The Impact of Firms’ Activities on Regional Sustainable Development

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the goals and indicators of sustainable development at various levels of regional socio-economic systems. Various approaches to the assessment of sustainable development were analysed. To assess the impact of a company’s activities in the social, environmental and economic spheres on the sustainable development of the region, a traditional econometric analysis was carried out using panel data. A set of socio-economic indicators was used to build an econometric model that evaluates the relationship between various elements at different levels of management. The indicator of life expectancy in the region was chosen as the final variable, as it reflects the totality of factors affecting the standard of living of the population. Based on an econometric analysis of interdependence, the indicators that can have an impact on the development of the region were identified. These indicators include the level of gross domestic product (GDP), the average salary in the enterprise, the costs of environmental protection, the levels of emissions produced by the company and the number of employees who have received higher education. In the course of the study, the authors confirmed the influence of a company’s activities in the social, environmental and economic spheres on certain aspects of sustainable development in the Russian Federation.