THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF DEFINITION ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY OF THE ENTERPRISE

Abstract

Due to the real environmental danger to the environment, the state, businesses, human life and health due to the many threats of natural, man-made and socio-political factors, more and more attention is paid to environmental safety. Therefore, the problem of determining the essence and content of the category of environmental safety of the enterprise in the modern development of the economy and the implementation of the prospects of European integration of Ukraine is relevant. The purpose of the article is to group and systematize the existing scientific approaches to defining the concept of environmental safety to justify the content of environmental safety of the enterprise. The substantive characteristics of the four laws of ecology according to Barry Commoner are studied and singled out, in particular: everything connected with everything – the complexity and interconnectedness of ecosystems; everything must move – the consequences of one ecological process give rise to another process; nature knows best – any significant anthropogenic change in the natural system can be detrimental to this system; nothing arises from nothing – the exploitation of nature always leads to environmental losses. It has been found that from the time of antiquity to modern history, numerous complex studies of its subject-object characteristics, generated by the complexity of the security phenomenon, became the basis for the development of general security theory, including environmental security. Legal, economic, systemic, protective, procedural, balanced, complex, activity approaches to the definition of "environmental safety" are highlighted. Having analyzed the existing approaches to defining the essence of the concept of "environmental safety", it is proposed to understand the environmental safety of the enterprise first: protection of vital interests of the enterprise from real and potential environmental threats to the internal and external environment; secondly: it is a sustainable balanced development of the enterprise in terms of effective and efficient management, aimed at minimizing the negative economic, environmental and social consequences of its operation as an element of the ecological and economic system, characterized by steady reduction of damage to the environment, the state and other businesses, short-term and long-term. The author's definition of environmental safety of the enterprise maintains balance and equilibrium in the triad «ecology-economy-society», creates potential opportunities to confront external and internal threats and challenges, provides sustainable balanced development of the enterprise.