innovation and digital

transformation agenda. Despite the great potential that data-rich and digital solutions hold

for a circular economy, the sole process of digitization will not lead to better environmental

quality automatically.

4.2 Policy instruments, measures, programmes:

In 2019, Slovakia adopted multiple important steps to enhance the waste management

system and initiate the country’s' transition towards a circular economy. The amendment to

the Waste Act (November 2019) introduces the ban on certain single-use plastic products. As

of July 2021, it will ban single-use plastic products such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon

sticks. The amendment also includes measures to limit the landfilling of biodegradable waste

or the requirement to recycle 60% of municipal waste by 2030 and 65% by 2035. Thanks to

the amendment, environmentally friendly products will be advantaged through eco-

modulation. Producer responsibility organizations will have to reflect the recyclability,

reparability, durability, or reuse within the price of their products. In practice, it means that a

producer whose product is readily recyclable will bear lower costs than a producer whose

products are harder to recycle. The aim is to motivate producers to search for more

ecologically, friendly alternatives indirectly. In 2019, the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak

Republic also prepared Law No. 302/2019 Coll. on the deposit scheme for single-use

beverage packaging, expects 90% returnability of PET bottles (IEP, 2018). However, its'

original start date 2022 was postponed by at least a year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic (MŽP

SR, 2020).

The Strategy of Environmental Policy until 2030 sets an ambitious objective to ensure that

green public procurement covers 70% of the total number of public procurement contracts by

2030. As of now, however, the proportion of green public procurement (GPP) remains low.

According to the last monitoring period, the share of GPP over the total number of public

procurements was only 7,58 % in 2018. The value of GPP in EUR (VAT excluded) over the value

of all public procurements was only 3,83%. In order to strengthen the position of GPP, the

Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, in cooperation with the Public Procurement

Office, prepared the Concept of GPP development and implementation in Slovakia

(approved by government Decree 478/2019). It includes commitments to prepare GPP

methodologies in three product categories, strengthen capacity and competence building,

and other measures. Following up on that, in late February 2020, the government approved

the compulsory application of GPP in the product categories of road transport, copy and

graphic paper, and computers and monitors (approved by Government Decree 92/2020).

Several mechanisms offer direct financial support. For example, the innovation vouchers

offered by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic support projects and process

innovations that stimulate the competitiveness and innovation potential of SMEs in various

areas, including energy, environment, and innovative technologies. In 2020, the Deputy Prime

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Ministers Office for Investments and Digitalization, in cooperation with SK-NIC, registrar of the

".sk" Slovak internet domains, opened a grant application process to support projects of Green

IT. This was the only financial support mechanism explicitly supporting digital solutions that

enhance the quality of the environment. Most of the existing direct financial support for

environmental protection and innovation does not explicitly work with the language of eco-

innovations. However, the support for circular and eco-innovative projects is not technically

excluded either. Several eco-voucher schemes were introduced over the past years, for

example, to support the purchase of electric vehicles, exchange of old boilers for new energy-

efficient ones, or to support the installation of devices that enable the usage of renewable

energy sources.

One of the biggest successes of the past two years was the establishment of the Circular

Slovakia platform (see best practices). The smart cities agenda is receiving greater attention,

partially due to the efforts of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. Multiple

partnerships (such as the Smart Cities Klub or the Slovak Smart City Cluster) focusing on the

development of smart cities are emerging and supporting the discourse on how digitalization

and smart solutions could benefit the urban environment. Furthermore, there are multiple

centers for the support of technology transfer, as well as business incubators and accelerators.

Many of these operate in University Science Parks or Research centers. Though most do not

proclaim a dedicated focus on eco-innovations or do not use the language of eco-innovations,

they may be hidden drivers of new developments. Both the eco-innovation and circular

economy terminology should be strengthened and disseminated.

Greener Slovakia - Strategy of Environmental Policy until

2030

In order to provide solutions to environmental challenges,

Slovakia adopted a long-term strategic vision. This strategic

material presents three main priorities. The first one is nature

protection, with specific measures to increase non-

interference zones within national parks to 75% by 2030,

coupled with measures to halt illegal logging. By 2030, organic agricultural production

would make up at least 13,5 of all the agricultural land, while improved land and water

management should mitigate drought across the country. The second priority is air quality

protection, including the gradual halting of coal plants, ecological transport, and cleaner

heating systems. The third priority is to achieve a green economy by the gradual

introduction of circular economy principles. At least 60% of all the municipal waste will be

recycled, and the landfilling rate will be below 25%.

Key words: environmental strategy, nature protection, air quality, green economy

Link to the strategy: https://www.minzp.sk/files/iep/greener_slovakia-

strategy_of_the_environmental_policy_of_the_slovak_republic_until_2030.pdf

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Circular Slovakia Platform

The Circular Slovakia platform,

established in December 2019,

connects the public, private, and non-governmental sectors to enhance Slovakia's transition to

a circular economy. It does so through supporting knowledge and experience exchange about

how to save natural resources, minimize waste, and decrease dependency on primary resources

imports, while promoting the circular economy as a growth opportunity. Founding members are

the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Business Agency, Institute of Circular

Economy Slovakia, Dutch Embassy, PricewaterhouseCoopers Slovakia, Slovak Environment

Agency and Dutch Chamber of Commerce. In 2020, the platform joined forces with the Holland

Circular Hotspot. On 29 June 2020, it was joined by 20 companies and other non-governmental

and academic stakeholders from various sectors, including IT, professional services, car rental,

foundry, textile, industry productions, retail, banking, food. By signing the joint declaration, they

voluntarily commit to promoting the circular economy and actively contributing to sustainable

change.

