Account Environmental Requirements Research Articles

Modern tools for managing the climate economy of Kazakhstan

Object: The purpose of the article is to examine the effects of climate change and propose appropriate measures to reduce emissions.
 Methods: The article used systematic, analytical and statistical methods to manage the climate economy. The research methodology draws on qualitative research into current and evolving issues related to the impacts of climate change. To systematize the methods, official statistical data from the Global Change Data Laboratory and the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan were used.
 Findings: The article analyzes per capita carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry, as well as the dynamics of costs and investments in air and climate protection. According to the authors, government policy to ensure reliable energy to achieve sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without taking into account environmental requirements. Reliance on low-cost, carbon-intensive energy solutions while ignoring environmental issues makes it difficult for the country to reduce its carbon emissions. Climate economics must focus on lean production.
 Conclusions: Modern tools for managing the climate economy should be aimed at effective planning for the use of natural resources, the use of digital technologies to track and manage energy, and investing in enterprises involved in the disposal of food waste.

Digitization and globalization: Navigating the impact on social capital, natural resources, and environmental sustainability

The impact of digitization in the context of globalization on the formation and preservation of social capital, natural resources, and the environment has been considered. In examining state strategies towards digitization and its influence on social capital, principles such as specificity, integrity, historicism, and rationality were employed, along with methods of comparison and constructive criticism, as well as categories of essence, necessity, and measure. Historical, anthropological, ontological, political, axiological, and dialectical methods played a significant role in reflecting the characteristics of the information age, defining strategies, and priorities for the development of states and social capital. Countries that vigorously integrate digitization into human existence tend to develop faster, reap economic benefits, thereby contributing to the preservation of social capital. Additionally, the processes of digitization become essential for creating a digital space for the formation of digital social capital and the digital individual, each possessing unique characteristics. The digitization of social capital processes entails the introduction of digital technologies into the ontological environment of individuals, where they become part of human reality. Both positive and negative aspects of digitization have been identified, with the impact of digitization on social capital formation being complex and multifaceted, depending on the state’s development strategy in this direction. Digital technologies facilitate communication, increase access to information and resources, promoting the development of social connections and cooperation, ultimately enabling quick responses to environmental challenges for the preservation of the environment. Digitization is one of the characteristics of a society of sustainable development. Within the concept of this society, it allows accumulating social capital, developing the economy, taking into account environmental requirements. From a practical point of view, digitalization is a condition for structural changes in organizations, as a result of which the processes of internal and external communication and management change. The development of a digitalized society, in which the accumulation of social capital takes place, has a positive effect on the implementation of the principles of sustainable development: the combination of nature conservation and social development; satisfaction of basic human needs; achieving equality and social justice; ensuring social self-determination and cultural diversity; maintaining the integrity of ecosystems.

EU OPEN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY POLICY AS A TRIGGER OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND A CHALLENGE FOR REGULATORY COOPERATION

