Eco-innovation as a tool to support sustainable development and increase the competitiveness of enterprises

Research background: For several years, the world´s leading producers have been looking for new possibilities for an environmentally sustainable production model that will make it possible to generate ecological products. Eco-innovation is a tool for increasing the competitiveness of producers, reducing their costs and providing new solutions for customers whose environmental awareness is constantly growing. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the paper is to point out the key characteristics eco-innovations measurement and to define basic attributes that allow answering strategic questions for the future application of eco-innovations in business practice, identify new possibilities of applying eco-innovations and finding suitable support formats. These attributes will be defined on the basis of knowledge of the theoretical background of the issue of eco-innovation, analysis of strategic documents at the EU level and evaluation of successful projects. Methods: An analysis of the available scientific literature including electronic sources with a subsequent synthesis of the acquired knowledge, will be applied for the factual theoretical definition of solved problem. Descriptive statistics indicators will assess the current situation and development of the eco-innovation segment at EU member state level. Findings & Value added: The results will enable business practice to understand the essence of eco-innovation, get to know this environment and the current trend, as well as to create a suitable platform for planning successful eco-innovation projects