Key words: partnership, platform, circular economy

Link: Rášová, D., Frecer, M. 2019. Circular Slovakia - a platform for circular economy. Available

at: https://amcham.sk/media/a542/file/item/en/0000/connection_06_2019_15.e5FS.pdf

Contact: Denisa Rášova, rasova@sbagency.sk

Logo available here: https://www.facebook.com/circularslovakia/

Action Plan for the Transformation of the Upper Nitra Coal Mining Region

In the Slovak Republic, lignite is extracted from four underground mines. (1) Three out of these

four mines are in the Upper Nitra region. In December 2018, the Government of the Slovak

Republic passed a resolution in which it committed to decreasing support for electricity

production from domestic coal by 2023 at the latest and set a timeframe for the gradual closure

of three out of the four mining fields. In 2019 an action plan for this transformation was

presented. Its building blocks are mobility and regional connectivity, economy,

entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainable environment, quality of life, and social

infrastructure. The development of innovation, research, and development within the area of

sustainable energy is one of the priorities, along with increasing the innovation capacity of SMEs

are amongst the main priorities. The action plan was created in a participatory manner in

cooperation with local inhabitants, NGOs, regional and national governments as well as the

European Commission.

Key words: energy and coal region transition, coal phase out.

Link to the action plan: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/24029/1

More information:

Filčák, R. 2018. Support for coal regions in transition.

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/studies/pdf/expert_support_coal_en.

pdf

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https://bankwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Transformation-Action-Plan-Upper-

Nitra.pdf

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Slovak Business Agency, 2020a, Monitoring uplatňovania princípov SBAfE: Správa z kvantitatívneho prieskumu realizovaného v roku 2020 (translation for: Monitoring of the implementation of SBAfE principles: Report from a quantitative survey realized in 2020), Available at: http://monitoringmsp.sk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Monitoring-uplat%C5%88ovania-princ%C3%ADpov-SBAfE.pdf

Slovak Business Agency, 2020b, Postoje MSP k využívaniu podporných programov: Správa z kvantitatívneho prieskumu 2020 (translation for: Attitudes of SMEs towards the utilization of support mechanism: Report from quantitative survey 2020), Available at: http://monitoringmsp.sk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Postoje-MSP-k-vyu%C5%BE%C3%ADvaniu-podporn%C3%BDch-programov.pdf

Slovak Climate Initiative, 2020, Survey: The fight with climate change has public support, Available at: https://klimatickainiciativa.sk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TS-prieskum_podpora_rieseni_klimatickej_zmeny.pdf

Šebová, M., Zeleňáková, M., 2019, Enhancing climate innovation mindset in the education system of CEE, Desktop Research Report, Technical University of Košice, Climate-KIC

TASR (Press Agengy of the Slovak Republic), 2020, Zelené témy sú pre mnohé politické strany kľúčové (translation for: Green topics are crucial to many political parties), Hospodárske Noviny, Available at: https://slovensko.hnonline.sk/2010644-zelene-temy-su-pre-mnohe-politicke-strany-klucove

The Slovak Spectator, 2019. E-car subsidies used up after 4 minutes, Available at: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22285599/e-car-subsidies-used-up-after-4-minutes.html#:~:text=It%20took%20only%20four%20minutes,16%2C%20offering%20%E2%82%AC6%20million.

UN General Assembly, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 21 October 2015, A/RES/70/1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57b6e3e44.html

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ANNEX: Policy strategies and instruments

Table A1: National Policy strategies Name of the policy document (strategy, action plan, roadmap)

Relevance for eco-innovation

Relevance for Circular Economy

Relevance for the innovation chain

Input and process targets Outcome and impact targets Relevant implementation or governance system

1 Strategy of the Environmental Policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 (2019), Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic Link: https://www.minzp.sk/files/iep/greener_slovakia-strategy_of_the_environmental_policy_of_the_slovak_republic_until_2030.pdf

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation;

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting No amount specified Potential sources: State budget Regional and EU funding programmes Private investments

Air quality targets with specific emission reductions Climate change policy targets Waste management targets Green Public Procurement targets Nature and biodiversity Protection Targets Land use targets Water quality targets

The strategy proposes an institutional framework. It was approved by a Government Decree No. 87/2019 binding other government bodies to the fulfilment of the Strategy.

2 National Green Public Procurement Action (2016), Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, Public Procurement Office, https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/21622/1

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Commercialization Commercialization - Share of Green Public Procurement purchases over all publicly procured purchases

Yes, GPP efforts are coordinated by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the National Public Procurement Office. Approved by Government Decree No. 590/2016, setting responsibilities for all government bodies.

3 Low-carbon developments strategy with an outlook until 2050 (2020). Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic Link: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/24531/2

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting The specific cost of decarbonisation has not been calculated. However it is estimated that by 2040 it present additional 1,8% of the GDP. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Finance SR, Permanent representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU and the Ministry of Environment, between 9,9-

10,5 billion EUR could be available to finance climate

Energy efficiency Energy targets Industrial processes targets Transportation targets Agricultural targets LULUCF targets Waste targets

The strategy was approved by Government Decree No. 104/2020, setting responsibilities for central government and other governing bodies to fulfil the program.

