Theoretical justifications related to voluntary standards at international, European and national levels as ‘soft’ regulators in the field of sustainable management of organisations are considered. The conceptual framework of the study is based on the overall standardisation process, going through the first phase of ‘Standards setting’ and the subsequent phase of ‘Standards implementation’ with the participation of stakeholders from the sustainable management of organisations. A methodology for empirical research on attitudes towards the implementation of sustainable management of organisations in the light of the setting and implementation of standards as ‘soft’ regulators among stakeholders has been developed. The content analysis of the conducted ‘in-depth’ interviews has allowed to outline the main categories according to the process model of standardisation. Three main models of standardisation for sustainable management have been identified: ‘de jure’ standards of standard-setting organisations, market-based ‘de facto’ standards and legal standards based on government policies and measures. The correspondence between the revealed models and the implementation of the sustainable standards by the respondents depending on their affiliation to the respective stakeholder group has been established. In conclusion, opportunities have been identified to improve the implementation of standards as a voluntary tool for achieving sustainable business management.

Настоящето изследване се насочва към една малко изследвана област в българския контекст – устойчивото потребление на храни. Студията има за цел да картографира добрите практики в тази област в България. Приложен е методът „Картографиране на хранителната система“ (Food System Mapping) за събиране на информация за добрите практики, като са спазени изискванията за подходящ избор на участници и за визуално и интерактивно представяне на споделената информация. Картографирането е осъществено по време на дискусия с 41 представители на заинтересованите страни от налагането на устойчиви модели на потребление на храни в страната, разпределени в 7 групи. След анализ на съдържанието (контент анализ) отговорите на участниците в дискусията са кодирани, категоризирани и позиционирани на съответните етапи. Получените резултати са валидирани от петима експерти в тази област. Направена е дискусия на идентифицираните добри практики по отношение на позицията им на съответния етап от устойчивата агрохранителна верига: устойчиво производство на храни; устойчива преработка и дистрибуция на храни; устойчиво потребление на храни и предотвратяване на разхищението и отпадъците от храни. Също така е разкрита ролята на заинтересованите страни за устойчивото потребление на храни и за намаляване на хранителните отпадъци в България по устойчивата агрохранителна верига. В заключение е подчертана необходимостта от промяна, както на бизнес моделите на производство, преработка, дистрибуция, търговия, така и от налагане и разпространение на идентифицираните добри практики за промяна на потребителското поведение и предотвратяване на разхищението и отпадъците от храни.

The present study focuses on a little-studied area in the Bulgarian context - sustainable food consumption. The study aims to map good practices in this field in Bulgaria. The Food System Mapping method has been applied to gather information on good practices, while meeting the requirements for appropriate selection of participants and for visual and interactive presentation of shared information. The mapping was carried out during a discussion with 41 stakeholder representatives since the imposition of sustainable food consumption patterns in the country, divided into 7 groups. After content analysis the answers of the participants in the discussion have been coded, categorized and positioned at the appropriate stages. The results obtained were validated by five experts in this field. A discussion of the identified good practices in terms of their position at the relevant stage of the sustainable agri-food chain has been held: sustainable food production; sustainable food processing and distribution; sustainable food consumption and prevention of food loss and waste. The role of stakeholders in sustainable food consumption and in reducing food waste in Bulgaria along the sustainable agri-food chain has been also revealed. In conclusion, the need for change of the business models of production, processing, distribution, trade, and imposition and dissemination of the identified good practices for change of consumer behaviour and prevention of food loss and waste has been emphasized.

The identified need for a holistic policy to promote Sustainable consumption and production (SCP), as well as the lack of design of appropriate tools for future application in the Bulgarian context, determine the main focus of the study. The role of standards as voluntary (“soft”) policies and the presented typology reveal the deficit of research related to identification of standards applicable in the different categories of SPC policy tools. The presented research is directed to the identification of existing tools and standards that can influence SCP patterns, as well as to the categorization and ranking according to their relative importance by applying the approach of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The analysis based on the consistent application of different descriptive, qualitative and quantitative methods identifies a variety of SCP tools and standards. This paper discusses the results of a prioritizing process, divided into three categories: six administrative tools, five economic tools and four information tools. The calculation of global and local weights at three hierarchical levels allowed an analysis of the possibilities for their application in the national context. The results showed the advantage of the designated economic tools, followed by the administrative and information tools. The findings offer a systematic approach to transition from the existing “mosaic” of policy elements to a coherent SCP policy in the Bulgarian economic and social context.

Taking into account the shortfalls of the regulative and economic instruments, a third wave of entirely new instruments emerged in the EU economic policy at the end of the 20th century – the instruments of the voluntary approach. They appear in response to the need for effective and flexible instrument to overcome the limitations and difficulties of the existing policy. They are engagements that the business undertakes voluntarily to improve their ecological performance. One of the most widely distributed instruments for management of the ecological performance are the Environmental Management Systems (EMS). They contribute to the decrease of the ecologic footprint, facilitate the identification of various risks and hazards and provide the possibility for the company to demonstrate environmentally responsible behaviour in front of the customers and the society in general. Based on a research of 137 companies in the country, the current article aims at presenting an overview and evaluation of the motives and benefits of the EMS implementation by the Bulgarian companies. The analysis shows that the business in Bulgaria identifies as main drivers for EMS introduction mainly external economic factors – normative regulation, eligibility criteria for tenders, improvement of the competitiveness and better market performance.

