Sustainable development or the concept of sustainability is a term that is often used today in the public and business world and is also frequently used by various international organisations and policy makers. Defining the concept of sustainable development is a complex process as it encompasses a wide range of issues such as climate change, pollution, poverty and significant social inequalities.
Such an important topic was the subject of the project – Sustainability in Business and Education, which involved seven international partners, among which the Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb played an important role.
The sustainable development goals are precisely focussed on the key areas of social issues that differ from country to country, taking into account the economic development of each country, and they comprise four pillars: governance, people, environment and prosperity.
In the context of the environment in its broadest sense, particular attention is given to Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, which concerns ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all citizens.
In view of this important component of sustainable development and the role of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute as the umbrella institution in the Republic of Croatia for monitoring water quality and standards, the Director of the Institute, Mario Šiljeg, gave a presentation at the Croatian Chamber of Economy aimed at raising the community’s awareness of the importance of water by presenting the current state of water supply and drainage in the Republic of Croatia, the financial challenges for water management and the achievement of SDG6 targets by 2030. In his presentation, the Director emphasised not only monitoring as the main task of the Institute, but also its role in education. Through its professional work, the Institute has the task of implementing continuing education programmes for the employees of water service providers, with the aim of providing knowledge and best practises that would, among other things, contribute to the reduction of water losses and thus enable effective management of the systems and the development of sustainable business practises.