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measures. Potential financing mechanisms: Modernization Fund Innovation Fund ESIF State budget Environmental Fund Investment plan of the European Green Deal

4 National Emissions Reduction Program (2020), Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, Link: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/24535/2

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting No amount specified Financing mechanisms to finance the measures of the program: Operation Program Quality of Environment, ESIF 2014-2020 Operation Program Quality of Infrastructure, ESIF 2014-2020 Integrated Regional Operation Program, ESIF 2014-2020 State fund of housing development SlovSEFF (EBRD) Grant mechanisms of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Environmental fund Grants for private households

Emmission reduction targets Connection of households to centra heating sources Improving the energy efficiency of buildings Awareness raising campaign Alternative fuel support Evaluation of consumption taxes on petrol and diesel System of emission trading with a quota for harmful substances

The program proposes an institutional framework and was approved by Government Decree No. 103/2020, setting responsibilities for other central government bodies to fulfil the program

5 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Slovak Republic (2018) Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, Link: https://www.minzp.sk/files/odbor-politiky-zmeny-klimy/strategia-adaptacie-sr-zmenu-klimy-aktualizacia.pdf

Eco-innovation in the form of climate adaptation, however no explicit mention of the eco-innovation.

N/A N/A Indicated allocation of funds to support climate change goals for the 2014-2020 period add up to 2, 96 billion Euros. Potential financial sources include: State Budget Operation Programs (OP) Integrated regional OP, OP Integrated Infrastructure, OP Human Resources, OP Quality of the

Climate adaptation measures within the following areas: geology soil environment Natural environment and biodiversity Water regime and water management Settlements Human health Agriculture Forestry Transport

Various coordination bodies are set up to support climate adaptation in Slovakia. There is a commission for the coordination of climate change policies on state secretary level, a national contact point for the coordination and adaptation strategies as well as an adaptation working group . Approved by

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Environment, Rural Development Program, Interreg Programs, Supranational cooperation programs European Funds such as ERDF, Cohesion Fund, ESF, EAFRD, EMRF, LIFE Norway Financial Mechanism Municipal budgets

Energy, industry and other areas of entrepreneurship Tourism

Government Decree No. 148/2018

6 National Green Public Procurement Action (2016), Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, Public Procurement Office, https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/21622/1

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Commercialization Commercialization - Share of Green Public Procurement purchases over all publicly procured purchases

Yes, GPP efforts are coordinated by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the National Public Procurement Office. Approved by Government Decree No. 590/2016, setting responsibilities for all government bodies.

7 Concept of Green Public Procurement Development and Implementation (2019), Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, Public Procurement Office, https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/24227/1

Dedicated focus to eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Commercialization Commercialization - Share of Green Public Procurement purchases over all publicly procured purchases

Yes, GPP efforts are coordinated by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the National Public Procurement Office.

8 Waste Management Plan 2016-2020 (2015) Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic Link: https://www.minzp.sk/files/sekcia-enviromentalneho-hodnotenia-riadenia/odpady-a-obaly/registre-a-zoznamy/poh-sr-2016-2020_vestnik_en-2.pdf

Support for innovative activities in the field of waste recovery, through no explicit mention of eco-innovations.

Cross-cutting Commercialization No amount specified. Various targets for municipal waste, biodegradable municipal and industrial waste, paper and cardboard waste, packaging waste, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, waste batteries and accumulators, glass, plastic, waste tyres, end of life vehicles, electrical equipment and electrical wastes, waste oils and preventive measures

Approved by Government Decree 562/2015. Coordinated predominantly by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic.

9 Waste Prevention Program 2020-2035 (2019) Ministry of Environment of the Slovak

Contains a measure to stimulate green innovation

Cross-Cutting Commercialization No amount specified. Potential financial mechanisms are: State budget

Amendment to the Waste Act Number of information campaign focusing on waste prevention EMAS registration

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Republic, Link: https://www.minzp.sk/files/sekcia-enviromentalneho-hodnotenia-riadenia/odpady-a-obaly/registre-a-zoznamy/ppvo-sr-19-25.pdf

through green public procurement.

National Project of the Slovak Environment Agency focusing on awareness raising Environmental Fund Producer responsibility organisations Operation program quality of the environment

Share of green public procurement over all procurements Various targets focusing on specific waste streams such as municipal waste, biodegradable waste, food waste, paper waste, bulky waste, packaging and plastic, construction waste, mining waste, hazardous waste

10 Strategy of Economy Policy 2030 (2018 Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Link: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/23019/1

Eco-innovation, in the form of decreasing the energy and environmental intensity of the economy is present within the priority objectives.

Cross-Cutting Cross-Cutting No amount specified. Potential sources include: State budget EU resources

Strategic targets for: improved education system for modern labor market tools to lower regulatory and administrative burden environmental and energy efficiency

Approved by Government Decree No. 300/2018 setting responsibilities for central government bodies to fulfil the measures of the strategy. Coordinated mostly by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

11 Action plan for Economic Policy 2030 (2019) Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Link: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/24386/1

Eco-innovation, in the form of decreasing the energy and environmental intensity of the economy is present within the priority objectives.

