Eco-innovations in Poland - the extent of changes, development and barriers

Competitiveness and innovation are indicators of the strength of the circular economy (CE). Eco-innovations are highly important because they lead to the reduction of energy consumption and to lowered CO2 emissions. They also contribute to effective waste management and the use of materials that are less polluting or dangerous to the environment. These investments will increase Europe's economic competitiveness through environmental protection, the creation of new jobs and the promotion of entrepreneurship. The article indicates the scope and directions of changes in the implementation of eco-innovations in Poland and the obstacles that slow down the process of their activation. The presented ecological innovations were divided into: process, product, organizational and marketing. The data analysis was based on reports from the European Union (Eurostat), the Central Statistical Office (Polish: GUS) and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Polish: PARP). In the summary, attention was drawn to the biggest barriers to the putting into place eco-innovations. Among these are the lack of financial resources, too high costs of eco-innovation implementation, legal obstacles and bureaucracy. The benefits for the environment are obvious, but investment costs often outweigh the financial possibilities of manufacturing or service, and, therefore, they are a factor slowing down the introduction of CE in Poland.