ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the general problem of dematerialisation and on the dematerialisation approach as the starting point for a new environmental strategy in Poland. The environmental policy focuses on correcting the critical stress and emissions situations. Efficient environmental policy in transforming economies requires a new design: strong orientation towards increasing resource efficiency and increasing the role of market forces and competition as a strategy for higher cost consciousness and a higher rate of innovation. The chapter discusses the role of increasing resource productivity for sustainable development. The dematerialisation concept provides ecological guard-rails for long-term economic development. The chapter provides the question of why dematerialisation is a good and desirable approach for environmental strategy in central and eastern Europe. It deals with a new design for input oriented environmental policy and discusses some key points for input oriented environmental policy in Poland.