Cross-Cutting Cross-Cutting No amount specified. Potential sources include: State budget EU resources

Various targets focusing on the development of human capital: spending revision of high-schools focusing on vocational schools optimising vocational education to meet the demands of the future labour market To support the innovation potential of the country, such as: increasing awareness on technology transfer concept of the development of industrial parks To support the environmental and energy efficiency of economy, such as: Analyzing the potential of circular economy Electrifying railroad transport Information campaign to support optimisation of the reserve capacity of the distribution network Create conditions to close

Approved by Government Decree No. 605/2019. Coordinated within working groups of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

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material flows and the use of recycled materials in industry etc.

12 Action Plan for the Development of Electromobility (2019 Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Link: https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=C51B49064C784836B64E7B4F9456E007-81BE9909023408DAECAE2204B867D47E

Eco-innovation in the form of decreasing the energy intensity of the transport sector and focus on research and development of batteries.

Cross-Cutting Cross-cutting To support the long-term continuity for low-emission vehicles: estimated up to to 5 mil Euros from the budget of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic To support changing infrastructure Connecting Europe Facility estimated up to 1 mil. Euros from the budget of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic To support the information campaign - 30 000 Euros from the budget of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

Continuity of direct support for low-emission vehicles Creation of a long-term financial mechanism to support charging infrastructure Legislative requirement to build charging infrastructure in building parking lots Information campaign

Approved by Government Decree 110/2019. Coordinated mostly by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

13 Integrated National Energy and Climate plan for 2021-2030 (2019) Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Link:https://www.mhsr.sk/uploads/files/zsrwR58V.pdf

Eco-innovation in the form of decreasing energy intensity and lowering negative impact of the energy sector.

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting The estimated cost to reach the RES targets is estimated and 4,3 billion EUR. State budget ESIF Budgets of municipalities Private investments

Improved energy efficiency of the economy Increased share of RES Decreased emissions of GHG within non-ETS sectors Decreased energy intensity of buildings Sustainable Mobility

Approved by Government Decree No. 606/2019, setting responsibilities for central and regional governance bodies to follow the priorities of this plan.

14 Action Plan of Intelligent Industry (2018) Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Link: https://www.mhsr.sk/uploads/files/8U6RKSS5.pdf

Focus on the cultivation of innovation ecosystem, but no explicit focus on eco-innovation-

N/A Cros-cutting State budget ESIF

Multiple targets within the areas of R&D, Cybersecurity, education, standardisation and technical norms. Just to list a few: Stimulate the cooperation of business and academia in research, development and innovation within smart industries activating research on smart industries Improve research infrastructure

The action plan defines an institutional framework and sets responsibilities for various government bodies. Approved by Government Decree 461/2018.

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availability and accessibility for smart industries Support of the connection with European Research Infrastructures Preparation of a concept for cybersecurity for smart industry Identify the requirements of the labour market for future graduates Improve the development of digital skills within formal education Improve lifelong learning opportunities Support for university incubators Create a communication strategy for intelligent industry

15 Implementation Plan of the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation of the Slovak Republic (2017) Deputy Prime Ministers’ Office for Investment and Informatization, Ministry of Education, Science Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Government Office of the Slovak Republic Link: https://www.opvai.sk/media/98686/implementation-plan_eng_final_ec.pdf

One of the main domains for the research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation is healthy food and environment.

N/A Cross-cutting The total average annual amount of public funds for the Slovak R&I system will be approx. €630 mil./year. SK state budget (Institutional and project financing, ESIF co-financing from the State budget) EU funds (ESIF, Horizon) Other EU support instruments, such as Horizon 2020 Private business sources (Domestic - Foreign)

Proposes multiple measures for the improvement of the research, development and innovation system, such as: improved coordination Elaboration of a state R&I policy Conducting an international audit of science and research

Provides an institutional framework and proposes a clear entity responsible for the management of this strategy

16 Digital Transformation Strategy for Slovakia 2030 (2019) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investments and Informatization (ODPMII) https://www.vicepremier.gov.sk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SDT-English-Version-FINAL.pdf

No explicit focus on eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting No amount specified. The purpose of the strategy is not to set particular measures but define the vision serving as the basis for specific measures.

Approved by Government Decree No. 206/2019. In cooperation with other central state administration authorities, the ODPMII is in charge of preparation, setting priorities as well as implementation of the strategy.

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17 First Action plan for the Digital Transformation of Slovakia 2019-2022. (2019) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investments and Informatization, https://www.vicepremier.gov.sk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AP-DT-English-Version-FINAL.pdf

No explicit focus on eco-innovation

Cross-cutting Cross-cutting The Action plan will seek answers to how digital platforms support transition to a circular economy, Possibility to explore how AI could be harnessed to slow down or aver climate change or introduce circular and low-carbon economy.

No specific amount specified. Potential financing mechanisms are listed: State budget EU funds

Preparation of the Programme for Informatization of Education until 2030 Systemic change of the system of education preparing employees for the needs of the economy Comprehensive systemic change of life-long education Working group to build a coordinated mechanism to counter disinformation Increasing effectiveness of the regulation of electronic communications market for the benefit of growing coverage of the territory with ultra-fast connection Support to completion of the build-up of gigabit fibre connection accessible in the sense of the EU strategy for European Gigabit Society Setting up the institute for providing access to trustworthy data Introduction of systemic evaluation of effects of regulations on innovations and digital economy Support to new business models in the digital economy, identifying of segments for the platform economy and extension of the portfolio of activities of the Slovak Investment Holding etc. Defining themes with the social need and preparation of pilot projects with a broad support of experts in artificial intelligence

ODPMII and a working group for digital transformation. Approved by Government Decree 337/2019.