The purpose of the article is to study the instruments of the policy of strategic autonomy of the European Union with an emphasis on projects of common European interest, and to assess its impact on the development of the industrial potential of member countries in the context of intensified economic competition in the international arena, accompanied by the erosion of regulatory cooperation. EU strategic autonomy aims to reduce the productivity gap between the EU and the US in all sectors of the economy. Strategic autonomy, among other things, is aimed at updating the EU’s comprehensive industrial strategy, which will help counteract trends of deindustrialization, expand access to venture capital, and accelerate the formation of a truly single capacious market of EU member states. Strategic autonomy will affect the prospects for building a sustainable, climate-neutral and cost-effective system that contributes to the growth of citizens’ well-being. It has been established that the new approach to industrial policy is closely related to the policy of strategic autonomy of the EU; a whole range of measures is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of industrial policy: the adoption of an Action Plan for the proper implementation and compliance with the rules of the single market; review of EU competition rules; development of an Action Plan for the protection of intellectual property, which involves ensuring the technological sovereignty of the EU; combating the theft of intellectual property, improving legislation in the field of public procurement, taking into account environmental requirements. The New Industrial Policy identifies the key factors in the EU’s industrial transformation and aims to achieve a threefold objective: maintaining global industrial competitiveness and a level playing field both in the domestic market and at the global level; turning Europe into a climate-neutral part of the world by 2050; achieving digital leadership in the world. In essence, we are talking about a new quality of economic growth, a new environmental model. The strategy is aimed at increasing the strategic autonomy of the EU in a period of increasing global competition and provides for reducing dependence on external supplies of critical raw materials, developing key technologies strategically important for the industrial future of Europe. The EU’s strategic autonomy policy restricts trade and competition in several ways: through the implementation of quantitative restrictions (quotas; import bans; bans on foreign investment); through price controls, subsidies and standards that apply equally to domestic and foreign suppliers; by establishing new digital policy rules (new restrictions on data regulation; data exchange obligations; taxes on digital services; regulation of digital services markets). Choosing unbalanced policy priorities can lead to reduced investment efficiency, slower competition, slower innovation, and worsening productivity and technology gaps between the EU and the US. The regulatory potential of strategic autonomy to promote market distortions is usually justified by the benefits of safety for society, ethical and environmental considerations, welfare effects for consumers and increased competitiveness of producers, however, it is predicted that it will inevitably produce losses that will be incurred by economic entities. manufacturing practices, review of value chains and supply chains, and due to legal uncertainty associated with how regulation is developed and applied. This inevitably indicates the risks of increased regulatory competition on an international scale.

On transition to hydrogen metallurgy

The article shows that climate change is not only warming, but also extraordinary natural phenomena (droughts, floods, storms, tornadoes etc), which lead to significant economic damage. Climate warming is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere. The main task is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. An analysis has been carried out of international documents such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. It is shown that a significant amount of CO2 enters the atmosphere during the production of pig iron and steel, the data on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from steel smelting in Ukraine and at «Azovsteel» iron and steel works have been provided. The article contains a critical analysis of the existing steel production technology, which is highly efficient but requires significant capital investment, fuel and energy resources, the source of which is the product of heat treatment of hard coal – coke, its carbon in the form of CO2 entering the atmosphere. Numerous proposed methods of steel production without the use of this coke are considered. One of the directions was the production of sponge iron without melting, another direction of coke-free metallurgy was high-temperature processes of obtaining liquid metal, that are carried out in one stage. The theoretically required amount of reducing agent at of iron with carbon monoxide and hydrogen has been determined. Methods of producing renewable gas by conversion of natural gas and gasification of coal are considered. The plans of the Metinvest Group management to develop a long-term technological strategy for metallurgical production taking into account environmental requirements are presented

BIOCHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF VERMICULTURE BIOMASS GROWN ON POULTRY LITTER FERMENTED BY THE ACCELERATED METHOD

