Idea Of Sustainable Development Research Articles

ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ESG-ПРИНЦИПІВ У РОБОТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ: ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ТА РЕАЛІЗАЦІЯ

The introduction of progressive ideas of sustainable development in the modern world, their spread to the level of enterprises led to the formulation and expansion of the influence of the concept of sustainable development of the organization. Sustainable development of the organization involves progressive positive movement and qualitative transformations aimed at long-term perspective and related to the conscious and focused interaction of the enterprise with the external environment, taking into account the goals of increasing its competitiveness. In this way, a clear connection between the global concept of sustainable development and the activities of a specific organization aimed, in particular, at making a profit, is recorded. Progressive ideas of sustainable development, on the one hand, put forward new requirements for the approaches and quality of human resources management and directly for personnel management services at the enterprise, on the other hand, inevitably change the requirements for the employees of the enterprise. ESG does not contradict the interests of society and entrepreneurship, but on the contrary, they are compatible them. In conditions of increased uncertainty, corporate values specified by ESG criteria can become additional points of support for entrepreneurship. In addition, sustainable development involves industrial, environmental, and information security, which is especially relevant today. Not only foreign investors are guided by ESG criteria, but also many stakeholders, in the conditions of the outflow of foreign capital, the source of capital will be the state, which will also evaluate enterprises from the perspective of these criteria. Currently, when the concept of sustainable development is gaining more and more influence at all levels, including the level of individual enterprises, attitudes towards human resources and approaches to personnel management have undergone significant changes. With the growing role of human resources in achieving the goals of sustainable development, the role and responsibility of organizations is increasing. The organization's compliance with ESG principles contributes not only to the realization of socially and economically significant large-scale goals, but also to improving the image and attracting investments to the company.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Global transport policy and planning now prioritise sustainability above all else. Similar to sustainable development, the definition of sustainable transportation is wide, allowing for the designation of some kilometer and policies as “sustainable” even when they follow standard operating procedures. Therefore, it is imperative that sustainability concepts be properly integrated into and applied to the transportation sector. Frameworks for performance measurement provide an efficient means of doing this. Much work has gone into comprehending and implementing the idea of sustainable development in the transport sector during the last 20 years.1. We may get knowledge from a plethora of study and experience in this area. However, there hasn’t been much headway in implementing more environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Given the rising demand for infrastructure and mobility in many areas, the detrimental effects of transport are probably only going to get worse (Dulca 2013; AfDB et al. 2012). For instance, the expansion in passenger and freight traffic, particularly in emerging nations, is predicted to need over 25 million paved road lane kilometers and 335,000 rail track kilometers worldwide by 2050 (Dulca 2013). To put this into context, the total length of all road and railway networks worldwide would have increased by 60% as a result (ibid.). In line with these projections, oil consumption is anticipated to rise in 2035, mostly due to demand from China and India, while it is likely to decline in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

ЦЕЛИ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ И СОПУТСТВУЮЩИЕ РИСКИ

The article considers the risks connected with the practical attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In the circumstances of the complex world crisis, the SDG can be used as a cover on the way to quite different goals, as one of the means of the struggle for power and influence. It is suggested among other things by the very origin of the idea of sustainable development which was put forward in the 1970s by the Club of Rome with its underlying globalist agenda. In the 21st century, the problems of the SDG acquire special importance in connection with the fall of Western world dominance. The SDG can in fact be used by a part of Western elites among methods of imposing of Western world view onto all countries. For instance, the agenda of “green energy” connected with a number of the SDG, in reality, can be used to set to zero the successes of the industrial competitors of the West. In fact, it is one of the West’s responses to the intention of other centers of power (first of all Russia and China) to quit the Bretton Woods system in the circumstances of the impending financial crisis and the change of economic paradigm. Also, in connection with the SDG, the West can use such an instrument of geopolitical struggle as the imposition of its values (democracy, human rights, tolerance, etc.) onto the whole world. That said, the West not only pretends to have the monopoly right to interpret these values but also pushes them forward selectively, having a blind spot for its client states. However, the intrusion into other civilization spaces proves to be counterproductive. The understanding of Western “double standards” has been rising in the world, as well as of the fact of Western centuries-old aggressiveness. The consequence is the strengthening of regional and national institutions and processes. A detailed analysis of the SDG with consideration to risks for world stability and human nature itself may prove indispensable for peoples’ defence of their cultural identity, their state sovereignty, and the human being as an ethical creature.