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Table A2: Policy instruments and measures

Category Name of instrument Overall relevance for eco-innovation Relevance for CE Relevance for the innovation chain

Direct financial support for eco-innovation

Grant funding

Environmental Fund (annually)

Though eco-innovations are not explicitly mentioned, the activities supported from the Environmental Fund are focusing on improving the quality of the environment. It offers loans and subsidies in the following thematic areas: air protection, water protection and use, waste management and circular economy, improvement of energy efficiency of existing public buildings,

- Reuse and recovery - prevention of biological municipal waste and recovery of biological waste, development of waste collection facilities and “reuse centres” - Recycling - improving recycling of municipal waste

N/A

Green Education Fund (started in 2015, awarding grants annually), administered by the Ministry of Environment and Slovak Environment Agency

Eco-innovations are not explicitly mentioned. The GEF offers small grants for non-governmental organisations to raise awareness on topics which are in accordance with the priorities of environmental policy. In 2020 it supported educational activities in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity protection, sustainable buildings, air protection and the circular economy

Cross-cutting: focusing on education and awareness raising of various target groups, including children, youth, teachers and youth workers and adults.

N/A

Operation Program Quality of Environment 2014-2020 (European Structural and Investment Fund), managed by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, https://www.op-kzp.sk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/OP-QE-vs-10.1en.pdf

Eco-innovations are not explicitly mentioned.The OPQE is a programming document of the Slovak Republic for drawing aid from EU Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund 2014—2020. The objective is to support sustainable and efficient resource use ensuring environmental protection, active adaptation to climate change and promotion of an energy efficient, low-carbon economy. It supports activities along 5 priority axes: Sustainable use of natural resources through environmental infrastructure development Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change with the focus on flood protection Promoting risk management, emergency

Eligible activities include: Support of information tools aimed at waste prevention, separate collection of waste and waste recovery Preparation for re-use and recovery of waste aimed at recycling of non-hazardous waste, including promotion of separate collection systems of municipal waste and promotion of biodegradable municipal waste prevention Preparation for re-use and hazardous waste recycling Development and introduction of single environmental monitoring and information system in the waste management sector

N/A

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management and resilience to emergencies affected by climate change Energy efficient low-carbon economy in all sectors - this priority axis is seeking to support innovative technologies utilising RES Technical assistance

Operation Program Integrated Infrastructure (European Structural and Investment Fund), managed by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic) NB! As of 2020, this operation program includes the Research and Innovation Operation Program

Priority axis 3: Support for sustainable transport and eliminating barriers in key network infrastructures investment priority to develop and improve ecologically suitable and low-carbon transport systems Explicitly mention of ecological innovation as an investment priority for the following two priority axes: Priority axis 9: Support for research, development and innovation - specific goal to support development and innovation capacities within industry and services Priority axis 10: Support for research, development and innovations in Bratislava region - specific goal to enhance the growth of RD and innovation capacity in industry and services of the Bratislava region

N/A Cross-cutting

Slovak Research and Development Agency, under the Ministry of Education, Research and Sport of the Slovakia Republic https://www.apvv.sk/?lang=en

No explicit focus on eco-innovation, the applicant defines their focus, objectives and contents of research and development.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned. The applicant defines their focus, objectives and contents of research and development.

Cross-cutting

Science grant agency, under the Ministry of Education, Research and Sport of the Slovakia Republic https://www.minedu.sk/vedecka-grantova-agentura-msvvas-sr-a-sav-vega/

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

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EEA and Norway Grants, administered by the Government Office of the Slovak Republic. Climate focused programme agreement signed in 2019. More information here: https://www.eeagrants.sk/en/programs/climate-change/

The Climate programme aims to “increase climate change resilience and responsiveness within targeted areas” and “enhanced ability of targeted ecoystems to adapt to climate change.”

N/A N/A

SK NIC grants

Offered in cooperation of the Deputy Prime Ministers Office for Invesmtents and Digitazation: https://sk-nic.sk/

Support projects that enhance the role of ICT in nature protection, environment and inclusion.

N/A N/A

De minimis support for SME in the implementation of innovative solutions within cities administered by the Ministry of Economy of Slovak Republic

https://www.mhsr.sk/uploads/files/hV9omFQK.pdf

Support for the introduction of smart solutions and improving access to modern technologies, including reducing negative impacts on the environment, as well as resource and energy efficiency.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Feasibility study and application of innovations into practice

Scheme for the support of industrial clusters administered by the Ministry of Economy of Slovak Republic

https://www.mhsr.sk/uploads/files/VfSBDY7i.pdf

Support for the establishment of industrial clusters. Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

N/A

Innovation vouchers Innovation vouchers (Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic) https://www.mhsr.sk/aktuality/vyzva-na-podporu-spoluprace-podnikatelskych-subjektov-a-vedecko-vyskumnych-pracovisk-formou-inovacnych-voucherov-1

Eligible are projects of products, service of process innovation that are expected to stimulate competitiveness and innovation potential of SME in various areas, including, but not limited to energy and ecology as well as innovative technologies

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Idea development and RD. It aims to stimulate cooperation between business and R&D sector.

