This study assesses the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) by reviewing 39 recent significant studies. The theoretical foundation of the reviewed studies serves as the basis for the research instrument designed to assess CSR practices and their impact on the competitive advantage of SMEs. A pilot study involving 102 Latvian SME respondents was conducted to validate the research instrument’s reliability across four scales: competitive advantage, reputation and financial performance, CSR domains and impact, and CSR challenges. The results indicate very good or excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values between 0.846 and 0.923. The findings demonstrate that SMEs continue to adopt CSR practices, recognising their strategic benefits which include innovation, operational efficiency and improved reputation. However, challenges such as resource limitations and stakeholder pressures remain important. This validated instrument establishes a foundation for further large-scale studies to explore CSR’s influence on the sustainability and competitiveness of SMEs, emphasising the need for tailored strategies, government support, and effective tools for evaluating CSR impact.
Economic entities influence the environment significantly. Economic activity in the EU lacks skills, experience and financial and management
tools. Innovation is a key element of sustainable economic activity, but economic activity needs a complex approach to cover economic,
social and environmental aspects. The most common measure for environmental improvement is the reduction of energy and material
consumption. This article analyses the development of economic entities using the Innovation and Small Business Act (SBA) approach. The
research objective is to analyse how economic entities in EU countries develop their activities to achieve sustainability by reducing their
environmental impact. A comparison of the sustainability aspects of economic entities was carried out. The contribution of innovations was
analysed to assess the level of sustainability of economic entities in EU countries. The results show that the impact of the activities of economic entities needs to be assessed along the entire value chain, which assesses the social environment of economic entities. EU countries such as Finland, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden are leading the way in investing in innovation and sustainability measures. However, EU countries face challenges in implementing sustainability goals, because of the complexity of the system and a lack of attention from responsible institutions. Nevertheless, innovation is essential to reduce negative environmental impacts.
The long-term principle concept is based on setting and achieving a vision for the future of coastal zone management. The vision for the sustainable development of coastal zone management includes utilizing new advances in scientific, technical, social and economic understanding of coastal sustainability. The coastal environment, dunes and beaches are outstanding natural assets. Their wildlife, cultural, historical and archaeological resources should be passed on to future generations in similar or better conditions than they are currently. The principle of long-term management can be analyzed according to these definitions (economics, ecology, ethics) concepts: comprehensive overview of systems, detailed investigation of issues, and the planning development of management practices that have a positive effect on the future.
Educational institutions create certain environmental impacts in their operation – these impacts can be grouped into the sectors of waste, water, energy, transport and others. There is a need for educational institutions to adopt effective environmental management systems in order to reduce these impacts, as well as those of the whole municipality. The Eco-Schools programme is one of the most comprehensive and popular models of environmental education and management in the world. In recent years, the Eco-Schools programme has proved its effectiveness in numerous evaluations in several countries. The programme aims to raise awareness about environmental issues. Therefore, this programme encourages environmentally responsible behaviour involving not only members of specific schools but also reaching out to the local community. The aim of the present study was to evaluate an environmental management model of the Eco-Schools programme in Latvia. Moreover, the author assessed the country’s potential to develop environmental management systems in schools, improve environmental education and create pro-environmental attitudes and values. For research, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used: analysis of documents and a survey. The conducted survey helped to evaluate the experience of the Eco-Schools programme and prepare recommendations for policy proposals about the Eco-Schools programme as an environmental management instrument in Latvia. Also, the role of the Eco-Schools programme in promoting sustainable development was assessed. As a result, the benefits and drawbacks of the programme were identified to plan further development and, therefore, to promote efficient environmental management in educational institutions and local communities.
The article reflects on the attitude, understanding and knowledge on sustainable marketing, as well as the essence of sustainable marketing,the strategy of its practical use and the concept of development. As a result of research, definitions of sustainable developmentand sustainable marketing and a model of concept of motivation of its use at a company were developed and the strategy of practicaluse of a sustainable marketing and the motivation of use at Latvian companies was ascertained, confirming the initially advancedhypotheses. In order to fulfil the purpose and objectives, the authors used the following quantitative and qualitative methods ofeconomic research: polls, comparisons, grouping. The study is based on scientific papers published by Latvian and foreign scholars,general and special literature, periodicals. The authors performed an assessment, market research, comparative analysis, arrangedan expert examination and used the computer software MS Excel for the analysis and processing of data. The article is based on theresults of the author’s research in 2013. The authors used examination and monitoring in their research.
The main aim of the research is to reveal the philosophical foundations of the concept of sustainable development. The scope of this research includes an analysis of the philosophical meaning of the concept of sustainable development, focusing on the revealing of the synergy of metaphysical, ethical and ecological parameters of this concept. To give a deeper understanding about different opinions and approaches to sustainable development, there will be an interpretation of some theoretical perspective both about sustainable development and also about different philosophical theories and how they are related sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is not only concerned with the well-being of people but also of the world where human live, therefore the concept of sustainable development can be understood as holistic philosophy that includes classical philosophical prospects as well as harmonizes and integrates the activities of economic, sociopolitical and ecological system. Therefore, in this article are raised concrete tasks: to analyze the literature and reveal the philosophical context of the formation of the concept of sustainable development; to analyze classical ethical philosophical theories and argue their significance for the concept of sustainable development; to analyze a holistic philosophical approach and to argue its significance for the concept of sustainable development.