МІСЦЕ ТА РОЛЬ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ПІДПРИЄМНИЦТВА У СТАЛОМУ РОЗВИТКОВІ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ УКРАЇНИ

The article defines the place and role of social entrepreneurship in the sustainable development of Ukraine, examines the correlation of the goals of such development with the spheres of activity of social enterprises. It is noted that social entrepreneurship is designed to become one of the factors of sustainable development of the state, since the main goal is to improve a person's well-being and quality of life, and the main directions of the mission of this economic phenomenon are social, cultural or environmental changes. It is determined that social entrepreneurship contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, since the priority is not economic efficiency, but the need for sustainable social transformations, the formation of civil society, improving social justice, providing social elevators, improving the well-being of certain groups of the population, their quality of life. At the same time, it uses innovative entrepreneurial approaches, activates self-employment and self-realization of the population. It is proved that social enterprises can become institutions, conductors of sustainable development of the national economy of Ukraine. It is determined that most social entrepreneurs act in a targeted way – causing qualitative changes among a certain group of people or in a certain territory. It is proved that social entrepreneurship is characterized by the investment nature of activity – the principle not to expect a short-term effect or benefit, but to strive to get structural changes in the social sphere, long-term results. It is noted that in relation to large businesses, for the goals of sustainable development, the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility by the owners and top management of the company will be of great importance, because social entrepreneurship is actually the conductor of ideas for Sustainable Development. Two forms of implementation of the social mission are defined: the social aspect of the activity itself – employment, professional development and education; the social result of the activity, for example, the production of socially significant goods or the creation of new social opportunities. It is stated that social entrepreneurship, smoothing out market failures, is implemented because of protest against business models that permeate all spheres of modern life. Attention is focused on the fact that the spheres of social entrepreneurship meet the challenges set by the Sustainable Development Goals. It is proved that social entrepreneurship can help not only ensure effective economic growth of the state, but also contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which include, among other things, effective employment, poverty eradication, universal education and Prevention of global warming.

Sustainable innovation of Polish enterprises

The company's innovativeness is largely influenced by external factors, which is influenced by the increasing demand for new products, pressure from competition, or accelerating the processes of europeanization and globalization. An enterprise described as innovative is considered to be better and more desirable. Businesses recognize that they need to understand where the market is heading and create products and services that fit with it. The entrepreneurs understand that they need to innovate so as not to be left behind. The aim of the paper was to show the importance of the issues of sustainable development in relation to the innovativeness of Polish enterprises. The paper presents the idea of sustainable development, the concept of innovation and sustainable innovation in business. The theoretical considerations have been extended to the presentation of selected projects for sustainable innovations in enterprises in Poland and around the world. The considerations were also enriched with the results of research conducted among the managerial staff of selected Polish enterprises located in the Silesian Voivodeship. The research was conducted in the period November 2021 - March 2022 among companies that were known to have experience in activities related to sustainable development. The aim of the research was to get to know the awareness of management staff about sustainable development and to find out what importance is given in companies to issues related to sustainable development and sustainable innovation, how it affects their company and what actions are taken to further take into account the principles of sustainable development in their activities.

Школьное атласное картографирование для образования в интересах устойчивого развития: тема «Водные ресурсы мира»

The goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is to help students develop knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to make local and global decisions to improve the quality of life without posing an environmental threat to the future of the planet. At present, there is an abundance of public statistical information related to sustainable development. Many digital platforms and open-source software offer tools to create your own maps and diagrams. However, in order to use it for educational purposes, it is necessary to provide at least basic training on statistical data systematization and visualization for high school students. In addition, it is important to develop manuals and guidelines to help students identify the most suitable data for their tasks. The inclusion of new plots and topics in the content of the traditional educational geographic atlas is an optimal and one of the most promising approaches to integrating the ideas of sustainable development into school education. The main result of the conducted research—is the inclusion in the content of the school atlas “Economic and Social Geography of the World. Natural resources. Population. Economics” of new cartographic plots on the topic of conservation of the global water resources. The following World maps have been developed—“Water resources availability” (1:160,000,000); “Water scarcity” (1:250,000,000); “Surface water resources” (1:160,000,000); “Pollution of the hydrosphere” (1:160,000,000); “Global marine mineral and energy resources” (1:160,000,000); “Global marine biological resources” (1:160,000,000). School atlas maps, created from the standpoint of sustainable development, help to develop understanding of global issues in students and to build their motivation for finding new solutions.