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Loans and credits

Environmental Fund (annually)

Though eco-innovations are not explicitly mentioned, the activities supported from the Environmental Fund are focusing on improving the quality of the environment. It offers loans in the following thematic areas: air protection, water protection and use, waste management and circular economy, improvement of energy efficiency of existing public buildings,

- Reuse and recovery - prevention of biological municipal waste and recovery of biological waste, development of waste collection facilities and “reuse centres” - Recycling - improving recycling of municipal waste

N/A

Innovation Fund, administered by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, https://www.inovacnyfond.sk/

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

SlovSEFF (sustainable energy financing facility by EBRD), co-funded by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak

Republichttp://www.slovseff.eu/index.php/en/

Eco-innovations are not explicitly mentioned, however eligible projects are divided within 3 investment categories:- Renewable energy Industrial energy efficiency Residential energy efficiency

Renewable energy and energy efficiency Commercialization

Soft loans to finance SME innovation - Slovenská sporiteľňa (Launched December 2019)

One of the supported themes is "support for the quality and effectivity of production processes, including decreasing energy intensity of production processes and of negative environmental impacts

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

Slovak Business Agency Microloan program (https://www.opii.gov.sk/download/d/7-0/opii_7_0.pdf)

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

Publicly co-funded venture capital funds (e.g. start-ups)

Slovak Investment Holding (https://www.sih.sk) / JEREMIE Holding Fund

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

N/A

National holding fund (http://www.nhfond.sk/o-nas/historia-a-poslanie-spolocnosti/), which manages also the Inovation and technology fund (https://www.fondfit.sk/investicne-charakteristiky)

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

N/A

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Fellowships and postgraduate loans and scholarships National Stipend Program (as of 2005),

https://www.stipendia.sk/sk/

Support for studies related to eco-innovation not specified, but also not excluded. The National Stipend Program provides grants for Slovak students to study abroad and to foreign students to study in Slovakia.

Circular economy studies can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

N/A

Educational support fund (as of 2013), https://www.fnpv.sk/cinnost

Support for studies related to eco-innovation economy not specified, but also not excluded. Provides loans on preferential terms to university students, pedagogical staff, expert staff, doctoral students, university professors, research staff up to 35 years of age.

Circular economy studies can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

N/A

Various EU grants for which Slovak students and researchers are eligible such as: ERC starting, consolidator and synergy grants EUREKA projects COST

Support for studies related to eco-innovation economy not specified, but also not excluded.

Circular economy studies can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

Tatra Banka Foundation Education Grants

Support for studies related to eco-innovation economy not specified, but also not excluded.

Circular economy activities can be supported, even though they are not explicitly mentioned.

Cross-cutting

Equity financing from public banks

N/A N/A N/A N/A

Other (indicate)

Indirect support for eco-innovation

Tax incentives/relieves for eco-innovation (businesses, R&D activity)

R&D superdeduction for businesses (by amendment to Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax) as of January 2020. https://www.sario.sk/en/invest-slovakia/support-investors/research-development-superdeduction

The super deduction is not explicitly related to eco-innovation, but it has no industry limitations Provides the opportunity for additional deduction of 200% of costs related to R&D Automatically claimed in the tax return for the tax period No industry limitation

N/A N/A

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As of 1.1.2018 the Slovak republic provides a form of intellectual property in the form of a patent box, a special tax regime that exempts intellectual property income acquired through science and research activities. https://www.sario.sk/en/invest-slovakia/support-investors/patent-box

The patent box doesn’t explicitly mention eco-innovation, however it is not excluded. This patent box provides exemption from corporate income tax: 50% of income from license fees 50% of income from selling products, where the patent, utility patent or design was used in the production process

N/A N/A

Tax relief for consumers adopting/ purchasing green technology/products

Taxation of environmentally harmful technologies

Regulations, targets

Green public procurement

Green Public Procurement

As of July 1st 2020, Ministries and Central Government bodies will be required to apply green public procurement for road transport, copy and graphic paper, computers and monitors.

When purchasing desktop or mobile computers, the procurer should take into account their energy efficiency, availability of replacement parts, as well as the recyclability or reuse of components after their lifecycle.

Commercialisation

Demand subsidies (e.g. eco-vouchers/subsidies for green products)

Vouchers to support the exchange of boilers in households, (2019) managed by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic,https://www.op-kzp.sk/obsah-vyzvy/55-vyzva-zamerana-na-opkzp-po1-sc141-55/

Voucher supports the exchange of old inefficient and polluting boilers for new, more environmentally friendly ones

Not explicit, but not exclusionary

Commercialisation

Green for households, managed by the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency, https://zelenadomacnostiam.sk/sk/ (Scheme under OPQE)

Vouher for the installation of devices that enable the usage of renewable energy sources

Not explicit, but not exclusionary

Commercialisation

Vouchers to support electro mobility, launched by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic in December 2019

Supporting the purchase of personal electric vehicles.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Commercialisation

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(https://www.chcemelektromobil.sk/archiv-ziadosti)

Labeling, certification, standards

National label- Environmentally suitable product, as of 1997, https://www.sazp.sk/zivotne-prostredie/environmentalne-manazerstvo/environmentalne-oznacovanie-produktov/environmentalne-oznacovanie-produktov.html

Support for eco-innovation is in terms of sustainable products or processes.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary

Commercialisation

EU-Ecolabel, as of 2004, https://www.sazp.sk/zivotne-prostredie/environmentalne-manazerstvo/environmentalne-oznacovanie-produktov/environmentalne-oznacovanie-produktov.html

Support for eco-innovation is in terms of sustainable products or processes.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary

Commercialisation

EMAS (Environmental management and audit scheme), https://www.emas.sk/

Support for eco-innovation is in terms of sustainable products or processes.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Commercialisation

Various other ecolabels are applied in Slovakia, such as FSC, PEFC, UTZ Certified etc,

Support for eco-innovation is in terms of sustainable products or processes.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Commercialisation

Debt guarantees and risk sharing schemes

N/A N/A N/A N/A

Training, advisory, information support, awareness raising

Technology transfer and business advisory services National centre of technology transfer,

established in 2015, manages the

National Portal of Technology Transfer, managed by the Centre of Scientific and Technological information , https://nptt.cvtisr.sk/

Does not explicitly focus on the transfer of eco-innovation technology, but it doesn’t exclude it. Provides expert consulting

services (e.g. patent application drafting, technology marketing, partner searching in the process of licensing, licence agreement drafting etc.) as well as search services.

Does not explicitly focus on the transfer of CE technology, nor does it explicitly exclude it. Cross-cutting

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Business and Innovation Centre Bratislava, as of 1991, https://www.bic.sk/en

Does not explicitly support eco-innovation but it doesn’t exclude it. Provides business support (internationalisation, European and national support schemes, financial plans and strategies) and innovation support, including technology transfer, innovation strategies and management etc.

Does not explicitly focus on the transfer of CE technology, nor does it explicitly exclude it. Cross-cutting

Technology transfer centres (TTC) established at various university science parks, such as TTC of the Comenius University in Bratislava, TTC of the Centre of Applied Research of New Materials in Bratislava)

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary N/A

Business incubation/ accelerations

Challenger accelerator (administered by Civitta)

(https://challengeraccelerator.com/)

In 2020/2021 supporting startups focusing on cleantech, mobility, circular economy and agritech contributing to sustainable development

Mentoring, investment etc also in the field of circular economy

Cross-cutting

Slovak association of business and technological incubators, as of 2008, https://saptisk.webnode.sk/

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary N/A

Incubators established in University Science Parks and Research Centres, such as: InQB - University technological incubator of the Slovak Technical University, as of 2005, https://www.inqb.sk/ Startup centre and Incubator of the technical university in Košice, https://www.startupcentrum.tuke.sk/

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary N/A

Various business incubators, though not explicitly focusing on eco-innovation. Just to name a few: Impact Hub Bratislava offers various incubation and acceleration programs and hackathons, as of 2014, http://impacthub.sk/ Business Innovation Centre Banská

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary N/A

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Bystrica, as of 1994, http://www.e-inkubator.sk/SK Eastcubator in Košice - coworking, as of 2012, http://www.eastcubator.sk/ Startport in Košice - coworking and start-up incubator, as of 2019, https://www.starport.sk/

Eco-innovation challenges, prizes, awards

Green Mercury (Zelený Merkúr) Award, organised by the Slovak Environment Agency in cooperation with Banská Bystrica Region and the Banska Bystrica regional association of commerce and industry, annually, since 2019, https://www.sazp.sk/zivotne-prostredie/environmentalne-manazerstvo/konferencie-4820/zeleny-merkur.html N/A

The competition is for organisations (mostly SME) that are active within the Banská Bystrica regio, which utilize processes or technologies that support the various phases of the circularr economy. N/A

Envirocity Awards, managed by the Slovak Environment Agency, biannually since 2017

This award doesn’t explicitly mention eco-innovations, however its overall goal is to award those cities, which actively implement environmental policies in real life. It also presents an opportunity to showcase progress and best practices.

In 2019, circular economy was one of the main categories of award. N/A

Via Bona Awards, managed by Pontis Foundation since 1998, https://www.nadaciapontis.sk/en/projects/via-bona-slovakia/

These awards showcase corporate social responsibility programs of companies and one of their main categories is “Green company” awarded to exceptional projects of environmental protection.

Circular economy was the dominant focus of the 2019 call for nominations. Results to be known later in 2020. N/A

SDG Awards, managed by Pontis foundation since 2018, https://www.blf-csr-summit.eu/ceny-sdgs/ No explicit focus on eco-innovation No explicit focus on circular economy N/A

Training for companies, consumers,

Institute of Circular Economy Slovakia , https://www.incien.sk/

Doesn’t explicitly use eco-innovation language. Offer a range of educational activities and audits for their customers for circular economy.

Offer audits and solutions to companies in accordance to design for circularity principles Cross-cutting

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Slovak Business Agency provides a range of non-financial services for SMEs Doesn’t explicitly mention eco-innovation

Doesn’t explicitly mention circular economy N/A

Public awareness campaigns, platforms, and outreach activities

Information platform green economy, managed by the Slovak Environment Agency and the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, http://zelene-hospodarstvo.enviroportal.sk/

Showcases best practices, provides news, calendar of green economy events, information on grants etc.

