Klaipėdos universitetas

Sustainable development philosophy leads to meaningful human and social development. Sustainable development concept and perception is very important, it should influence the practical application of human life. The article deals with modern problems of ecological culture scientific reasons, currently monitored social-natural contradictions aggravation, sustainable development with emphasis on the ethical aspects of ecological consciousness, ecological, cultural and spiritual importance of sustainable development for future development prospects. The article emphasizes on spirituality, because in each culture existing distinctive values and values orientation affect not only the worldview of society but also the perception of life.

The landscape of any country is the reflection of territorial expression of its socio-economical and ecological processes. Several problems regarding Lithuania’s landscape could be distinguished: a) problems of land parcels; b) problems of forests; c) problems of protected territories and natural frameworks; d) problems of Curonian spit; e) problems of coastal sands. Self contained renaturalization of Lithuanian landscape, implementation of programs from the strategic documents of the government and active participation of local communities, could lead to at least partial restoration of the impoverished Lithuanian landscape and increase of its stability.

The article discusses economic growth influence to sustainable development. According to the collected theoretical material, it analyzes the impact of economic growth to social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The analysis of statistical data using integrated index of sustainable development allowed evaluating the impact of economic growth to sustainable development in in Lithuania on 2000−2011. Studies carried out in foreign universities confirmed a hypothesis that further extensive studies are necessary in order to understand the essence and evaluation of the concept of sustainable development. The basic idea behind the scientific problem studied in the paper can be described as the following: what are the regularities of the concept of sustainable development and its evaluation, that allow assess the economic growth influence to dimensions of sustainability and to sustainable development of the country. The main problem of the paper is stated as follows: how to achieve economic growth considering economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development? Research object – the impact of economic growth to dimensions of sustainable development. Research aim is to analyze and assess dynamics of sustainable development dimensions in Lithuania. Research tasks: theoretically to analyze the influence of economic growth to social and environmental dimensions; after methodological calculations of indicators of sustainable development in Lithuania, to evaluate the tendencies of changes of sustainable development dimensions and to forecast perpectives. Research methods contributing to this paper are: systematic scientific literature analysis, statistical data and comparative analysis, regression analysis, use of SPSS 17 (Statistical Package for Social Science) and Package Microsoft Excel. Theoretical analysis done in the paper quit well show, that systems of assessment of influence of economic growth to sustainable development must take in account three closely related dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Integrated sustainable development index and trend were used and evaluated that the biggest increasing of index was noticed by given stable inflation rate. Analysis done in the paper quit well show, that for problems solving can be used fiscal instrument – taxes.

The problem of financial stability of a modern enterprise predestines a long-term development of state. The long-term development strategy-making concepts, binding to each member state, have been legislated in the European Union. A sustainable development is a balanced and socially responsible economic development subject to preservation of the environment and resources for the benefit of future generations. A national sustainable development plan prior to 2020 is required for each EU country. Under the development priorities situation typical to Baltic States, featuring a relative deficiency of mineral resources with some possibilities of development of high-end technologies, transit industry may be deemed the main priority. The enterprise financial stability concept is the main objective, regarded as a mandatory condition for ensuring a long-term and sustainable development as exemplified by the two renowned air carriers. The methods of scientific research most frequently applied in economics domain have been used: monographic, comparative, hierarchical and quantitative methods of financial ratios.

There are 33 rural, 18 semi-rural and 9 urban municipalities in Lithuania according to three criterias: 1) part of population living in rural areas; 2) population density and 3) distance of municipality from large towns/cities. Šilutė district municipality together with Rusnė ward has been studied in detail to search the main problems of sustainable development of these rural territories of Klaipėda region. System analysis approach and method of integrated sustainability index were applied with suplement of social inquiry fulfiled in Rusnė ward. The indices selected for calculations and comparison of rural and semi-rural municipalities, including Šilutė district, were social, economic and environmental: for Šilutė 4 different indices in each group were selected, for Rusnė ward – 3 indices. The integrated sustainability index was calculated for all rural municipalities of Lithuania and Rusnė ward. The research period for Šilutė and other municipalities was 2006-2012, and for Rusnė ward 2008-2012. Research has revealed that the main problems with sustainability in the studied territories are of social character. According to the Integrated sustainability index, Šilutė district municipality was somehow lower than other rural municipalities of Lithuania, and even in Rusnė ward this index was a little higher during 2011–2012, than in Šilutė district municipality.K

