Efficiency of circular economies is one of the most important areas of the improvement of economic growth in a circular way, that is, improving worldwide GDP. The issue of circular economies, namely their efficiency, is a current topic of evidence of many literary sources in the literature. This issue is solved in the conditions of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The goal of the study is to compare the circular efficiency within the Visegrád Group and efficiency of Visegrád Group countries to the European Union 28 average. Data envelopment analysis slack-based models are implemented to evaluate the output efficiencies of the selected subjects. Truncated regression is used to measure the impact of selected indicators on circular efficiency. The Visegrád Group countries are not among the most advanced in terms of recycling and the use of the circular economy, which was confirmed by this research. However, developments suggest significant improvements. The significance of this research lies in several benefits. One of the benefits is the perception of regional differences and the setting of EU cluster policies at the regional level. The idea of changing inputs is very significant since the outputs are oriented to the recycling rates of materials and waste. This research has shown that a higher level of GDP does not necessarily mean a higher level of efficiency of the circular economy.

The article discusses the environmental efficiency of the countries of the European Union and its main objective is to verify models that could be used to explain changes in efficiency in selected countries and to add to the contributions of other authors. Two-step Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been used, which is a suitable method for verifying the statistical significance of environmental variables. Two DEA models—CCR and BCC—were used and efficiencies have undergone a double-bootstrap procedure. As input variables, three emission per capita indices were computed to single output GDP per capita. Three truncated regression models have been proposed. Results have shown that the model with drivers of climate change and variables connected to socio-economic factors is the most relevant and significant. There are common variables, whose improvement increases the efficiencies in all European Union countries, but there are also indices which have to be considered in individual/subgroup policies and implications, such as environmental taxes, waste management, resources productivity, and transport of goods management.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to propose alternatives of increasing the efficiency of material selection and processing in the selected company and reduce costs and leather sustainability as a result.Methodology/Approach: In this case study, an automotive company processing a natural leather material that enters the process of a large-scale production was explored. For this purpose, the internal documents of the firm selected including its internal database and know-how of its employees were used. The ways of improving the efficiency of the material processing were proposed and tested in a digital environment. In the proposed solutions, Industry 4.0 principles were implemented.Findings: By the use of Digital twin and other Industry 4.0 principles and solutions in the process of material selection and processing in the company selected, the increased efficiency and cost savings were achieved.Research Limitation/implication: The solutions proposed in this paper were based on exploration of the chosen data set of the selected company. For the future research, testing of the given proposals in other companies should be conducted.Originality/Value of paper: Although there is an increasing number of publications describing the concept Industry 4.0, the research providing evidence of its benefits for business entities is still scarce. This paper offers such a research in the enterprise selected.

Mineral resources are life and driving force of the European Union. It is gaining awareness not only in the EU dependent on imports, but also in the world. In the context of the growing population and the growing demands of economies for natural resources, this type of material management has a significant negative impact on the environment. The main aim of the study was to justify the model of circular economy on the national level, based on the disparities between the regions of Slovak republic. To meet the objective, mostly one-factor analysis was implemented. The circular model, which is based on the partial replacement of primary raw materials by secondary ones, should, on the one hand, limit the depletion of natural resources and, on the other hand, reduce the amount of waste produced. The presented work focuses on the issue of sustainable development, which is closely related to the circular economy, and then explains the circular economy model, including the differences from the linear arrangement and possible obstacles to its implementation for the specific conditions of the Slovak republic. From the results, it is clear that the proposed circular model would be helpful to improve the inefficiencies and disparities on the regional and national level.

This study aims to identify significant differences between the countries of the European Union, follow the course of achievement of the convergence objectives, assess developments against specific common characteristics of the countries, and propose possible measures that could improve the state of health in the EU as a whole by implementing standard cohesion policies. To compare efficiency and productivity among the states of the European Union, we used data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI). On the basis of our findings, even countries that joined the EU later achieve high technical efficiency values. However, it should be noted that it is in these countries that technical efficiency values tend to decline. The values of the Malmquist productivity index broadly indicate stagnation in western countries and productivity decline in central and eastern European countries. This decline is mainly due to a negative shift in the technological frontier in these countries.

Quality of life is one of the most important areas of human well-being explored worldwide. The issue of quality of life, namely its quantification, is a current topic evidenced by a number of literary sources in the literature. We solved this issue in the conditions of the Slovak Republic and within this problem, we analyzed the development of the quality of life parameters for each self-governing region of Slovakia. We calculated a Quality of Life Index for the regions of Slovakia using selected indicators. We compared the quality of life in the regions of Slovakia and selected parameters suitable for calculating the overall index together with the methodology of the index’s creation. We found that there are statistically significant differences between regions, in terms of economic, social and environmental factors. The assessment of the quality of life in the regions of Slovakia, as well as the assessment of the quality of life also on the level of Slovakia, even internationally, is an important aspect affecting the further development of society and the existence of humanity itself.