The idea of creating the Charles University Environment centre came from the Faculty of Natural Sciences. The director of the Faculty Environmental Institute in his letter addressing Mr. prorector Maly claims that "the need to create an institution focusing on activities relating to the environment is emphasized by the recent changes in our republic, as well as in whole Europe." The main aims, according to the proposal, should have included "inspirational, initiation and later also coordination agenda in the pedagogic and research process." The management of the University accepted the proposal after many consultations, and the Academic Senate approved of its establishemnt, so the centre started working following its Statute. This statute has mostly reflected the original proposal. One difference is the organizational integration of the centre into the University, entailing a direct subordination to the president, while the original idea considered the placement at the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Should we compare the current situation of the centre with the original plans, we can be delighted to state that the plans were fulfilled. From the outset, the centre has been addressing the issue of environmental education, participating in research and other projects and coordinating many environmental and sustainability issues within the University as well as beyond it. Thanks to the financial sources from different grants the centre gradually succeeded in creating an independent research team focusing on the topics of sustainability indicators, environmental economy and education for sustainability.