Consumers are willing to buy more from companies that share their values and principles. Increasingly and rapidly consumer values are shifting towards sustainable development. This rapid shift in values has created the need for marketing communications to become anchored in appropriate sustainable marketing principles. So, it follows that appropriate sustainability marketing creates higher and longer value-based relationships with consumers. The article analyses consumer values and principles related to sustainability and its linkage with integrated marketing communications. Even though the marketing of sustainability is a heavily covered topic by scholars, it is still perceived as an alternative or “niche” solution for certain consumer segments. Considering this information, the aim of this article is to uncover the mainstream consumer values and principles and identify how they are reflected in the mainstream brands’ marketing communications. The study is based on the analysis of general and special literature, scientific papers and periodicals published by Lithuanian and foreign scholars. The retail food sector was chosen for the study due to its significant contribution to the economy. Content analysis of the sector’s integrated marketing communications was conducted. Yet the analysis of food retailers operating in Lithuania shows that consumer values and principles are only partially reflected. The biggest gap is that no brand appears to position itself as a market leader in sustainability or focuses on sustainability development within the organization. This gap shows opportunities as well as lack of commitment from the industry.

This article reflects the impact of regulatory decisions of the Republic of Latvia on the food retail sector and sustainable product supply provided by food retail chains, as well as on operational trends. Attention has been drawn to the law of the Republic of Latvia on the key characteristics of foodstuffs and sales on the market. The research covers development of classification of the main instruments characterizing the products subject to the national regulation, as well as development of a scheme of the impact of the Latvian authorities on the operation of food retail chains. To implement the goal and tasks of the research, the authors have applied quantitative and qualitative research methods of economics, i.e., comparison, grouping, graphical, assessment and analytical methods. The research is based on the results of the previous research conducted by the authors so far, the law of the Republic of Latvia, scientific works published by other scientists, general and special literature and periodicals. The authors have summarized the findings and conducted comparative analysis of the regulatory decisions of the Republic of Latvia as well as presented a market survey within the research.

The research aims to update the corporate marketing role in promoting sustainability. The study is based on the assessment of today’s economic, ecological, and social responsibility issues, as well as public issues associated with the development of sustainability. The following scientific research methods have been applied in the research: analytical, comparing, graphical, statistical and surveillance methods. The authors have studied sustainability issues, i.e., economic, environmental and social, in the world and particularly in Latvia, as well as their impact on public welfare. In research, there was chosen and analysed the Latvian food retail industry, which makes a significant contribution to the economy of the trade sector. Companies, which take on social responsibility, should focus in their activities on the education of consumers. Using marketing communications, they can educate their consumers about ecological characteristics of products and their environmental impact on the public health, i.e., composition of products, acquisition, storage, use and disposal possibilities, also putting great emphasis on the Latvian products. Thus, companies can support the domestic market and promote sustainable development of the Latvian economy in general.

The author of the article, by way of applying theoretical analysis and using empirical evidence, as well as by analysing international documents ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the laws in force, and the resolutions of the Government, argues that a prerequisite for the success in building a well fare state is sustainable development of society. The aspiration of sustainable development is a challenge not only to the interaction of the economic, ecological, and social systems, but also to the interaction of sub-systems within said systems. The deficit of sustainable development in the social system destroys the structure of the society, creates prerequisites for the discrimination of some social groups, for the marginalisation of social groups, and for the rise of social exclusion. The increasing level of social exclusion poses a threat to national stability and security, therefore, it is important to timely identify the causes of the rise of social exclusion and, by removing them, to eliminate the preconditions for the formation of crisis situations.