The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan has guided significant changes in recent years in terms of customer behaviour, public or private models and processes. One of the biggest supports came from the education system that plays an important role in ensuring a correct and efficient application of the policy. Therefore, our study is set to fill in the gaps in the current literature by analysing the correlation between the main pillars of circular economy and higher education to determine the existence of such influence and the pattern that each EU member state follows. The results have shown full and partial validations of the considered hypotheses, with the higher education drivers having significant impact on recycling rates and waste generation, and less on the value added to the economy.

This article examines the intricate relationships between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and key socio-economic indicators across various sectors. Utilizing different statistic methods, we scrutinize the interdependencies between air emissions and indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), education, life expectancy, pesticide use, recycling rates, agricultural production, net income, and tourism. Our analysis reveals a complex panorama where economic growth, indicated by GDP, agricultural output, and tourism, exhibits a strong positive correlation with CO2 emissions, suggesting that economic activity is a significant driver of environmental impact. Intriguingly, life expectancy also correlates positively with emissions, potentially reflecting the dual facets of industrial development, which, while boosting living standards and healthcare, concurrently increases environmental burdens. Conversely, educational attainment shows a negligible correlation, hinting at the potential for decoupling intellectual capital from carbon output. Through a robust statistical approach, this study underscores the multifaceted linkages between emissions and socio-economic health, highlighting areas for policy intervention and sustainable development strategies to balance economic advancement with environmental stewardship.

Organic agriculture is the most important source of healthy food for the population, as well as a real solution against environmental pollution. Practicing organic agriculture represents a concrete opportunity and a real chance for rural economies, contributing to sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to present the dynamics of the operators and surfaces in organic agriculture, in the period 2018-2023 in Romania. The data collected for the studied interval show that the total areas used in organic agriculture in Romania have increased constantly, from 326259.51 ha in 2018 to 693998.31 ha in 2023. Among the cultivated areas, the largest were occupied with cereals, followed by those with industrial and fodder plants. A spectacular increase is observed in the areas of pastures and hays, more than four times in the analyzed interval. Also, the number of operators certified in organic agriculture showed a constant increase during the analyzed period, starting from 9008 operators in 2018 and reaching 14061 operators in 2023. It can be stated that the ecologically cultivated area in Romania has registered a slight revival considering that by the percentage of certified areas is far below the EU average.

White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba, family Brassicaceae) is a cruciferous vegetable cultivated worldwide for its nutritional, medicinal and economic importance. The review aims to investigate the effect of some technological measures on production, use, biochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of white cabbage, through the analysis of some published scientific articles, accessible in the worldwide literature. To achieve the objective, citations of studies from open access online sources such as Google Scholar, Google Academic, Research Gate and Science Direct were carried out. These scientific studies confirm that white cabbage is a rich source of phytochemicals, including glucosinolates and phenolic compounds, as well as important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber with beneficial health properties. The content of phytochemicals and antioxidant compounds varies significantly depending on genotypes, agronomic practices, environmental factors or cultivation methods. To further increase the yield and quality of white cabbage, it is necessary to improve the cultivation technology and apply the most optimal standards of fertilization that maximize the biological productivity of varieties.

Kale (Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.), belongs to the Brassicaceae family and has a wide variety of uses: culinary, in landscape architecture, in traditional medicine, or as a plant with allelopathic potential through plant residues introduced into the soil releases glycosinolates that have a nematocidal effect. In Europe there are numerous genotypes introduced into the culture. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphological and production characters of an assortment of kale genotypes grown in South-West Region of Romania. The morphological character with the highest variability was plant height, which varied from 45 cm to 74.2 cm. The leaf rosette diameter registered the lowest value of 57 cm and the highest was 70.4 cm. The lenght and width of the leaf varied from 35.4 cm to 45.4 cm and respectively, from 9.05 cm to 16.47 cm, while the average weight of fresh leaves raged between 28.98 g and 56,15 g. All previously mentioned characters influenced useful production of leafy cabbage, which registered an amplitude of variation between 2.23 kg/m2 and 4.90 kg/m2. The morphological and productivity variability registered from within the analyzed genotypes, indicates a high diversity and a degree off their adaptability for cultivation in extensive crops in the SouthWestern area of Romania.