The possibility of applying near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to monitor 13 active components (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and sesquiterpene lactones) in Arnicae flos was studied. The preprocessing of the spectra were performed by using the conventional Golay-Savitzky procedure and the newly developed step-by-step filter. The results obtained show that the step-by-step filter derivatives provide a better signal-to-noise ratio at a lower convolution window. Better calibration for the content of protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-cumaric acid, ferulic acid, isoquercitrin, and quercetin were obtained by step-by-step filter derivatives, compared to the direct raw spectra processing and the Golay-Savitzky approach. Although the step-by-step filter substantially reduces the spectral distortion, the convolution procedure leads to loss of spectral points in the red end of the spectral curve. Probably for this reason this approach shows better calibration only in seven of the monitored 13 active components.

The market of organic foods demonstrates a considerable development in the recent years – from a small niche serving a limited number of customers, today it is a market with increasing consumption. The demand of organic products is the result of consumers’ informed needs for healthy and safe foods and their ecological requirements. This is the most dynamic sector of the foodstuffs market in the world but the share of organic sales compared to the total amount remains around 2%. The paper examines in comparison the possibilities for development of organic agriculture and the organic foods market in Bulgaria in the period of accession to the European union. Based in the assumption that by buying organic products consumers take into account the need of sustainable development of the planet, ecological methods of agriculture in particular, the authors analyse the attitudes existing among Bulgarian producers and consumers of organic foods. The trends in the customers’ preferences and their ecological culture in Bulgaria are also studied. Conclusions about the state and the options of this market are drawn.

The quality and safety of organic products has been the subject of lively debate in the scientific community in recent years. The growing demand for organic food is based primarily on consumers’ concerns about the quality and safety and the perception that organic foods are healthier and safer than conventional foods. This paper identifies and makes analyses of comparative research studies on the quality of organic and conventional foods conducted over the last 15 years. Based on the food quality science fundamentals, a conceptual model for comparative testing of product quality is proposed. The model examines the dynamic relationship between its three basic components: “Designed Quality,” “Perceived Quality,” and “Achieved Quality.” The proposed model was used to conduct a comparative analysis of the quality of organic and conventional foods (herbs, yogurt, and cheese)—produced in Bulgaria as a country with emerging market of organic foods. The results of this comparison show that the differences between organic and conventional foods in terms of their quality characteristics are contained in their natural variations due to the nature of the tested products such as their species diversity and geographic area. Results also show that differences exist between pairs of products with respect to “non-measurable” credence characteristics such as environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and GMO-free, and authenticity. In conclusion, the proposed model allows the comparison between organic and conventional products quality to be considered in a broader context including social, environmental, and political dimensions.

Xanthates (potassium salts of alkyl or aryl derivatives of dithiocarbonic acid) as a result of numerous studies have shown a number of valuable biological properties: metals chelation, induction of apoptosis, anticancer effects. The selectivity of their cell metabolism through enzymatic and non enzymatic systems by reactive oxygen species needs a much deeper study. In the present short communication the results from the interaction and probable type of metabolism of n-octylxanthate (C8) by horseradish peroxidase are presented. C8 efficiently with high rate was metabolized to different metabolites of those obtained with its metabolism from cytochrome p450 system. The peroxidase reaction was inhibited but not inactivated by C8. Interaction of C8 with hydrogen peroxide in peroxidase reaction showed that in its metabolism C8 appears as a powerful scavenger of reactive oxygen species. These results are a good basis for expanding the research to explain the possible xanthate action as neuroprotective agents.

The innovations play a significant role in accomplishing economic growth and bring additional potential for improvement of the business competitiveness. In the last years the innovations related to environment preservation are subject to ever growing interest by the companies and the society. In the same time the EU ecological policy through Environment Management systems (EMS) approach encourage and stimulate the companies to invest in eco-innovations. Therefore, the present paper analyses the relationship between EMS and the activity of the Bulgarian companies in development and introductions of ecological technologies in the recent years. The conclusions am based on the results of a direct-individual-interview study conducted among Bulgarian companies from different sectors with implemented and functioning environmental management systems according to the international standard ISO 14001 and/ or EMAS. The obtained data revealed that the implementation of eco-innovations is in direct dependency of the economic sector and the market where the company operates as well as of the introduced regulatory requirements and the activities of the control bodies.

SMEs are seen as the cause of serious negative environmental impact due to the cumulative effect of their activities, resulting in a general pollution exceeding that of large companies. The transition of SMEs to green management is essential for the reduction of this impact on the environment and for making the use of energy and natural resources efficient. This article aims to explore the opportunities and challenges for SMEs in Bulgaria in relation to green management. The study, directed at micro, small and medium-sized companies in the country, aims through in-depth interviews to reveal their views on green business management and the expectations and challenges related to it. The obtained results allow to outline guidelines for the implementation of green practices as well as topics for future green management training among SMEs. The study's limitations are mainly related to the selection of participants who are representatives of micro, small and medium-sized companies from different sectors of the economy without any claims of representativeness. This does not allow generalization of the conclusions for the whole country as well as for all economic sectors.

In the end of the 20th century a new wave of entirely new instruments of the ecological policy in EU have emerged due to the unveiled shortages in the existent regulative and economic instruments. These voluntary approaches have arisen in response to the need for efficient and flexible instrument for overcoming the limitations and hurdles of the existing policy. They are voluntarily undertaken engagements by the business for improvement of their ecological performance. The conducted research of the voluntary approaches application in Bulgaria has discovered that the companies recognize and implement predominantly the Environment Management System in compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 14001. In order to identify potential suggestions for improvement of the voluntary instruments application there have been conducted a qualitative survey – deep interview with a group of stakeholders. The gathered information from the performed 15 interviews has been analysed through the expert evaluation method. Based on that, suggestions to the respective authorities have been developed for encouragement and improvement of the informational instruments application by the companies in the country.

МСП се разглеждат като причинители на сериозни отрицателни въздействия върху околната среда, в следствие акумулиращият ефект от тяхната дейност, който води до общо замърсяване, надхвърлящо това на големите компании. Преходът на МСП към „зелено“ управление е от съществено значение за намаляване на това въздействие върху околната среда, както и за ефективното използване на енергията и природните ресурси. Настоящата статия си поставя за цел да проучи възможностите и предизвикателствата пред МСП в България по отношение на „зеленото“ управление. Проучването чрез дълбочинни интервюта е насочено към микро, малки и средни фирми в страната, за да разкрие техните виждания за „зеленото“ бизнес управление и свързаните с това очаквания и предизвикателства. Получените резултати позволяват да се очертаят насоки за прилагане на „зелени“ практики, както и теми за бъдещо обучение за „зелено“ управление сред МПС в България. Ограниченията на проучването са свързани главно с избора на участници, които са представители на микро, малки и средни фирми от различни сектори на икономическа дейност, без претенции за представителност. Това не позволява направените заключения да се генерализират, както за цялата страна, така също и за всички икономически сектори.

The objective of the present study was to characterize chemically the essential oils of two distinct propolis types: Brazilian red and Taiwanese green. Unlike the non-volatile chemical composition of these types of propolis, which has been extensively studied, the knowledge of the essential oils is scarce or even not investigated. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of raw propolis samples using a Likens-Nickerson type apparatus and then analyzed by GC/MS. The main volatile components of Brazilian red propolis were the phenylpropanoids: elemicin (26.1-27.5%), methyl eugenol (16.3-23.8%), trans- methyl isoeugenol (9.2-11.6%), isoelemicin (6.1-7.1%) and trans-anethole (4.4-7.1%), while the major constituents of Taiwanese green propolis essential oil were: β-eudesmol (13.9%), 6-methyl-3,5-heptadiene-2-one (12.2%), y-eudesmol (4.4%), geranial (4.1%) and 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one (3.7%).

•Aroma profile of Virginia, Burley and Oriental tobacco absolutes was studied.•Ninety compounds were identified by GC/MS and about thirty − quantified by GC-FID.•Significant differences were observed as a reflection of the tobacco variety.•In Virginia and Burley absolutes only cembranoids were found.•In Oriental absolute both cembranoids and labdanoids are present.

The global economy is developing progressively. The related technological and economic advancement, however, have increased significantly the pressure upon the planet and has resulted in serious expansion of humanity's ecological footprint. This trend requires implementation of immediate and urgent actions to achieve sustainable development. One of the most distinguished ecological instruments is the Environmental management systems (EMS) according to ISO 14001 and Eco-management and audit scheme. The EMS requires taking into account all significant environmental aspects and determining of environmental risks and ecological performance indicators. The article explores the relation between EMS indicators and company's environmental policy characteristics incl. controlled indicators, tendency for negative impacts decrease, etc. The results are based on research conducted among small, medium and large companies in Bulgaria. The information has been gathered through direct personal interview with either manager responsible for environmental policy or person involved in its implementation. The general aggregation includes 1373 companies while 137 have participated in the research. The types of negative impacts caused by the company predefine the ecological indicators monitored on a regular basis: use of natural resources, solid waste generation, work-related effects, risk of ecological accidents, harmful emission in atmosphere, waste waters discharged in rivers or other basins. According to the respondents the undertaken measures for environment protection are effective. Between 50% and 65% of the companies comment that the results of the measurement in the previous three years have shown beyond any doubt decrease in the negative impacts regarding the monitored indicators.