Awareness of green supply chains importance for consumers in the Republic of Croatia

Cooperation between producers, suppliers and customers with the aim of improving environmental sustainability, i.e. reducing emissions, waste, solid waste and consumption of toxic materials, represents the basic idea of sustainable development in the supply chain. Following the above, the paper investigates the perception of consumers regarding the importance and role of sustainable development in the supply chain in the Republic of Croatia. The results of the research indicate that every age group of Croatian society is approximately equally familiar with the concept and principles of green supply chain management and there is no statistically significant difference between younger and older age groups. After conducting necessary statistical tests, it has been concluded that consumers who have completed higher levels of education are better acquainted with the concept of GSCM and on general more environmentally conscious.

Socio-culturally Embedded Vedic and Ethnoecological Knowledge: Decolonising Perspectives and Practices

This study explored the Vedic and Ethno-ecological knowledge embedded within cultural practitioners, teachers and students. To obtain the objective of this explorative and decolonising study, I purposively selected two Ethno practitioners, two science teachers and four students. About 55 minutes focus group discussion was carried out with selected students and near about one-hour interview was carried out with Ethno practitioners and teachers. The collected information was transcribed and then translated into English and main themes were identified using the Rhizomatic approach by connecting the nodal point to identify main themes. Then each theme was analysed using the abductive approach to justify the participants' arguments. The finding indicates that Vedic and socio-cultural practice consisted of world peace and sustainable development ideas. Cultural students learned this knowledge by seeing their elders' day-to-day practice. Teachers are also seen aware of the effect of modernisation but show reluctance to implement it in school science teaching. Local as well as the central government could be serious to implement Vedic and Ethnocultural knowledge to preserve the earth as well as the whole universe. The Vedic and Ethno knowledge is seen fully supported for the decolonising western-based pedagogical practices.

Reflections On Crossing The Boundaries Between Public And Private Law In Implementing The “European Green Deal."

Climate change brings new challenges to the world. With its high environmental standards, the European Union is one of the most active players in global climate action. We are currently witnessing an extremely rapid process of transforming the political doctrine of the European Union into hard-law standards legal system. The so-called "European Green Deal" implements ideas of sustainable development in the area of, among others, energy, waste, but also transport, construction and electronic equipment sectors. One of the instruments for implementing the "European Green Deal" is the "Circular Economy", which, using European Union law, profoundly interferes with the economic freedoms of entrepreneurs but also consumers. Observing these activities can be interesting, especially when viewed from a certain distance and critical perspective. This text is devoted to analysing selected regulations constituting the currently created "European Green Deal" and its agenda. It also aims to indicate regulations interference in the sphere of private law, which has not yet been so much the domain of environmental law. The author presents a hypothesis on a gradual transgression of the traditional boundary between public and private law or the blurring of that boundary in the case of recent environmental legislation of the European Union.The dogmatic-legal analysis applied to the currently binding regulations for a fuller understanding also requires the application of the historical-legal method to earlier regulations. Their joint application makes it possible to indicate the direction of the new law dedicated to implementing the newest environmental-legal doctrine of the European Union. The layout of the study was subordinated to this aim, as well as its structure. The study is based on national and international literature on business law, environmental law and administrative law. Legal status up to date as of 31.07.2021.

Competitiveness of EU Member States Regarding the Implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy Assumptions

