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AUTHOR
Dzineta Dimante
Sustainability Reporting in Latvia: Management Views
Sustainability reporting in Latvia is a comparatively recent development. In spite of a growing number of companies undertaking different social responsibility activities, only few of them report this. Mostly, companies choose to communicate their sustainability activities through their web page. Mainly large companies with considerable environmental and social impact and listed joint-stock companies, which are required to do so by stock exchange regulation, undertake efforts to communicate their responsibility activities.
Environmental education in Latvia
This paper discusses the development of environmental education and education for sustainable development in Latvia since 1991. The article highlights best practices of environmental education in Latvia, which include curriculum and study materials development, active participation of various business enterprises in providing informal education, eco-school activities, etc. The objective of this paper is to share our experience with the international community and to promote a global dialogue in sustainable development.
The economies of the Baltic Sea Region in relation to green economics, with particular focus on Latvia: environmental sustainability and well-being
Economic activity has an impact on the environment, but the potential degree of this impact will depend on several factors which are mainly determined by the technology used. This paper analyses the potential environmental impact the economies of the Baltic Sea Region have on their respective countries. The Baltic Sea Region countries are characterised by two economic development scenarios, namely, market and transition economies. Income levels, applied technologies and environmental management practices in these countries differ considerably, and affect a variety of complex indices. These are used to evaluate a country's overall environmental situation and the well being of its inhabitants…
Sustainability Reporting in Central and Eastern European Companies: Results of an International and Empirical Study
Reporting on corporate social, environmental and economic responsibility has broadened widely within the last decade. The European Union is the most active region in the world in terms of sustainability reporting, largely on a voluntary basis. Most of the empirical research related to sustainability reporting in Europe has been conducted in Western European countries. In Central and Eastern Europe, only a small number of studies have focused on sustainability reporting. Little, however, is known whether how and why companies in CEE report about their corporate sustainable activities. The aim of the research project is to describe the status quo of SR in CEE, to explain some noteworthy diffe…
Raising environmental awareness through education
This paper presents a method for involving learners in awareness-raising and real changes in consumption. The described method is a teaching assignment comprising a self-audit of household chemicals' consumption, system thinking to find the main causes and consequences, finding solutions and taking action. Findings about students' household chemicals consumption patterns and their reactions one month and six months after the assignment are presented and analysed. We found that the students' households use considerable amounts of chemicals and in most cases do not pay attention to their health and environmental impacts when making purchasing decisions. When doing this, students were able to …
Consumer behaviour change through education for sustainable development: case of Latvia
More sustainability and sustainable development are major challenges faced by society today. Consumer's choices and the use of products and services have important impacts on the environment; consequently, consumer behaviour is crucial. Education and pedagogics help select real sustainable living attitudes of students, their families and friends. This case study describes the mid-term results of a teaching assignment and survey in three Latvian higher education organisations which involve system thinking and students' action on consumer choices of household chemicals. The multilayer results provide insight into the consumption of these chemicals and show that one year after the assignment, …