International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The bioeconomy, as a complementary segment of the circular economy, encompasses all sectors and systems that rely on biological and environmental resources, their functions and principles. It can lead to the discovery of new opportunities to provide food, goods and energy without depleting the planet’s limited biological resources. It can turn algae into fuel, recycle plastics, produce furniture or clothing from waste, and create organic fertilizers from industrial waste products. It has the potential to create over a million new “green jobs” by 2030. Bio-sector enterprises play a key role in accelerating the achievement of the UN’s global goals. They contribute to reducing climate change and waste, creating new jobs and building sustainable development in a modern society. Corporate social responsibility is a concept that reflects the quality of the relationship between an organization and society. According to the European Commission’s Green Paper, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is “a concept that serves companies as a basis for voluntarily integrating social and environmental aspects into their business strategies and relationships with all stakeholders.”
The purpose of this report is to examine how the principles of corporate social responsibility affect biosector enterprises in Bulgaria and the adequacy of the country’s policy to engage them to adopt global goals for sustainable development. The results of the study show that CSR is not seen as a one-time act, but as a sustainable process, helping to balance the three pillars of sustainable development – economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

Growing environmental problems and the uneven distribution of wealth around the world raised questions more than forty years ago about how to achieve sustainability. The United Nations Commission on the Environment and Development (WCED), formed in the autumn of 1983 and chaired by Gru Harlem Bruntland, draws accurate and concrete conclusions using full information from all over the world on the state of the planet and develops a report called “Our Common Future”. Along with all the conclusions and recommendations, the Bruntland report introduces the concept of “sustainable development” which reads: Sustainable is a development that achieves the vital needs of the current generation without being deprived of it (ie without The leading aspect in this definition is the idea of reconciling the satisfaction of human needs with the limited resources, as well as the equality between the present and the future generations. The report demonstrates the need for a radical change in human activity to date and the need to establish sustainable development on a global scale. The conference in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992 played a crucial role in affirming the concept of sustainable development in modern society. combining the harmonious interaction between economic prosperity, social justice and a preserved environment. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a study on the degree of maturity of management in bio-sector enterprises to adopt global sustainable development goals and link them to their business practices.The results of the present study confirm the thesis that the modification of the current socio-economic model of development there is no alternative. The main non-reproducible energy and raw materials sources are about to run out in the foreseeable future.

The concept of a circular economy is a model of production and consumption that minimizes waste in the environment. It brings benefits not only to nature but also to the economy and society as a whole. This is a model aimed at extending the product life cycle. When a product reaches the end of its life, the materials of which it is composed continue to be reused. This is repeated many times to minimize waste disposal. In practice, this means sharing, borrowing, reusing, repairing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. The bio- economy in the European Union is growing much faster than the rest of the economy, which will lead to the creation of more jobs and the continuation of the digital transformation of the European economy. Bio-economy covers all sectors and systems that use biological resources. It is one of the largest and most important sectors of the EU and includes agriculture and forestry, fisheries, agro-food, biomass and bio-based products. Its annual turnover is about 2 trillion euros, and it employs about 18 million people. Bio-economy is also a key area for stimulating growth in rural and coastal areas. The new bio-economy strategy fits in with the Commission’s efforts to further boost jobs, growth and investment. It aims to improve and expand the sustainable use of renewable sources to overcome global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. The purpose of the study is to analyze the situation in Bulgaria for the development of the bio- sector in terms of production capacity, potential for growth of the bio-production sector, to study the conditions, difficulties and prospects for the development of exports of bio- products. The analysis will serve to evaluate the opportunities for Bulgarian bioeconomy development, the innovation encouraging measures in this sector and the diversification of this sector. The results of the Bioeconomy research distinguish strategic areas: sustainable consumption and production through responsible consumers and producers; knowledge society through information development and training; government to help adapting to new business realities; climate change and energy; sustainable transport and mobility; conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources; public health and risk prevention with an emphasis on environmental quality; demography and migration and social inclusion; challenges in the field of sustainable development; global poverty reduction.