The Europe 2020 Strategy occupies a prominent place in the European Union's (EU) cohesion policy as a long-term programme for social and economic advancement. The main objective of the strategy is to implement the idea of smart, sustainable and inclusive development. An important priority implemented by EU countries in the context of implementing the assumptions of the Europe 2020 strategy is smart growth, i.e., the development of an economy based on knowledge and innovation. This requires significant spending on research and development and the use of mechanisms that enable the rapid transfer of theoretical knowledge into economic practice. The Europe 2020 strategy has set new targets for increasing competitiveness and accelerating the development of EU regions and countries. For all regions, including the economically weakest ones, the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals has been an important stimulus for the development and increase in competitiveness of EU regions. The decade just ending justifies carrying out assessments that must be intricately linked to the analysis of indicators set by the European Commission within the framework of the strategy's three priorities, i.e., smart, sustainable and inclusive development. The aim of the article is to assess the degree of implementation of the assumptions of the Europe 2020 Strategy in EU Member States. With the use of a synthetic indicator calculated using a multidimensional comparative analysis based on the Hellwig method, a ranking of EU countries, in terms of implementing the Europe 2020 Strategy assumptions, was established. The main indicators proposed by Eurostat for monitoring the Europe 2020 Strategy were applied for the assessment. As a result of the conducted research, conclusions were formulated regarding the importance of the Europe 2020 Strategy in the implementation of the cohesion policy principles in EU Member States. The research results show that the countries that have achieved the best results in the implementation of the assumptions of the Europe 2020 Strategy are also leaders in the ranking of competitiveness taking GDP per capita into account published by the European Commission.

Formation of the modern paradigm of countering gender-based violence in the activities of international organizations

The author conducted a retrospective review of the activities of international organizations through the prism of their role in forming the legislative foundation for combating gender-based violence. It is noted that for the first time at the international level the norm of equality of all people was enshrined in Art. 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. An important step towards combating gender-based violence was the signing in 2011 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The Istanbul Convention visualizes the issue of gender-based violence. It has been determined that women and girls are increasingly exposed to severe forms of violence, such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage, crimes committed in the name of so-called "honor", and genital mutilation, which constitutes a significant violation of human rights. for women and girls and is a major obstacle to achieving equality between women and men.
 The author singles out three conditional periods of formation of the modern paradigm of counteraction to gender - based violence in the activity of international organizations: 1) 1945 - 1974. The basic foundations of gender equality are laid at the level of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Combating gender-based violence was not considered through the prism of sex discrimination. The activities of the world community were aimed primarily at combating discrimination against women in the political, socio-economic and cultural spheres of society. 2) 1975-2010.During this period, all 4 World Conferences on the Status of Women were held. In 1979, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Articles 30 of the Convention clearly define discrimination against women and propose an agenda for action at the national level to end such discrimination. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the General Assembly in 1993, contains a definition of violence against women. 3) 2011 - to the present time. This period covers the process of realizing the scale of the spread of gender-based violence. A key event of this period was the adoption in 2011 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Activation of the world community to intensify the fight against gender-based violence. Adoption of sustainable development goals, in which gender equality is recognized as the general idea (Goal 5) and condition of sustainable development.

Sustainability Culture of Polish Universities in Professionalization of Management

The process of management professionalization is progressing in many universities in the world. It results from the growing importance of technology, globalization, social and economic transformations, including the requirement of competitive operation in market conditions. This process is based on the principles of social responsibility for the quality of services provided with transparency as well as respect for the idea of sustainable development. The subject of the considerations in the article is the impact of sustainable development on the culture of the quality of professionalization of management in universities operating in Poland. The exploratory inspiration came from the authors’ own experiences and secondary sources, including books, articles and reports. The research methods used were participant observation and critical analysis of the content of the collected materials. The obtained results made it possible to design and conduct a descriptive and explanatory nomothetic study based on survey with direct questionnaire. The collected material became the basis for implementation of the idea of sustainable development and its impact on the quality culture of professionalization of university management in the future. The suggestions proposed by the authors may be used by university managers to define a development roadmap in the field of professionalization of teaching and organizational processes management based on the concept of sustainable development.

The Significance of Cultural Policy—Case Study of South Korea

The main research problem that this article focuses on is: does a wide-ranging cultural policy contribute to the implementation of the idea of sustainable development in practice? This article aims to show, using the example of South Korea, the importance of the state’s cultural policy as a factor that is conducive to economic success and an increase in the standard of living of a society. This policy leads to the evolution of society from one centered on the mass consumption of material goods to one centered on the mass consumption of cultural goods, which, combined with the development of creative industries, contributes to the implementation of the elements of sustainable development in practice. The research methods used in the work were the study of literature in the studied area, the analysis of documents and reports on cultural policy, and the development of cultural and creative industries. An assessment of the degree to which pop culture development in South Korea is a factor in the economic development of the country, given its commercial nature and its ability to increase the standards of living of an entire society, was also carried out. The example of South Korea shows the benefits for the national economy of promoting creativity and culture. Preferences and consumer attitudes are shaped in areas that have a minimal impact on the natural environment and the exploitation of natural resources.