The intensive increase in the number of meat poultry, directly broiler chickens both in our country and in the most countries of the world, is accompanied by the accumulation of a large amount of waste (droppings with litter) of this technology in limited areas. According to a number of researchers, the utilization of this biomass must take into account environmental requirements and challenges. These requirements are met by the utilization of poultry droppings by means of vermiculture (growing worms). It is promising to prepare the droppings of broiler chickens with bedding for its use as a substrate for vermiculture by composting with the participation of biodestructors (microbiological preparations). However, the problem of the influence of poultry droppings in the composition of the substrate fermented with the help of biodestrutor BTU-CENTER on the chemical composition of vermiculture biomass remains unstudied. The material for study was the biomass of worms grown on a substrate containing broiler droppings fermented with various doses of a biodestructor. In the control group, vermiculture biomass was grown on a substrate that included 92.0% by weight of broiler chicken droppings with litter fermented for 540 days without the use of a biodestructor and 8.0% wheat straw. In the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd experimental groups, worms were grown on a substrate consisting of 92.0% by mass of broiler chicken droppings with fermented litter for 180 days using the BTU-CENTER biodestructor, respectively, in the amount of 3.75, 7 .5 and 11.25 cm3/t and 8.0% wheat straw. The content of total protein, lipids, ash, zinc, ferrum, copper, lead and cadmium was determined in vermiculture biomass. It has been proven that the content of total protein in vermiculture biomass grown on broiler chicken droppings fermented with a low dose of biodestructor almost does not change. In the biomass of worms obtained on a substrate with the content of broiler droppings fermented with a biodestructor in the amount of 11.25 cm3/t, the total protein content increases by 2.1% compared to the control one. A statistically significant increase in the content of lipids in the biomass of vermiculture grown on a substrate containing broiler droppings fermented with the highest dose of biodestructor (experimental group III) was established. The difference with the control group was 6.7%. It was proven that the more biodestructor was used for fermentation of poultry droppings, the higher the content of total ash was found in the vermiculture biomass grown on it, comparing the I, II and III research groups. The highest ash content was found in the control one. The difference with the experimental groups was 18.1, 12.1 and 6.0%, respectively. Using the substrate with the content of manure fermented with a biodestructor in doses of 7.5 and 11.25 cm3/t, the content of ferrum in the vermiculture biomass was lower than in the control group by 1.95 and 0.76%, respectively. The highest content of copper and zinc was found in the biomass of worms from the control group. In the biomass of vermiculture grown on a substrate with manure fermented with a biodestructor at a dose of 11.25 cm3/t, the content of copper and zinc was lower than in the control group by 2.5 and 0.9%, respectively. It was established that the content of lead and cadmium did not exceed the maximum allowable norm for growing vermiculture on a substrate containing broiler chicken droppings fermented with a biodestructor.

Features of recreation land use and settlement of suburban areas of large cities

The article highlights theoretical and practical issues of agricultural land use in Ukraine and examines foreign experience. An in-depth scientific analysis of international and domestic literature has been carried out. On this basis the main patterns and trends of land use development, the main factors and consequences of suburbanization, the basics of developing the Concept of state regional policy, the world experience of land lease and the stages of land relations reform in Ukraine have been identified. The main factors influencing suburbanization and the use of suburban territories are considered. The necessity of delimiting suburban areas and developing a project of inter-farm land use, which should take into account the peculiarities of geographical location and socio-economic consequences, environmental factor, is noted. The analysis of statistical data on the use of land areas of Ukraine is carried out. Tasks have been identified, the implementation of which will contribute to the development of socio-economic conditions of settlements in the suburban area. It is indicated the need to conduct land use taking into account environmental requirements, compliance with the rules of environmental protection, land resources. The use of land resources of different countries is investigated. The analysis of the efficiency of land use and methods of farming in developed countries is carried out. Aspects of agricultural production support are considered: The regulatory mechanism in different countries is characterized by a variety of financial and economic instruments that change in accordance with the political and economic situation. The state policy of Ukraine regarding land use and the main provisions of agribusiness support are investigated. The necessity of developing methodological provisions for the implementation of land ownership rights is noted. It is pointed out the importance of ensuring the equivalence of exchange at all stages of the movement of the created value from the field to the final consumer.

The formation of the architecture of the future taking into account environmental requirements

The article discusses the creation of harmonious architectural objects based on the principles used in the systems of natural organisms. Using the experience of wildlife for the creation of modern structures is a promising direction. Analysis of living organisms when studying the laws of material economy, energy security and reliability of life can help to master new principles in architecture. New technologies taken after scientific research of natural processes are energy-saving homes; smart homes; healthy homes etc. The paper contain the examples of the use of natural materials –for example, wood – in construction of high-rise buildings maintaining optimal environmental parameters.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE DESIGN OF THE INDUSTRIAL AND POST-INDUSTRIAL ERA

