Research Specifics of the Economic Essence of Industrial Enterprises’ Sustainable Development

Abstract

The transition of human society from the natural environment to the social environment due to over-consumption leads to the emergence of global problems. Scientific and technological progress has a destructive effect on the natural environment, which confirms the need to find a safe path to the development of society. The concept, designed to find this safe path, aimed at solving global problems of mankind and further development of scientific and technical progress, while not only without depleting natural resources, but creating a balance that allows them to be preserved for subsequent generations, was called the concept of sustainable development. The relevance of the research topic is explained by the fact that the existence of different approaches to the definition of sustainable development leads to certain difficulties in characterizing the concept of “sustainable development of an industrial enterprise”. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to study the economic essence of the concept of «sustainable development» and the mechanism for applying this concept to industrial enterprises. In this paper, the economic essence and basic concepts of sustainable development are considered from the socio-ecological and economic point of view. The notion of «management of sustainable enterprise development» is disclosed. The historical substantiation of the emergence of the concept of sustainable development and a comparison of the views of economists on the concept of sustainable development are given. The category «sustainable development» in its multi-purpose orientation allows, as a priority direction, the abandonment of the consumer attitude to natural resources, replacing it with the safe development of the techno sphere and the stability of the surrounding natural environment, and their harmonic interaction within the established limits. This interaction is aimed at ensuring the stability of all spheres of life in society, preserving the resources of the life-sustaining environment for future generations. It should be noted that the problem of redistribution and replenishment of resources is reflected in the activities of industrial enterprises. Forming its own sustainable development strategy for an enterprise can be a solution to this problem. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion about the need for the society to strive for sustainable development is drawn.