Small wins enhancing sustainability transformations: Sustainable development policy in Finland

No country is on its way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by the year 2030. The expectations for rapid transformations have not materialized, and hence a strategy combining both incremental and more radical changes is needed. Such strategies have been discussed in other fields, but they have been largely unaddressed in relation to sustainable development. This article seeks to increase understanding of how changes of various sizes interact in sustainable development policy. Here, we utilize the concept of small wins as concrete, implemented and often incremental changes that can create momentum for larger-scale changes. By analyzing key government documents and reports, interviews, questionnaires and workshop material, we study Finland's sustainable development policy. We focus on changes in the realms of the 4Is, meaning institutions, interests, information and ideas. Based on the research, Finland has been particularly successful in building multi-sectoral institutions and mainstreaming the idea of sustainable development. There is a vast information base available. In practice, however, various conflicts of interest remain unsolved. We conclude that while a sustainable development policy based solely on small wins can be too slow and incremental to meet the major sustainability challenges of our time, it would pave the way for more transformative reforms. These include, for example, the current Government Programme based on the idea of sustainable development and challenging the status quo on various fronts.

Health-Related Parameters for Evaluation Methodologies of Human Operators in Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

Human factors have always been an important part of research in industry, but more recently the idea of sustainable development has attracted considerable interest for manufacturing companies and management practitioners. Incorporating human factors into a decision system is a difficult challenge for manufacturing companies because the data related to human factors are difficult to sense and integrate into the decision-making processes. Our objectives with this review are to propose an overview of the different methods to measure human factors, of the solutions to reduce the occupational strain for workers and of the technical solutions to integrate these measures and solutions into a complex industrial decision system. The Scopus database was systematically searched for works from 2014 to 2021 that describe some aspects of human factors in industry. We categorized these works into three different classes, representing the specificity of the studied human factor. This review aims to show the main differences between the approaches of short-term fatigue, long-term physical strain and psychosocial risks. Long-term physical strain is the subject that concentrates the most research efforts, mainly with physical and simulation techniques to highlight physical constraints at work. Short-term fatigue and psychosocial constraints have become a growing concern in industry due to new technologies that increase the requirements of cognitive activities of workers. Human factors are taking an important place in the sustainable development of industry, in order to ameliorate working conditions. However, vigilance is required because health-related data creation and exploitation are sensible for the integrity and privacy of workers.

Life Cycle Assessment of Coated and Thermally Modified Wood Façades

Façades—their design, aesthetics, performance, type of cladding material, and understructure—determine architectural expression and form unique appearances of individual buildings. In connection to the sustainable development idea, wood façades provide one of the alternatives of a contemporary building exterior look. Façade cladding made of coated and thermally modified wood can be successfully used for these buildings. In addition, thermally modified wood allows the use of local European wood species, while keeping cladding elements relatively thin. On the other hand, wood has certain structural limitations and disadvantages due to the properties of wood. The main weakness is caused by the surface durability of wood and its related need for maintenance over time. The scope of the study was a comprehensive assessment of coated non-heat-treated and thermally modified wood façades, performed in terms of life cycle assessment. The aim was to identify which type of wooden façade had the lowest environmental impact. According to the EN 15804 + A2 standard, the principle of evaluation of environmental parameters “cradle-to-gate-with options” was used to evaluate wooden façades and coatings and surface preservation methods. Simulations with the SimaPro program showed that the thermal modification of wood has a significant impact on the environment at the product stage. Nonetheless the thermally modified façade without any surface coating showed the lowest environmental impact in a 30 year time-horizon of the “use stage”. It was showed that surface maintenance methods applied, the coatings used, and the frequency of their application play an important role in the environmental impact of the investigated wooden façades.

The Future Biology Teachers Training for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Ideas in Ecological Education

The article presents the results of the experimental study targeted at the scientific substantiation and experimental verification of the methodology of the future biology teachers’ ecological competence development. It is grounded and proved that ecological education resulting in ecological competence is an integral part of education for sustainable development. In order to integrate sustainable development education into the future biology teachers’ training, the methodology for the ecological competence development has been suggested. The methodology involves the environmentalization of the educational content and the use of a modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment. A pedagogical experiment was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of the methodology of future biology teachers training for the implementation of sustainable development ideas in ecological education. Four hundred and twenty-seven students participated in the experimental study. Control and experimental groups of students were allocated for conducting the experiment. In experimental groups the author’s methodology was implemented. The experimental data were processed using mathematical statistics. As a result of the generalization of the results of the study, it was found that in the experimental groups, the percentage of students with high and medium levels of ecological competence increased, and with low levels – decreased compared to the control groups. This testifies to the effectiveness of the future biology teachers’ ecological competence development.

