New trends in environmental costs reduction in industrial engineering in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Nowadays more and more emphasis is put on the protection of the environment. It is a natural and legitimate requirement of Society and States considering the growing pollution and devastation of the environment around us. Industrial activities that support economic and social development are inseparable from ecological impacts. Companies do not only produce economic value but, through their production and consumption, they contribute substantially to environmental pollution and damage. Companies in the Czech Republic are awakening to the necessity of searching for ways that provide economic development with a minimum impact on the environment. The result of such an attitude is not only greater concern for the protection of the environment, including savings in energy and raw materials, but also enhancement of the companies' competitive advantage and business credibility for investors, banking institutions or insurance companies. A process approach to environmental costs management and the identification and measurement of environmental costs are prerequisites for improving the future performance and competitive advantage of industrial enterprises in the twenty-first century. The goal of this paper is to provide a new identification, classification, measurement and management of costs associated with damage to the environment. The paper deals with new approaches to reducing such costs, which is a necessary prerequisite for the protection of the environment and for ensuring sustainable development.

Keywords:

• environmental management accounting
• environment costs
• environment management systems
• voluntary environmental instruments
• waste

1. Introduction

A company is a part of its surroundings, which means each company has a social and environmental responsibility for its surroundings. Economic, environmental and social aspects are thus interconnected. Companies do not only produce economic value but, through their production and consumption, they contribute substantially to environmental pollution and damage. States, society and even companies themselves are awakening to the fact that most minerals and raw materials are non-renewable and that damage to the environment is difficult, if not impossible, to repair. In the last 20 years the trend towards environmental responsibility has grown in industrial production, although such concern for the environment is in its infancy in the Czech Republic. However, the pressure from Society, State and the European Union on companies to implement an environmental approach is increasing. The willingness to change is most obvious in those companies that perceive a positive environmental attitude to their activities to be a means of enhancing their competitive advantage by a differentiation of their products and services in the market place (Fidlerova et al. 2008).

1.1 Environmental objectives versus economic objectives

Many companies are aware of the conflict between economic and environmental objectives because the fulfilment of environmental objectives may incur an economic cost. However, economic and environmental objectives need not contradict each other. Fulfilling one group of objectives can even positively influence the fulfilment of the other group of objectives. Figure 1 represents this relationship (Fidlerova et al. 2008).

Figure 1 Relationship between environmental and economic objectives.

There are questions to be answered such as: what is the benefit of implementing an environmental management system (EMS) for a company? and, is the environmental approach worth it?

If a company reduces its consumption of raw materials by reducing waste, it is financially beneficial for that company as well as being beneficial to the environment. This link may improve the environmental attitude of a company especially when that company realises that there are other potential benefits that may include: enhancement of the company image for customers and society; and improved business credibility for investors, banking institutions or insurance companies. Environmental attitude is related to company culture and business ethics which play an important role when seeking business partners, obtaining grant subsidies and government contracts (Fidlerova et al. 2008).

2. Environmental management accounting (EMA)

The total costs can be reduced by regulation of company environmental costs. In order to regulate environmental costs, it is first necessary to identify those costs. EMA is integral to company management and an instrument for the identification of such costs. The main tasks of EMA include cost identification, data collection and the preparation of estimations, analyses and reports. Collectively these activities contribute (Jasch 2006):

•	information about material and energy flows;
•	information about environmental costs; and
•	other information expressed in values that are the starting point for decision making in a company.

EMA enables both financial flows and physical and energy flows to be observed. EMA consists of two subsystems (Jasch 2006):

1.	Monetary EMA – MEMA and
2.	Physical EMA – PEMA.

Within EMA the information from both subsystems is interconnected and the value aspect of material and energy flows is expressed. The information that is monitored relates not only to a company as a whole, it can even relate to particular business processes, sections and plants. Among the aims of EMA are (Remtova 2003):

•	enhancing efficiency of material and energy utilisation;
•	mitigation of environmental impact of company activities, products and services;
•	mitigation of environmental risks; and
•	trading income improvement.

2.1 Environmental costs

Although there are many definitions of environmental costs, there is no unified definition and classification of environmental costs. It can be stated that the environmental costs are expenses for actions and activities that prevent pollution and spending to reduce, eliminate and clear up contamination.

Different authors (Vaněček and Hyršlová 2002) have different opinions about the concept of environmental costs. Some believe that the benefit of environmental activities should be the original intention. For other authors it is the resulting effect that is important, not the original intention. This is more like a philosophical question because it may be difficult to say what the initial motive for an activity was. The environmental benefit and result of a decision is important for the environment, even if this benefit was not the initial intention and motive for the given decision.

The following text arises from a definition of environmental costs proposed by an Expert Working Group on ‘Improving the role of Government in the Promotion of Environmental Managerial Accounting’ (Jasch 2006). Environmental costs are divided into the following four groups:

1.	Waste and emission treatment;
2.	Prevention and environmental management;
3.	Material Purchase Value of non-product output; and
4.	Processing costs of non-product output.

These costs are provided for assignment to the following classes (according to The Environmental Protection and Resource Management Accounts of SEEA 2000, Jasch 2006):

•	Protection of ambient air and climate;
•	Waste-water management;
•	Waste management;
•	Protection of soil and ground-water;
•	Noise and vibration abatement;
•	Protection of biodiversity and landscape;
•	Protection against radiation;
•	Research and development; and
•	Other environmental protection activities.

It is also important to monitor environmental revenues that could include subsidies, awards and other earnings like income from the sale of waste. On the basis of the information gained the environmental cost scheme is compiled. The identification of all costs connected with the environment is a very important instrument for reducing environmental costs and, consequently, total company costs. However, in many companies, the environmental costs are hidden in the overhead costs and are thus disregarded by management.

Research was conducted by the University in Pardubice and the University in Brno as part of a project for the Czech Science Foundation regarding ‘Information about environmental costs for environmental management’ (Ritschelova 2008). Questionnaires were sent to 208 companies, registered in the REM-CZ register; and 89 companies (43%) returned the completed questionnaire. According to this research, 76% of the interviewed companies monitored their environmental costs. Costs of compliance with environmental regulations and waste disposal were usually the only costs considered as environmental costs. Part of the costs relating to environment conservation is hidden in overhead costs. Material purchase price is obviously not included in the environmental costs.

The focus on allocation of environmental costs by companies was sub-divided as follows: 31% of companies considered section lines; 17% of companies considered products and 15% of companies considered processes. Because of this endeavour to identify the environmental costs, costs allocation to particular cost objects is more precise (Ritschelova 2008).

2.2 Waste

The ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ (PPP) is valid when considering environmental costs regulation. The task is to investigate where and why the waste arises and how its origin can be prevented.

A company has two ways of preventing pollution:

1.	better housekeeping assisted by EMSs and
2.	changes in product design through utilisation of other materials or changes in production processes (Jasch 2006).

For EMA purposes waste includes solid waste, waste water and air emissions. Companies should pay attention to waste because waste is a non-product. Waste is a material that was bought and paid for but did not become part of a product intended for a market. Waste is, therefore, an indicator of production inefficiency. It is in every company's interest to eliminate waste because the company has to pay three times for non-product output:

1.	at purchase;
2.	during production; and
3.	at disposal (Jasch 2006).

In order to calculate non-product costs it is necessary to compile a material and energy flow balance. The principle of the balance is obvious: the quantity of material and energy that goes into the process must come out of the process again or be a part of the inventories. The flow balance features material and energy input as well as the final number of products, waste, waste water and air emissions. Inputs and outputs are measured in physical units (kg, t, GJ/period). By means of the balance it is possible to enhance the utilisation of material and energy flows from both economic and environmental point of views. The total amount of waste produced in the Czech Republic within the last five years is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Production of waste in the Czech Republic according to origin in accordance with Branch Classification of Economic Activities by regions, 2002–2007 (Environmental Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2008).

Waste (in thousand tons)	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Agriculture and forestry waste	5817	5281	3876	2180	1304	782
Mining and quarrying waste	597	689	685	612	459	107
Industrial waste	9510	7938	7647	5794	6575	6418
Waste from water treatment and distribution	819	755	669	1085	413	485
Construction and demolition waste	5924	6632	9179	8952	8684	15,196
Wastes from energy prod. (excl. radioactive)	6425	6602	5305	1884	2047	1900
Waste from sanitation and similar activities	–	257	393	280	1369	120
Municipal waste	4615	4446	4651	4439	3979	4130
Other waste	4261	3487	6299	4576	4605	2316
Total	37,968	36,087	38,704	29,802	28,066	31,453

3. Environmental regulations

Company environmental behaviour is, to a certain extent, a question of companies' self-determination. On the other hand companies are liable to regulation by their state, the European Union or international institutions. There are three levels of environmental costs regulation and environmental policy (Fidlerova et al. 2008):

•	company level;
•	national level; and
•	international level.

On the company level, environmental behaviour is dependent on managerial decisions. On the basis of the overview of the environmental costs and revenues it is possible to identify opportunities for improvement. A problem for current managers is that they may consider EMA to be a matter for accountants. However, this is a misconception because investment into natural processes, utilisation of soil and energy, the choice of means of transport and usage of waste fall within management competence (Vaněček 2008).

Regulation at the national level and the level of environmental protection differs from state to state and this can really be a problem. International companies can move their production to other states and thus gain a competitive advantage resulting from the fact that poor environmental standards apply in many developing countries. That is one of the reasons why production costs are very low in these countries.

Environmental policy regulation at EU level is binding for all member states. The main feature of EU environmental policy is that it applies two important principles:

•	the ‘precautionary principle’ and
•	the ‘polluter pays principle’.

3.1 IPPC – Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

The Directorate-General Environment (DG Environment) is a central environmental organ of the EU. DG Environment is one of the 36 Directorates of the European Commission and it defines and implements new environmental legislation and ensures the introduction of adopted measures in the individual member states. IPPC is an EU legislative regulation that is based on the precautionary principle and that is obligatory for big polluters. IPPC requires that the best production technologies technically and financially available are used.

Limitation to the pollution caused by industrial and agricultural activities is the main priority of the EU in the environmental field. Environmental damage mitigation strategies that, up to now, have played a decisive role are moving into the background. This applies especially to ‘end-of-pipe’ technologies. Nowadays the emphasis is put on integrated prevention which means a change from ‘end-of-pipe’ technologies to the ‘best available techniques’ (BAT) for preservation of the environment as a whole.

At the international level the protection of the environment is assured by a variety of multilateral or bilateral international environmental agreements among individual states. The most significant documents include:

•	Agenda 21 – undersigned at the OSN conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and
•	Kyoto Protocol – concluded in Japan in 1997. This protocol refers to the OSN Framework convention on climatic changes. The industrial countries committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gases emissions by 5.2%.

4. Voluntary regulating instruments

Companies can be voluntarily environmentally-proactive beyond the remit of legislation. Companies have a range of voluntary environmental instruments at their disposal that include:

a.	Environmental management system;
b.	Cleaner production;
c.	Ecodesign;
d.	Life-cycle assessment (LCA); and
e.	Ecolabelling.

4.1 EMS regulation

Environmental management constitutes a systematic approach to the protection of the environment and covers all aspects of a business. Through environmental management a company incorporates environmental care into its business strategy and every day operation.

Environmental management is an integral part of the whole company management system. An implemented EMS contributes to durable economic growth and company prosperity and at the same time reduces the negative impact of its activities, products and services on the environment. This socially responsible strategy arises from the sustainable development principle that ensures that current needs are met without preventing the next generation from meeting their own needs. Many companies have implemented an EMS because the company management believes it to be prestigious and beneficial to business.

At present there are two standards for EMS implementation:

•	Technical standard ISO 14000 and
•	Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

The implementation of these EMS standards is different because the number of requirements specified by each standard is different. Some of the items required in EMAS are merely recommended, or sometimes not even specified, in ISO 14000. The main differences in the requirements are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 General differences in the requirements for ISO 14001 and EMAS (Vaněček 2008).

	ISO 14001	EMAS
Force	Worldwide	EU members
Acceptance	All kinds of companies (e.g. industry, services, public service)	All organizations that have impact on the environment
Implementation	Economically separate parts of a company or a company as a whole	In the whole company area
Introductory environmental review	Not requested but recommended	Compulsory
Public documents	Only environmental policy	Environmental policy and the declaration about the state of the environment
Environmental declaration	None	Is requested
End of the process	Certification	Verification of declaration about the state of the environment
End of the process ensured by	Auditor of a certification company	Accredited environmental verifier
Frequency of audit	Not provided	Three-year most
Logo usage	None (except the certification authority logo after an agreement)	Usage of EMAS logo
Registration	In terms of issued certifications by particular certification organisations	Corresponding subjects of particular member states

Because of the stricter requirements imposed by EMAS on a company, only 28 Czech Republic companies are certified according to EMAS; whereas about 3000 Czech Republic companies have obtained certification according to ISO 14000.

4.2 Cleaner production

Cleaner production, along with Ecodesign, LCA and Ecolabelling, is included within the so-called ‘preventive strategies’. As the term suggests, the preventive strategies seek to prevent environmental damage through the identification and elimination of the sources of pollution and damage to the environment. Preventive strategies are much more effective than reactive strategies because the latter simply endeavour to mitigate the consequences of production.

The concept of cleaner production is being connected with the integral preventive strategy which is applied especially to the production sector. The aim of this strategy is to do away with those causes of environmental pollution that are a consequence of production.

Within cleaner production the material and energy flows are monitored in order to identify the sources of undesirable waste. Afterwards the possibilities of elimination of these sources are explored by considering (Remtova 2003):

1.	ease of technical feasibility;
2.	final economic efficiency; and
3.	environmental efficiency.

All the company processes are observed as a whole – in terms of their impact on all domains of the environment.

The main features of cleaner production are (Remtova 2003):

•	preventive approach to solving the problems;
•	integration principle;
•	wide range of the application (processes, products, services); and
•	economic benefits.

Within cleaner production the type of product, technology used, machines and equipment, raw material, work organisation and adherence to the manufacturing processes are controlled.

Although cleaner production activities began in the Czech Republic in 1992, the application level of cleaner production is in practice rather low, as can be seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The number of cleaner production projects intiated in the Czech Republic (www.cenia.cz).

Thanks to this approach environmental costs are significantly reduced and the concept of ‘double utility’ (environmental and financial) is fulfilled.

In many companies the expensive ‘end-of-pipe’ technologies still prevail. These technologies do not solve the problem at the source as they only adjust the emissions and transfer the waste to another part of the environment. The most obvious ‘end-of-pipe’ technologies are, for examples: refuse compactors, collection containers and vehicles, waste heat recovery systems, air pollution filters, noise abatement investments and sewage treatment plants.

According to investigations (www.cenia.cz) carried out in 2003 and 2004 by the Czech Statistical Office, companies with end-of-pipe technologies still prevail in the Czech Republic. In 2003 the total investment for environment conservation was about 418 k EUR; 57.5% of this investment volume was for end-of-pipe technologies. A year later the situation seemed to be slightly more favourable as the proportion of investment expended on end-of-pipe technologies had reduced to 52%. However, the total investment for environment preservation had dropped to 374 k EUR. Conversion from corrective measures towards prevention is indisputably a positive trend.

4.3 Ecodesign

While cleaner production focuses on a company as a whole, the concept of ecodesign concentrates on product development and design. The main purpose of ecodesign is to design a product with a minimum impact on the environment in its own life-cycle (from cradle to grave). Within ecodesign all phases of the product life are considered, especially:

•	getting the raw material;
•	production;
•	usage; and
•	disposal.

This means that the method of disposal is considered during product design. It is therefore the most preventive and economical approach towards the mitigation of a product's negative impact on the environment.

Product innovation volume in the Czech Republic, however, is unsatisfactory. On the basis of an Innovation and Development Centre investigation from 2004, it was observed that only 45% of the total investment in development and innovative technologies in companies was spent on new technologies and equipment. However, only 2% was invested in design projects (Situation Analysis of Ecodesign in the Czech Republic 2004).

4.4 Life-cycle assessment

The LCA method is an information instrument of an environmental policy. Its main purpose is to compare inputs (material and energy flows) to production and outputs (production and services, waste) to the environment that enable the negative impacts of a particular system on the environment to be determined. LCA provides information about the impacts of a product in terms of its whole life.

4.5 Ecolabelling

Ecolabelling is a system that certifies that specific products and services have less negative impacts on the environment than those of their competitors and are, therefore, friendlier to the environment. This system is directed by an independent third party.

The products and services that apply for the certification have to meet many requirements concerning: quality of the product (service); particular production phases; use of raw material and technologies and final disposal.

In recent years, the idea of green public procurement has arisen in respect of the process of government purchases. Government and public institutions prefer to buy products and services that are friendly to the environment. Companies are thus motivated to produce products and services mindful of the environment. Public institutions are among the greatest consumers in the European Union, spending about 16% of the EU GDP. The growing pressures towards the protection of the environment along with the demand for ‘greener’ products create opportunities as well as threats for companies.

In the Czech Republic the ecolabelling system is executed as the National Programme of Environmentally Friendly Products Labelling, respectively, on the basis of the Government decree Nr. 159 from 7 April 1993.1 The Czech ecolabelling programme is so far much cheaper than foreign programmes, as a registration fee of only 735 EUR needs to be paid (Vlčková 2008).

5. The situation in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is slowly beginning to realise its environmental responsibility and is taking steps towards protection of the environment.

The continuing extensive occurrence of old environmental burdens (contaminated sites) in the Czech Republic is one of the remnants of more than 60 years of non-democratic regimes (1938–1989) which were not greatly concerned with the protection of the environment and management of harmful substances in industrial and other types of production. It was only after democracy was introduced in 1990 that systematic efforts were made to remedy these contaminated sites to any real degree. It has so far not been possible to introduce a uniform, nationally coordinated approach to resolving these issues and some areas have not been resolved at all (Environmental Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2008).

It can be stated that the state of the environment of the Czech Republic has largely stabilised during the first decade of the twenty-first century (after a dramatic improvement between 1990 and 2000). However, some indicators, especially those related to air quality, may indicate the beginning of new negative trends.

The most significant signs of environmental improvement in the Czech Republic include (Report on the Environment in the Czech Republic 2008):

•	a considerable decrease and subsequent stabilisation of sulphur dioxide emissions in the air;
•	global compliance with emission limits for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene and lead;
•	improvement of water quality in major watercourses (elimination of quality classes IV and V according to CSN 75 7221 classification);
•	high degree of waste sorting and recycling, and the use of waste for material purposes; and
•	a significant decrease in the energy intensity and certain signs of a decrease in the material intensity of the Czech economy.

The following areas of the environment continue to be in the same condition or have become worse (Report on the Environment in the Czech Republic 2008):

•	over-limit air pollution in up to one third of the area of the Czech Republic, including most big cities;
•	big noise load upon the inhabitants;
•	hard to solve problems with illegal waste management (especially waste imported from abroad); and
•	increase in emissions of solid pollutants from tyre, brake and road surface abrasion related to increase in conveying capacity of both domestic and transit transport.

Trends in greenhouse gases emissions in the Czech Republic are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 The emissions of carbon dioxide and other direct greenhouse gases in the Czech Republic, 1990, 1995, 2000–2006 (Environmental Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2008).

Greenhouse gas	Mt CO2eq
	1990	1995	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
CO2	159.8	123.5	119.3	120.6	117.0	119.9	120.5	119.4	124.4
Of which, CO2 emissions	163.9	131.1	126.8	128.3	124.6	125.9	126.6	125.9	127.9
Of which, CO2 sinks in LULUCF	− 4.1	− 7.6	− 7.5	− 7.7	− 7.6	− 5.9	− 6.1	− 6.5	− 3.5
CH4	18.5	13.7	12.2	12.3	12.1	11.8	11.6	11.7	12.0
N2O	11.9	8.1	7.7	7.9	7.6	7.2	7.8	7.5	7.4
F gases	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.7	0.7	1.0
Total (including LULUCF)	190.3	145.4	139.6	141.4	137.3	139.7	140.6	139.3	144.8
International air transport	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.1
LULUCF, land use, land use change and forestry.

Many companies are not familiar with the concept of environmental accounting, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) which show little interest in this issue. They work to keep within regulatory limits and to minimise their environmental costs. This problem is aggravated by the absence of a simple methodology to monitor the environmental costs and revenues in SMEs.

The situation is much better in larger companies which often have a proactive attitude to protection of the environment. They often compile their own environmental accounting system to manage their high environmental investments and significant operating costs.

One of the main features of production in the Czech Republic is its high material and energy consumption (see Table 4), a company's potential to reduce its consumption and cost is therefore significant.

Table 4 Overall energy balance sheet for the Czech Republic, 2003–2007 (Environmental Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2008).

Indicator	PJ
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007^a
Domestic natural resources	1352.2	1350.6	1343.0	1363.8	1357.2
Of which
Solid fuels	1047.9	1037.9	1045.7	1055.9	2052.6
Liquid fuels	13.3	14.1	13.3	12.1	10.4
Gaseous fuels	5.3	6.8	6.5	6.2	6.4
Primary heat and electricity	285.7	291.8	277.5	289.6	287.8
Imports	792.4	785.7	841.0	880.9	851.2
Of which
Solid fuels	49.8	61.1	43.7	74.9	86.5
Liquid fuels	376.9	382.9	428.4	423.8	428.4
Gaseous fuels	329.4	306.5	324.4	341.0	299.6
Exports	335.4	333.5	329.5	365.5	377.1
Of which
Solid fuels	193.8	207.3	196.2	232.7	234.8
Liquid fuels	42.9	28.2	36.1	36.0	28.0
Gaseous fuels	3.9	6.1	7.2	10.0	19.3
Drawing on inventories	7.3	50.9	4.4	− 0.5	48.2
Primary energy resources used in the Czech Republic	1815.9	1849.5	1855.7	1878.7	1878.5
Of which
Solid fuels	908.8	907.6	899.4	914.9	933.2
Liquid fuels	343.0	371.4	389.8	390.9	416.4
Gaseous fuels	336.9	335.4	334.6	328.9	300.3
Primary heat and electricity	227.2	235.1	231.9	244.0	229.6
Total losses	720.0	730.7	724.9	750.8	750.8
Final consumption, total	1088.8	1118.8	1130.8	1128.7	1128.7
^aPreliminary data.

This turns out to be a very important aspect of reducing environmental costs under the conditions of huge economic growth in China and other countries that causes an increase in the price of raw materials. These economic changes have been pushing forward the transition towards preventive strategies as a necessary prerequisite of sustainable development (sustainable) production and consumption.

Increasing attention is being paid to the environmental impacts of industrial and agricultural activities by state institutions, society and even companies themselves. Another trend in the Czech Republic is that the responsibility for the state of the environment that was originally borne by the state has been gradually dispersed to polluters and the public.

The Czech Republic is now in the first phase of ecological tax reform. The aim of the reform is to transfer the taxation of labour towards taxation of final products and services whose production and consumption has a negative impact on the environment and human health. The ecological tax reform is going to proceed gradually in three phases until 2017:

•	first phase: 2008–2009;
•	second phase: 2010–2013; and
•	third phase: 2014–2017.

The tax will apply to solid fuels, natural gas and electricity. The reform should motivate modernisation of the economy and investment on effective technologies, to enhance employment and mitigate the pollution that is harmful to human health and the environment.

6. Summary

Nowadays increasing emphasis is being placed on the environmental responsibility of a company. Additional finance must be committed to environmental protection and the elimination of pollution. Environmental costs can represent a substantial part of a company's total costs, and management must effectively regulate them in order to reduce the total costs. In many companies the environmental costs are subsumed within the general overhead costs and are thus disregarded and neglected by management. In order to effectively regulate its environmental costs it is necessary for the company to first identify these costs by collecting data using an appropriate information system. The data can subsequently be compiled and evaluated. On the basis of the analysis of environmental costs and revenues, convenient steps may then be taken to enhance company profitability and reduce the total costs. Reducing environmental costs is a necessary prerequisite for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development on the one side, and for enhancing the company performance on the other side.

Acknowledgements

This paper is an extended version of a conference paper published in the Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM).

 Tereza Kadlecová would like to express her gratitude to her supervisor Prof. Ing. Lilia Dvorakova whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped her throughout her research.

Notes

^1. Aid programme for environmental technologies in the Czech Republic Program, 2005. Ministry of the Environment in the Czech Republic.