The purpose of the article is to analyse the historical and cultural aspects of the ideological and conceptual essence of the foundations of the art project design. The research methodology includes a comprehensive approach that combines historical and cultural analysis methods to identify the process of formation of design as a cultural phenomenon. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that design is considered through cultural and historical issues, and the authors have identified the main features of industrial and post-industrial era design and characterised the designing tools. Conclusions. It is established that arising from the pragmatic needs of the development of the market of mass consumer goods, design becomes a general cultural factor and changes the world of things and the very way of socio-cultural existence of a person. Design is transformed into a henomenon that combines mass consumption, functional perfection, economic feasibility, convenience, utility, aesthetic expressiveness of things and the human environment. The article analyses what tools and tools are used to create images in designing. The role of design in visual culture is clarified. For a holistic understanding of the design features, the authors have analysed the transformations in the society of the 20th and early 21st centuries. With the help of design, new values, norms and meanings are formed in the cultural space, issues of individual freedom and individuality are raised, and spatial orientations, actions and forms of existence of each person and society are expanded. The emergence and development of new trends in design, and the high importance of design thinking in modern culture require scientific theoretical understanding, which determines the relevance of research. The authors provide a direction of scientific, educational and cultural vectors of Ukraine to pan-European standards and solutions to problems of improving the quality and safety of goods and the human environment, the implementation of innovative design technology, the preservation of national cultural traditions in the conditions of unification of production, taking into account environmental requirements in the designing of the objects, as the main factors of design development in Ukraine.

Green consumer culture as a factor of sustainable development of society


 
 
 
 Insufficient development of the environmental culture of society and the existing consumer culture leads to an aggravation of the ecological situation on the planet. Therefore, increasingtheawarenessandresponsibilityofthemodernconsumersocietycanbeaworthy response to this global challenge. In this regard, the process of forming a green consumer culture and greening public consciousness becomes an important object of research. In turn, this requires a conceptual analysis of the terms of environmental culture and consumer one, the features of their formation and development in society in the context of a sustainable development strategy, as well as the study of their constructive synthesis in the concept of green consumer culture. The authors define green consumer culture as a culture of behavior of an individual and society as a whole, focused on optimizing industrial and household consumer activities, taking into account environmental safety, environmentally and economically balanced value orientations based on the principles of sustainable development. Green consumer culture includes cultural and activity forms of changing the nature of consumption of natural resources, energy, food, transport, industrial and agricultural goods by individuals and society in the direction ofdeveloping environmentally balanced value orientations and behavioral patterns. In particular, this leads to a reduction of wastes. The formation of the green consumer culture of an individual by means of education for sustainable development implies a holistic approach to a human, society and nature, an understanding of the unity of modern scientific knowledge, humanistic and environmental values. The transformation of the consumer culture of an individual and society as a whole involves changing material and spiritual values, knowledge, patterns and norms of consumer behavior in the direction of spreading sustainable and environmentally balanced practices. In the context of educational tasks, this implies creation of conditions for sustainable consumer socialization as a process of developing environmentally responsible skills in order to reduce wastes, taking into account environmental requirements and socio-cultural needs of a sustainable development society. The authors prove that green consumer culture is an important factor in the sustainable development of society, as well as a basis of the modern environmental education and education for sustainable development as a more complex integrated form of obtaining knowledge and mastering the skills of environmentally balanced behavior.
 
 
 

Substantiation of the green approach in the formation of a sustainable system of ecological logistics

