engleski

"Small, green, competitive economy" - Croatia's way to the EU

Environmental issues are becoming an increasingly important element of the economic and business environment. Stopping climate change, biodiversity conservation, energy security and efficiency, improved quality of living and working environment are challenges, have recently gained the status of the imperative, with direct implications on the economy. In the business context, this trend is manifested in two ways: as a threat and as an opportunity. On the one hand, the introduction of increasingly demanding environmental standards and goals results with environmentally unacceptable business behaviour which is uncompetitive and unsustainable. On the other hand, a successfully restructured business becomes more resource and market efficient, as well as competitive, while a new kind of demand and rapidly growing new markets create new business opportunities. Current considerable investments in environmental infrastructure in Croatia and the adoption of environmental standards in the business community certainly represent an investment for the future, encourage entrepreneurship, increase foreign competitiveness of Croatian firms and create new jobs. This paper presents the basic findings of the analysis of small and medium enterprises in Croatia in terms of the impact of their activities on the environment and nature. It also provides some recommendations for the development of small and green entrepreneurship as an important factor contributing to the competitiveness of the Croatian economy in the European Union.

green entrepreneurship; SMEs; competitiveness; environmental protection

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