THE PRESENT STATUS OF SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPT IMPLEMENTATION BY BUSINESSES IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

On a macro level, a concept of sustainable development was first known in context of the larger societal development and the assurance of future generational needs. Nowadays many of individuals, companies, and other organizations are becoming aware of a need of another specific approach to living, manufacturing and doing business. The term of sustainable development has also increasingly been used on a micro level. For a business, these practices imply an effort to incorporate the social and environmental issues into the business model while simultaneously achieving longterm business growth and efficiency. The aim of the paper is, based on the analysis of sustainability concept implementation by businesses in selected industries, to identify the underlying motives and barriers to concept implementation in practice. The motives leading to sustainability concept implementation were found by means of comparison with foreign research. Another objective was to underline the most frequently used tools supporting business sustainability in particular areas and as a whole. By means of a hierarchical cluster analysis we provide a more comprehensive view of businesses´ approach to a sustainability concept. Through the objectives of this paper we have formulated six hypotheses. To verify the hypotheses we used the statistical method of analysis. By use of a questionnaire survey, we analyzed 455 businesses belonging to selected industries. The results indicated several options to improve the current state of sustainability implementation which would be beneficial for both businesses as well as the wider environment. The solution for the indicated problems, however, requires not only participation of the business sector but also the interaction of the state.