Economic, social and ecological aspects of sustainable development as a compromise of stakeholder goals

Abstract

In the face of ongoing climate change, the level of pro-ecological awareness of society is increasing. Actions to counteract increasing environmental pollution are widely recognized as necessary. The concept of sustainable development has become a permanent part of the dictionary of investors and stakeholders. The decade from 2020 to 2030 is critical in moving the world to a more sustainable one. The aim of the study is to compare selected sustainable development indicators in relation to the global management decision-making process. Achieving sustainable development in all three aspects, i.e. social, economic and environmental, is impossible and requires a compromise consisting in prioritizing one aspect over the others. Economic growth is often chosen over social well-being and ecological concerns. The article identifies sustainable development stakeholders and presents their role in achieving the SDG goals. Then, sustainable development indicators were analyzed in terms of economic, social and environmental aspects in countries with different levels of development. The aim of the study was to verify the statement that the three-pillar model of sustainable development requires compromises and the choice of the priority aspect depends on the level of development of a given country. The study covered 5 underdeveloped countries, 5 developing countries and 5 highly developed countries from around the world. Indicators were compared in 3 aspects and the necessity of compromise in achieving the sustainable development goals was confirmed. The study confirmed that achieving a satisfactory level in all three aspects is possible only in a few highly developed countries. Conclusions and limitations of the study as well as directions for further research are presented.