Analysis of cybersecurity competencies: Recommendations for telecommunications policy

The paper aims to analyse and assess cybersecurity competencies and define the recommended solutions to improve the human factor in cybersecurity. The article presents the results of theoretical and empirical research that were carried out in 2019–2021. The research subject constitutes one of the priorities of many countries and international organisations. Cybersecurity is one of the essential foundations for implementing the idea of sustainable development. A cybersecurity analysis using a layered structure was proposed in the theoretical part. Empirical research was conducted using a diagnostic poll method based on a survey. The presentation of the research results includes an analysis of statistical dependencies. The paper presents the research results on cybersecurity competencies in the field of threats to state cyberspace and methods of securing and protecting data. An important element of the research was to identify forms of education that can be used to achieve greater efficiency in increasing cybersecurity competencies. The result of the implementation of the research objectives was the development of recommended solutions facilitating the improvement of the human factor in the field of cybersecurity.

The Impact of Using the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Account for a Reusable Wooden Flat Pallet in Its Operational Phase on Respecting the Principles of Sustainable Development

Despite the commonly observed trend towards mechanization and automation of operational processes, the potential benefits of wooden pallets as an essential element of the infrastructure of logistic processes are often overlooked in considerations related to sustainable development. Aspects that are mentioned more often include the very idea of the economy itself (circular economy), characteristics of logistics (green), features of the supply chain itself (sustainable) or expectations towards transport (ecological). The authors believe that the idea of total cost of ownership (TCO) in relation to wooden pallets can be a key component of holistic thinking in terms of sustainable development. In a situation where in relation to logistics, reasonable expectations for developing sustainable supply chains are made, paying attention to such a common logistic facility, namely a cargo pallet, which is given so little attention in research, is, in the opinion of the authors, absolutely justified. Therefore, the article presents an original approach to the problem of aggregation of all costs that cargo pallets generate in their operational life cycle, using the total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis methodology. The main goal of the article, however, is to show that the total cost of ownership of a pallet (not only owning it) can become an effective tool used to significantly reduce the costs of logistic activity of enterprises (as well as whole supply chains) and support the idea of sustainable development in practice. Using the primary data from questionnaire research, the focus was on considerations that were of identification character (cognitive and explanatory considerations), which are typical for basic research that aims to explain given phenomena. Thus, the presented cognitive process covers two main areas, namely: the general theory of sustainable development and the specificity of wooden pallets as carriers used in goods trading in terms of their total costs of ownership.

Transdisciplinary Status of the Ecological Modernization Theory and Its Role in the Development of Environmental Paradigm

The article examines the specificity of transdisciplinary orientations in modern scientific knowledge and reveals the multidimensionality of transdisciplinarity as a phenomenon of post-nonclassical science. Since transdisciplinarity is largely formed as a response to the challenge of increasing complexity and uncertainty of the future transformations in the “nature – man – society” system, the most appropriate area of transdisciplinary research today is environmental knowledge. In the example of the Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT), we investigate the interdisciplinary structure and transdisciplinary status of contemporary social ecology. The aim of the article is to analyze the various modes of transdisciplinarity in the structure of the ecological modernization theory and to identify its role in the dynamics of modern environmentalism. The epistemological status of EMT is explicated through philosophical and methodological reflection on the alternative discourses of sustainability as well as by using the principles of a systematic approach, methods of comparative analysis and semantic interpretation. The idea of sustainable development and the values of environmentalism are considered important factors in the formation of concepts and categories of this theory, its initial postulates and principles. The article substantiates the synthetic character of this theory, which meets the requirements of the post-non-classical type of scientific rationality. A conclusion is substantiated that EMT can be classified as a post-normal science. As a result of the analysis, it is argued that environmental philosophy has a special understanding of the goals of social development, principles of justice, social harmony, and human well-being. The reinterpretation of these concepts is a basis for adoption of novel theoretical schemes and methodological orientations in the system of modern socio-environmental studies.