Education for sustainable development is still developing as a broad and comprehensive concept that includes related content on the environment, economy and society. Key issues of sustainable development include, among others, economic issues, production and consumption models, natural resource management, environmental protection, development models, poverty reduction, civic rights, democracy, governance etc. These issues are very diverse and require a holistic approach to teaching. The objective of this article is to diagnose and evaluate the current state of education for sustainable development in Polish higher education institutions, with particular emphasis on the EU in Katowice and to identify the directions of change. This article was written based on the Authors’ many years of scientific and teaching experience. It was also supported by a survey conducted in the year 2020/2021 among the students at the University of Economics in Katowice, which allowed them to identify directions for future educational activities.

This article presents the concept of sustainable energy industry advancement. It also evaluates selected aspects of energy sector development in the context of current civilisation challenges, European Union policy and principles of sustainable energy generation. The primary objective of the paper is to answer the question of whether the development of the power industry in Poland and other EU countries is sustainable in selected social (the problem of energy poverty), economic (energy security issues) and environmental aspects (the development of energy based on renewable sources, including the subject of bioenergy). The research method applied in the article is based on the analysis of available literature resources, thematic reports, statistical data, and legal acts. The analysis of the problems selected for the article indicates that these issues still remain unresolved barriers to the implementation of sustainable development, and the currently escalating crisis phenomena (energy and economic crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine) are not conducive to their effective and rapid elimination. Based on the above considerations, recommendations in relation to sustainability in the energy sector in Poland and the EU were deduced.

The article aims to evaluate – from the point of view of selected socio-economic aspects – the implementation of an innovative weed control technology into agricultural practice using laser energy targeted at reducing pesticide use. The achievement of the stated objective required an analysis of the research output concerning the problem of pesticide sustainability in European Union agriculture and an analysis of EU policies in this field. The paper also utilises data obtained through research by conducting in-depth interviews with representatives of three stakeholder groups: farmers, society and business. The subject of the interviews was to assess the impact of large-scale dissemination of an innovative weed control technology on selected socio-economic aspects. The article is one of the first studies to assess the social impact of innovative technologies using artificial intelligence and laser technology for weed control in agriculture. The implementation of this technology can have a significant impact on running farms in a more sustainable way, but a prerequisite for its successful use is the inclusion of social and economic considerations.

This article investigates the social attitudes towards forests and protected areas among the inhabitants of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. The survey was used as a research tool. The respondents were asked about following issues: Willingness to pay (WTP) to preserve forest functions in the case of logging reduction, willingness to pay (WTP) to preserve protected areas, and the possibility of running business activities in protected areas. The study involved 1204 respondents. The collected answers were used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used at this stage. The obtained results allowed to assess a relatively low willingness to pay among the surveyed respondents (WTP > 0 in the case of 24.8% of respondents to preserve forest functions in managed forests and 21.1% to preserve protected areas). The diverse factors, such as age, as well as professional and economic status, could be considered as related to this phenomenon.

Streszczenie Samorządy lokalne, po rozwiązaniu w pierwszym okresie po odrodzeniu samorządności bieżących problemów, zaczęły odczuwać potrzebę wypracowania kompleksowej wizji rozwoju. Jedną z możliwości konstruowania nowoczesnych strategii rozwoju jest kierowanie się wskazówkami formułowanymi w ramach koncepcji zrównoważonego rozwoju. Praktyczna implementacja polityki opartej na zasadach zrównoważonego rozwoju wymaga istnienia woli politycznej i przychylności władz samorządowych dotyczącej wdrażania rozwiązań zgodnych z tą koncepcją. Celem artykułu jest ocena postępów wdrażania polityki opartej na zasadach zrównoważonego rozwoju w gminach województwa śląskiego. Podstawową metodą badawczą jest analiza danych zawartych w ankiecie na temat polityki zrównoważonego rozwoju, przeprowadzonej przez pracowników Katedry Polityki Społecznej i Gospodarczej Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Katowicach w 2015 r. Analizując uzyskane wyniki, odwołano się również do wcześniej przeprowadzonych badań ankietowych. Na podstawie przeprowadzonych badań można stwierdzić, że istnieje postęp we wprowadzaniu zasad zrównoważonego rozwoju w polityce lokalnej, lecz jest on bardzo wolny. Pierwsze badania przeprowadzane w gminach na początku transformacji systemowej wskazywały na ok. 5-procentowy udział samorządów próbujących wdrażać politykę zrównoważonego rozwoju w gminie, a obecnie udział ten wynosi ok. 25% badanych gmin.