Purpose. Development of a methodology for substantiating a green approach in the formation of a sustainable system of ecological logistics. Methodology. In the research process the following general scientific and applied research methods were used: correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between 2 emissions and consumption of major energy sources; regression analysis to determine the main trends in 2 emissions for the main regions of the world; the methodology for calculating emissions from fuel combustion by road transport for assessing 2 emissions by various modes of transport; the improved methodology for assessing gas emissions and calculating the CO2 emission factor when forming a ring route during the transportation of goods. Findings. The work studies global trends in the dynamics of changes in carbon emissions by areas of activity. Trend forecasting models have been developed for changes in the dynamics of carbon emissions for the main industrial regions of the world. Using the correlation-regression analysis of the relationship between the increase in the dynamics of 2 emissions and the consumption of energy resources of the world in the context of the worlds major industrial regions, significant relationships were found between carbon emissions and the consumption of major energy sources. The work provides a methodological approach to determining the level of carbon emissions from vehicles and accounting for the carbon emission factor in the formation of logistics routes and tariffs for road transport in the context of the formation of sustainable systems of ecological logistics. As part of the methodological approach implementation, 2 emissions for road transport were estimated and calculations were performed for different types of cars. It was proposed to include the carbon emission factor in the calculation of the tariff for road transport, which will make it possible to form target funds at enterprises as part of the creation of a sustainable system of environmental logistics. Originality. The methodological approach has been substantiated to determining indicators of the sustainability of ecological logistics systems in the context of developing a methodology for calculating 2 emissions, which makes it possible to solve the problem of forming transport routes taking into account environmental requirements in the field of reducing 2 emissions by various modes of transport. Practical value. The proposed methodological approach to calculating emissions from fuel combustion by road, including the assessment of CO2 emissions and the calculation of the carbon emission factor when forming a ring route during the transportation of goods is recommended for use by scientists, specialists and practitioners in the field of green logistics.

IMPROVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE GAS AND OIL FIELDS OPERATION

Background Hydrocarbon resources are the main source of energy. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future. In fact, with the beginning of oil and gas production, intensive industrial development began. However, the development of oil and gas fields has a large impact on the environment, especially when errors occur or the production process is not fully controlled. Aims and Objectives The article is devoted to the analysis of complex schemes for environmental protection with extreme environmental conditions, which include a comprehensive hygienic assessment of the territory, sanitary zoning of the territory, ecological analysis of the territory. Comprehensive schemes make it possible to identify environmental problems of the development of the territory, to develop a system of environmental protection measures in the form of a targeted environmental protection program. Results It is shown that complex schemes make it possible to identify environmental problems of the development of the territory, to develop a system of environmental protection measures in the form of a target program for environmental protection. The program consists of the following main blocks: target, which defines the main problems and tasks to be solved, characteristics of the initial level and final results; providing, containing a set of environmental protection measures necessary to achieve the planned parameters of the state of the environment; resource, containing a financial assessment and data on resource provision of the planned activities; organizational and managerial, which provides a sequence of actions in the implementation of the program, management system, control and economic incentives. As a result of the development of the program, conditions are created for solving environmental problems, taking into account environmental requirements at all stages of design, conducting environmental certification of all enterprises, planning environmental protection costs, taking into account the sequence and structure of capital investments and the share participation of polluting enterprises, as well as correcting previously admitted environmental mistakes.

Improving the energy efficiency of railway rolling stock, taking into account environmental requirements

Improving the energy efficiency of railway rolling stock, taking into account environmental requirements

Integrated design and construction approach to hydrotechnical structures in Eritrea

During the process of design and construction of water management facilities and structures, such as reservoirs, dams, spillways, water intakes, etc., it is important to pay attention to the specific conditions of a particular country. Since the rapprochement among Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti in 2018, the geopolitical dynamics of the region has changed to a different level. These regional changes will significantly contribute to the development of extractive and processing industries, agriculture, trade, construction and tourism in Eritrea. However, all these developments unquestionably require sustainable and efficient water use, intensive development of water management and water technologies, among others. Based on the specific conditions of Eritrea, identification of existing main trends in the design and construction of water management facilities and structures followed by formulation of practical recommendations and future directions has been the focus of this study. Reliable and relevant information has been processed and analysed using general scientific research methods, including generalization and analysis, synthesis and analogy, historical and hypothetical methods of cognition. This paper comprehended that the design, construction and operation of water management structures should consider the predominantly hot climatic condition of the country, while observing the main development trends in the field. These activities help in ensuring reliable and trouble-free operation of hydraulic structures, using modern and progressive achievements of hydraulic engineering science and global practice in the field of dam engineering and construction of culverts taking into account environmental requirements and norms, and using modern high-performance mechanisms and methods of production of hydraulic works. Moreover, the hydrological and water management conditions of Eritrea are characterized by limited water resources, poor knowledge of water bodies, and lack of reliable hydrological, meteorological and geological information. Under these circumstances, it would be necessary to use mathematical modelling for understanding and forecasting hydrological processes in river basins.

Техногенные риски строительства и эксплуатации нефтегазовых комплексов в акватории Каспийского моря

The article touches upon the problem of technogenic risks arising in the course of building and operating oil and gas complexes in the Caspian Sea taking into account the adoption of the Con-vention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and regulation of the territorial division of the Caspian Sea. Technological risks are presented from the position of safety of industrial facilities in the offshore area and in the coastal zone, the impact of these facilities on the ecology of the Caspian is considered. The risk analysis was carried out taking into account world experience, as well as incidents that occurred at the offshore oil and gas production facilities in the Caspian Sea. There has been presented the layout of oil and gas fields at the bottom of the Caspian Sea and the division of the bottom based on adopting the Convention. A general description of the Caspian Sea has been given; unique features of the Caspian and the most unexplored seismic effects have been stated. It has been recommended to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the state of the seabed according to seismological, mud, volcanic and engineering-geological conditions; to develop measures for preventing and reducing the damage from hazardous natural processes and exploitation of oil and gas fields; to forecast the fluctuations of the Caspian Sea level, taking into account today’s economic activity; to study the natural and technogenic factors determining the environmental safety of the Caspian Sea; to monitor seismic phenomena, crustal movement in zones of tectonic faults at the sea bottom, etc. The speed and direction of wind currents in the Caspian Sea have been analyzed. The maps of mud volcanoes location in the Caspian basin (located on land, hidden and identified by seismic, geological, geophysical and geochemical methods, etc.) are illustrated. Conclusions are made about the high risks for developing hydrocarbon deposits in the Caspian Sea basin. There is the need to take into account environmental requirements and standards, to use modern technologies, to prevent incidents at offshore oil and gas production facilities.

Investment development of agroindustrial complex based on the demands of environmental safety

The article proves the need to develop innovative approaches to the economic relations organization related to investment, as the requirements of environmental safety change. The authors conducted the research of the agroindustrial complex development in Russia, taking into account environmental requirements. The dynamics and structure of investments in fixed capital for environmental protection and rational use of natural resources are analysed. Special attention is devoted to the state financing of investment projects aimed at ensuring environmental safety in agroindustrial complex of Russia. Measures to take into account environmental requirements in the development of investment projects by agricultural enterprises of Russia are proposed.

MODERN TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAMEROON AND WAYS TO ENSURE ITS SUSTAINABILITY

It has been established that agriculture is the backbone of Cameroon's economy, where 80% of the labor force is engaged in the agricultural sector and provides 22.3% of gross domestic product and 30% of its export revenues. The investigated branch forms the commodity supply of agricultural products both on the domestic and foreign markets, the following types of products: cocoa, coffee, cotton, bananas, palm oil, tobacco, tea, pineapple, corn, millet, sorghum, yams, potatoes, beans and rice. It has been determined that the livestock sector has been developed throughout the country and plays an especially important role in the northern region of the country. It has been proved that the main goal of the country's agricultural development is to ensure food security, whose achievement is strongly influenced by globalization of climate change. For the country under study, the country's orientation towards a "product concept" is characteristic, in which the main objective is to ensure the physical and economic availability of agricultural food. The strategic priorities in the country's agricultural development, which include the mobilization of local resources for intensive production taking into account environmental requirements, are highlighted. It is substantiated that today specialized regions have been formed in relation to the production of certain types of products, which allowed to increase the productivity of agricultural crops. It is noted that there are differences in indicators of productivity of agricultural production in farms and research stations, which proves the existence of unused reserves for improving production efficiency. The characteristic features of development of agricultural production of the country are systematized: low level of technical support; a manifestation of the tendency to increase the land of farms; the prevalence of small commodity producers; low income farmers; predominance of informal economic relations; use of manual labor; complicated access to loan financing sources; low level of involvement of commodity producers in value added chains. It is proved that under conditions of intensification of investment activity in the country's agriculture and realization of the foreseen measures of the strategic national plan, conditions and preconditions for effective development, modernization of production infrastructure, access of farmers to sources of financing and other components of sustainable development will be formed. It is highlighted that one of the conditions for the sustainable development of agriculture in the country is the intensification of agricultural production, which will promote ecological and social sustainability. Important instruments for its achievement are technological innovations in the direction of introducing new or improved agro technology of cultivation and modern management practices, new breeds of farm animals and poultry, integrated practices for improving soil fertility and widespread replacement of manual labor. Innovative solutions need to be coordinated with the specifics of the production process, and in terms of environmental and water and energy intensity. Key words: agriculture, food safety, farmer, innovation, investment attractiveness.

SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The primary impediment on the road to sustainable growth are, developed above actual needs, patterns of production and consumption, realized at the expense of pollution of natural environment, depletion of natural resources and deterioration of the quality of life of current and future generations. The concept of balanced and sustainable consumption is an alternative to abusive consumption. It takes into account environmental requirements as well as the rules of social responsibility. Sustainable consumption allows for continuous reproduction of the object of consumption and reaching durable, relatively equally distributed individual and social wealth in a long period of time. Durable consumption, being an interpretation of sustainable development in the sphere of consumption, assumes increase of buyers’ awareness, as they make responsible decisions and limit their material needs. The article describes the essence of sustainable development and sustainable consumption and presents consumer trends and movements related to it.

Environmental analysis in construction company economic activity: approaches, methods, indicators

Taking into account that construction is one of the resource-intensive economic sectors, which is reflected in natural capital consumption and taking out the land resources from the turnover, it significantly affects the environmental situation. The conducted review of the previous research in the environmental analysis confirms the importance of the aforementioned problem and the urgency of research continuation to develop a tool for the environmental subsystem management in terms of companies’ sustainable development management. As a uniting tool for quantitative and qualitative analytical methods providing the basis for the choice and implementation of the strategy taking into account environmental requirements, we proposed a method for building of a construction company environmental profile, a scorecard with specific indicators underlying such profile as well as approaches for their reference level formation. To ensure the growth of the companies' environmental responsibility, it was proposed to increase the range of the estimated figures used for the formation of the construction companies' rankings including the environmental indicators into the system alongside with the economic and social figures with the account of the achieved outcomes both on the basis of the instantaneous and rate indicators.

Efficiency of the enterprise on the basis of improving the quality of products by example: JSC «EVRAZ ZSMK»

In article the efficiency of work of the enterprise on the basis of improvement of quality of production is considered. The results of the production and economic activities of JSC EVRAZ ZSMK are analyzed, and the effect of product quality changes at the research site is analyzed. In the materials of the study, the authors argue that the importance of improving the quality of products in the current economic conditions, because faced with fierce competition not only in the external, but also in the domestic market, enterprises are forced to look for new ways and approaches to improving quality, as well as new forms of work on quality. The authors presented the results of EVRAZ ZSMK activity on improving the quality of products, and the main objectives of the work on the quality of industrial enterprises are presented: customer satisfaction; compliance with clearly defined needs and purpose; obtaining economic benefits for the manufacturer; compliance with applicable standards and technical conditions, taking into account environmental requirements; maintaining a competitive price. The article identifies the factors that need to be taken into account to improve the economic efficiency from improving the quality of products. Particular attention is paid to the means of achieving high quality products in order to take the most successful position in the current economic conditions of the Russian economy. According to the results of the research, the authors have identified and substantiated the need to improve the quality of products, as it allows: to increase the volume of sales, hence, the size of profit; ensure the competitiveness of products; improve the image of the enterprise; reduce the risk of bankruptcy and ensure a stable financial position of the enterprise; expand sales markets.