- Users can filter information in the category of circular economy, which helps in being up to date with news, solutions,

Waste management information system, managed by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, https://www.isoh.gov.sk/uvod

N/A

Online register of subjects come into touch with waste Acceleration of information on the material flow of waste Overall improvement in the monitoring of the limits and capacities of recycling companies or reporting to producer responsibility organisations

N/A

National Project - Improving information and consulting for the improvement of environmental quality in Slovakia, 2016-20222, https://www.sazp.sk/projekty-eu/infoaktivity/

This national program aims to organise more than 1000 information activities in various priority themes.

N/A N/A

other

Collaborative platforms and infrastructure

EIT Climate-KIC hub Slovakia

Administered by Civitta, and comprising of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava Self-governing Region, Green Foundation, GA Drilling

Climate-change awareness raising, support for the creation of smart-city districts, organization of programs from the EIT Climate KIC portfolio (including Accelerator and Climathon)

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

EIT InnoEnnergy Hub Slovakia

Administered by Civitta, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment

Support for the start-up ecosystem within the energy sector. Opportunity to take part within the PowerUp! energy competition for start-ups.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

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EIT Food Hub

Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra

Support for start-up ecosystem within the food sector, networking opportunities, innovation support.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

Clusters, networks, platforms (e.g. industrial symbiosis platforms)

Circular Slovakia, established in 2019 First of its kind initiative to connect public, private and NGO sector to strengthen the circular economy scene in Slovakia.

The platform seeks to promote awareness as well as to highlight opportunities emerging from the adoption of circular solutions.

Cross-cutting

SAPIE, Slovak Alliance for Innovation Economy, http://sapie.sk/

No explicit focus on eco-innovation No explicit focus on circular economy Cross-cutting

Smart Cities Klub, https://smartcitiesklub.sk/

Informal platform for expertise shared between municipal governance and experts in preparing strategies and programs for smart cities. Ecology is one of their areas of interest.

N/A Cross-cutting

Slovak Smart City Cluster, established in 2017, http://smartcluster.sk/

Doesn’t explicitly mention eco-innovation, however they aim to integrate regional and smart development also with the aim to improve environmental quality.

The cluster has a circular economy working group.

Cross-cutting

Dedicated support to new research infrastructure (piloting facilities)

Prototyping and innovation centre of the Slovak Technical University in Košice, http://www.sjf.tuke.sk/paic/en/, workplace established in 1990 and has been gradually developing, it was named Prototyping and innovation centre in 2017

Support for eco-innovation is not explicitly mentioned, however is not excluded.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

University Science Park “CAMPUS MTF STU” - CAMBO, Trnava, 2013,https://www.mtf.stuba.sk/sk/o-univerzitnom-vedeckom-parku-uvp.html?page_id=9941

Material research and research facility of automatisation and computerisation

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

University Science Park STU Bratislava, http://www.uvp.stuba.sk/

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. It focuses on ICT, electrotechnology, industrial biotechnology, chemical engineering, construction engineering

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

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University Science Park TECHNICOM in Košice, https://www.uvptechnicom.sk/en/

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Focus on ICT, electrical engineering, automation and control systems, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering (mining, metallurgy, water management, including its socio-humanitarian dimension.)

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

University Science Park of the Comenius University in Bratislava, 2015, https://cusp.uniba.sk/en/

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Focuses on biotechnology, biomedicine and environmental medicine. Participated in the EcoInn Danube Interreg project.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

University Science Park of the University of Žilina, 2015, https://uvp.uniza.sk/sk_SK/

Focus on smart transport systems, smart production systems, advanced materials and technology and ICT.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

AgroBioTech Research Centre in Nitra, 2015, https://www.uniag.sk/en/agrobiotech-research-centre/

Priorities are agrobiology, the processing technology of agricultural products and the agri-food industry, biotechnology, genetic technologies, agroecology, bioenergetics, and bioeconomy.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

Research Centre of the University in Žilina, 2015, https://vyskumnecentrum.sk/o_nas

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Focus on monitoring and evaluation of transport infrastructure conditions, progressive materials for transport infrastructureture and vehicles production, design and operation of smart building and renewable energy sources.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

Research Centre of Applied Material Research and Technology Transfer Centre in Martin, 2016

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

Research Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies for Current and Future Applications “PROMATECH” in Košice, 2015, https://promatech.sk/

Focus on: advanced steels and alloys, powder metallurgy materials and products, ceramics and hardcoating, materials and technologies for biomedical and environmental applications, ICT and cryptechnologies and advanced magnetic materials.

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

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Centre for the Applied Research of New Materials and Technology Transfer in Bratislava

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

ALLEGRO Research Centre in Bratislava, 2016, http://www.vca.sav.sk/

Focusing on research of nuclear energy and development of new materials for new generation nuclear reactors

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

Medicine and biomedicine research: Medical University Park in Kosice, University Science Park for Biomedicine in Bratislava. Biomedical Centre Martin, Research and Development Centre for Immunologically Active Substances in Šarišské Michaľany

No dedicated focus on eco-innovation. Not explicit, but not exclusionary

Not explicit, but not exclusionary Cross-cutting

other

About the

Eco-Innovation

Observatory (EIO)

The Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) is the initiative financed by the European Commission’s Directorate-

General for the Environment. The Observatory is developing an integrated information source and a series

of analyses on eco-innovation trends and markets, targeting business, innovation service providers, policy

makers as well as researchers and analysts.

Visit EIO and DG ENV EcoAP website and register to get access to more information

and to access all EIO reports, briefs and databases.

www.eco-innovation.eu

ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap