SUSTAINABILITY AS AN ELEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN COMPANIES

The concept of sustainable development involves a properly and consciously shaped relationship between economic growth, care for the environment and life quality. The aim of this concept is to ensure the ability to provide the basic needs of both the present generation and also future generations. This concept introduced the need of environmental protection and most of all the change of environmental man-agement strategies. One of the elements this strategy is waste minimisation that involves reducing the amount of waste produced in society and helps eliminate the generation of harmful and persistent wastes, supporting the efforts to promote a more sustainable society. The aim of the article is to introduce the definition of the concept of sustainability with regard to the environment. Waste minimisation in companies, which is connected with this concept, will be also presented.