SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY OF METALLURGY DEVELOPMENT: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO ESTABLISHING CORRELATION RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

It was established that in 2019, the member states of the European Union approved new priorities of the "Green Pact" or "Green Deal" (Green Deal), which reflected the key principles of ensuring the sustainable development of industrial sectors, including metallurgy. They included the following directions: ensuring significant growth of resource efficiency indicators; creation of a system that ensures the transition to a closed cycle economy; ensuring timely and sufficient support for the innovative development of industry; increase in investments in more environmentally friendly technologies; reduction of environmental pollution, reduction of environmental risks; decarbonization of industry and the energy sector, the transition to a low-carbon type of development (often called the energy transition, but essentially a resource transition); strengthening ties within the framework of international cooperation on issues of development and implementation of the principles of sustainable development in the implementation of strategies at the level of various industrial sectors. It was determined that despite the increasing importance of environmental and social components, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises rely mainly on economic factors and indicators (profit, profitability index, profitability indicators, cash inflows, budget efficiency, etc.) when making decisions. Such a position contradicts the basic tenets of the theory of sustainable development. It has been proven that now the role of metallurgy development policy is gradually changing. This is reflected in setting new goals, tasks, principles and approaches to their implementation. At the moment, the following key priorities for the development of the country's metallurgy have been formulated, which include: development and implementation of advanced innovative technologies; introduction of effective biotechnologies, new materials; development of the health care sector; ensuring economic and national security; improvement of management of logistics and transport systems; development of territories; reduction of environmental risks, prevention of damage to the environment. It was determined that the above priorities are aimed at completely different areas. At the same time, socio-ecological aspects are traced in one way or another in each of the indicated directions, and this applies not only to health care and environmental safety. The development of innovative technologies, the creation of new materials, the introduction of advanced production solutions also form the necessary prerequisites for the transition to a new technological system. It was concluded that in modern conditions it is important to focus on ensuring long-term "sustainable economic growth" with a simultaneous reduction of probable environmental risks, modernization of existing metallurgical enterprises and reduction of the resource intensity of technological processes. The new priorities of the metallurgy development policy should be aimed at increasing the level of resource efficiency.