ABSTRACT
Environmental issues are becoming an increasingly important element of the economic and business environment. Mitigation and adaptation to climate change, conservation of biodiversity, increased energy security and efficiency, improved quality of living and working environment are challenges that have recently gained the status of the imperative and have 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 accelerates the contraction of polluting sectors and firms. On the other, a successfully restructured business becomes more resource and market efficient, as well as competitive, while a new kind of demand and rapidly growing ‘green’ markets create new business opportunities.
