- •Sustainable consumption and production (scp).
- •Strategic priority areas in the work of the Center for scp (cscp).
- •Resource-and low-waste technologies.
- •Energy efficiency. Alternative energy sources.
- •Energy efficiency-low consumption in industry.
- •Energy efficiency in buildings, transport, appliances.
- •Energy saving programs and legislation in Kazakhstan.
- •The role of the Kyoto Protocol in achieving sustainable energy use.
- •Ethical principles and standards of business and management of the organization.
- •Sustainability and social responsibility.
- •Corporate social responsibility. The benefits for business and society from implementing the principles of corporate social responsibility.
- •Civil society as an important component of sustainable development.
- •The concept of citizenship. Citizenship as an essential element of a democracy.
- •Democracy: principles and values.
- •Prospects for the development of civil society in Kazakhstan.
- •The value of public sector in political decisions aimed at sustainable development.
- •Human rights as the supreme human value. The purpose of creation of the United Nations.
- •The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the basis for the concept of sd.
- •The Human Rights and sustainable human development.
- •The legislation of Kazakhstan on Human Rights – reflection of the standards of international laws.
- •Role of political parties and ngOs in building a civil society.
- •23. The concept of welfare and well-being.
- •24.Social indicators that reflect different aspects of well-being.
- •Absolute and relative income.
- •Monetary income in the assessment of living standards of the population.
- •Types of inequality. International inequality and its causes.
- •Quantitative characteristics of inequality: the Gini coefficient, Lorenz curves.
- •Inequality in the countries with transition economies and Kazakhstan.
- •Absolute and relative poverty.
- •Indicators of poverty. The Human Poverty Index.
- •The levels of urban and rural poverty.
- •State and regional programs of Kazakhstan on poverty reduction.
Sustainability and social responsibility.
Social responsibility is an ethical or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. A trade-off always exists between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals.
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. It describes how biological systems that should remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has ecological, economic, political and cultural dimensions.Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival and flourishing of humans and other organisms. There are a number of major ways of reducing negative human impact. The first of these is environmental management. This approach is based largely on information gained from earth science,environmental science and conservation biology. The second approach is management of human consumption of resources, which is based largely on information gained from economics. A third more recent approach adds cultural and political concerns into the sustainability matrix. Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and environmental consequences of economic activity. Sustainability economics involves ecological economics where social aspects including cultural, health-related and monetary/financial aspects are integrated. Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganising living conditions
Corporate social responsibility. The benefits for business and society from implementing the principles of corporate social responsibility.
Different organizations have framed different definitions for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - although there is considerable common ground between them. In broad terms, CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Companies make profits, unhindered except by fulfilling their duty to pay taxes. Then they donate a certain share of the profits to charitable causes. It is seen as tainting the act for the company to receive any benefit from the giving.
The European model is much more focused on operating the core business in a socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities for solid business case reasons. This model is more sustainable in several aspects:
1. Social responsibility becomes an integral part of the wealth creation process - which if managed properly should enhance the competitiveness of business and maximise the value of wealth creation to society.