Environmental Fund

The Environmental Fund is a state fund established to support environmental projects from national resources, mainly from pollution charges and revenues from the sale of emission allowances. Unlike EU funds, it is a purely Slovak instrument with simpler administration and its own rules. The fund publishes specifications of activities and calls every year, through which municipalities, towns, self-governing regions, budgetary and contributory organisations, and businesses apply for grants or preferential loans. Areas traditionally supported include the construction of sewerage systems, wastewater treatment plants and water mains, increasing the energy efficiency of public buildings including the insulation of schools and municipal offices, separate waste collection, remediation of environmental burdens, nature protection, and the purchase of alternative-fuel vehicles. Applications are submitted electronically through the fund's portal by set deadlines. For smaller municipalities, the Environmental Fund is often a more accessible route to funding than EU funds, since co-financing is usually only around 5%.