Ildiko Ioan

Issues to be addressed for enhancing the contribution of public participation in sustainable development strategies

Accomplishment of sustainable development supposes changes that could affect the interest of various groups. In strategy development goal setting should consider not only the global perspective, but also the needs and possibilities that could be derived from local or regional contexts. Since public participation is not a straightforward process, there are a number of issues to be carefully addressed for enhancing its contribution in strategy development and implementation. The discussion regarding some of these issues highlighted that misrepresentation, overloading, low willingness to participate, and power disparities are the main challenges for the management of the participatory process

THE ECONOMICS OF RECYCLING AS PREMISE OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY: FROM GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT TO FUNCTIONAL MARKETS

Environment covers a number of stages within the material loop that allow industrial development and value creation. Holding the resource for a long while, concentrating some materials, decomposing others are processes that exceed the limits of industrial activity. A better use of materials is a mandatory requirement of sustainable development. Closed loops of material streams are the most common vision in this respect. Despite the innovative technological solutions, a functional market for major material streams is still struggling to emerge. Using a case study for one of the most dynamic waste streams – electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) – there are indicated critical factors that impact on the businesses of the WEEE value chain. A better understanding of how these factors influence the businesses of all involved players could bring important improvements in policy making toward a circular economy based on a functional market.

The Paradigm of Sustainability and the Entropic Approach of Economic Systems in the View of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen

Sustainability will bring changes in all aspects of the everyday life by overposing ecology over economy. Departing from this prediction made more than a decade ago we are analysing at what extent the entropy based economic theory of value could contribute to the paradigm shift needed for a faster change toward sustainability. Concepts and rational of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen developed several decades ago are revisited and interpreted through the lence of sustainability. Finally it is discussed how entropy management tools could be used for minimizing high entropy generation and creating incentives to support negentropy sources such as education, research, but also traditional ecological knowledge.

Eco-economic Approach : the Premise of Sustainability

Recent decades have brought to the attention of public opinion and decision makers a new dimension - the environmental dimension. For a long while this was considered a stand alone problem, but nowadays the environmental protection enjoys a general recognition, leading to the integration of this new issue in the management of any human activity in order to prevent situations of imbalance that led to dramatic effects, with high economic costs. The aim of the paper is to explain the conceptual framework for the emergence of the eco-economy concept and the implications of integrating ecological restrains in the economic thinking in order to pursue the goal of sustainability. The first section explores the drivers of human behavior from different perspectives, analyzing the implications of biological, intellectual and spiritual interactions. The second section analyzes the clashing timescales that induce lags between the rhythm of nature and the rhythm of human activities. The last section highlights how the eco-economic approach would contribute to the achievement of sustainable development’s goals.

The challenge of energy security. Case study: Romania

In current conditions, the energy security is a global challenge that creates gaps between the main world economies and perpetuates systemic risks that are causing direct effects on world stability. Energy plays a key role in modern society and is a vital component for achieving sustainable economic development. In this context, we are analyzing the interplays among energy security, competitiveness and sustainability. We raise the attention regarding the question of competitive aspects of finite energy resources, in terms of finding alternative sources for funding for investments in environmental technologies, biofuels, wind etc. The generic relationship is further detailed by considering the particular case of Romania.

Sustainable development at corporate level

Sustainable development was built as a conceptual framework for solutions that harmonize economy-environment relation. Although widely accepted, its practical implications are still subject of debate and controversies. Our paper targets this area and attempts a theoretical explanation and an overview on the progresses toward sustainability made at corporate level. Therefore we explore the theories of corporate environmental behavior and than describe the various approaches used by companies to improve their contribution to the overall goal of sustainability. A special focus is given to management practices implemented in order to improve companies’ environmental and social performance and we report on the progresses in standard development by international organizations such as ISO and SAAS.