Socialinės atsakomybės reikšmė ekonomikoje

Abstract

Ekonomikos augimo tempai sudaro sąlygas kurti naujus produktus ir paslaugas, skatinti vartojimą, tenkinti įvairius žmonių poreikius ir kelti jų gerovę. Tačiau nykstantys gamtos ištekliai, aplinkos tarša ir daugelyje šalių išliekanti ryški socialinė nelygybė rodo, jog dabartinis ekonomikos modelis vis labiau neatitinka visuomenės lūkesčių. Kokios šiandien yra piliečių ir įmonių pozicijos, kokios galėtų būti jų iniciatyvos veikti socialiai atsakingai, kad prisidėtų prie gamtos išsaugojimo, atsakingos ir pilietiškos visuomenės ugdymo, žmogui gyvybiškai svarbių vertybių kūrimo ir puoselėjimo?

Everyone wants to be happy, accepted by society and is concerned about the wellbeing of their family. Also, everyone realizes that while the economic resources are limited, there are no limitations of the needs of people. As a result, one may ask which needs are acceptable to address and what reasons are behind it. The evolution of science makes it easier for people to improve themselves, develop innovative technologies and increase the opportunities to satisfy their aspirations and needs. However, this does not apply to all people. It is no surprise that one starts questioning the effectiveness of the running economic systems or the ways resources are employed, as there are a number of social and environmental issues that one encounters today. In 2005, over a billion people faced the issue of the access to clean drinking water, while 2.6 billion people lived in unsanitary conditions. Approximately 3.2 million people die each year due to infectious diseases caused by water shortage. This number accounts for 6 per cent of all the deaths across the world. In 2008, there were around 1.4 billion people or, in other words, one-fifth of the world’s population living in extreme poverty. These kinds of issues are most common in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as South and Southeast Asia. Whereas, the developed countries, with only a quarter of the world‘s total population, account for three-quarters of the total consumption and experience waste management problems. EU member states face problems of social exclusion and poverty as well. Approximately a quarter of the total EU’s population lives at-risk-of-relative poverty. In order to take care of the material well-being of their families, people have been leaving economically less developed countries for a few decades. These countries are left worse off by emigration. [...]