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Coke is an integral component of the blast furnace charge; therefore, it plays an important role in the integrated steelmaking process. Achieving the required coke quality parameters by producers requires the use of a high proportion of the highest quality coking coals (hard coking coals) in the coking blends, which significantly increases the unit production costs. Approximately 75% of these costs are constituted by the cost of the coal blend’s preparation. There is a deficit in the best quality coking coals on the world market and their supply are characterized by large fluctuations in quality parameters. Therefore, from the point of view of the economics of coke production, it is advantageous to produce high-quality coke from a coke blend with the highest possible content of cheaper coals. The paper presents the results of the influence of coal charge bulk density and semi-soft coking coal content in the coking blend on the textural and structural parameters of coke, which determine its quality. Research has shown that the application of increased density influences the parameters of the texture and structure of the coke, which shape its quality parameters. The use of stamp-charging technology contributes to the improvement of the coke quality or enables the production of coke of a predetermined quality from blends containing cheaper semi-soft coals.

This article addresses issues of air pollutant emissions by Polish mining industry leaders in the light of corporate social responsibility policy: Kombinat Górniczo-Hutniczy Miedzi Polska Miedź S.A. (KGHM), Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE). The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative regulates business activities at the level of environmental and social responsibility. Given the location of the “emission activities”, the level of pollutants (SOx, NOx, PMx) generated by selected entities in the capital group over the years has been analysed. The aim of the article is to disclose relevant data on the emission reduction of entities as an expression of the actions of taking care of the environment and social protection. Evaluation of the extractive industry in the context of only interventions in the environment without emphasizing the economic and social significance is biased. Therefore, the level of emissivity of the whole economy has been verified against the background of the European Union. The article highlights the importance of coal power in two contexts: the production of electricity based on that fuel in controlled industrial installations and the uncontrolled use of coal in the municipal economy as a problem with a greater nuisance and impact on the quality of inhaled air. Analyses have shown that the widely understood mining industry is still a source of pollution, but power plants and processing plants have significantly reduced the volume of emissions over the years.

Abstract Green jobs, although defined differently, are created in various sectors of the economy. This is because many organizations strive to implement the idea of ​​a green economy. Some sectors of the economy are conducive to the direct creation of green jobs, others distinguish skills and actions that can indirectly contribute to the creation of green employment. The purpose of this study is to analyze green jobs compared to Industry 4.0. Changes towards a green economy coincide with the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), which supports green governance. The style of common fields set by green jobs and Industry 4.0 comes to the synergy effect, which is manifested in the practical actions presented in the chapter. Smart cities are a special case, where green infrastructure is developing to support electromobility and reduce the effects of anthropopressure.

Development and implementation of the agri-environmental program is mandatory for each member state of the European Union. Polish agri-environmental program focuses not only on extensification of agricultural production but also at sustaining of existing Europe’s largest biodiversity in the rural areas. The agri-environmental program is an alternative to the conventional agriculture and is designed to encourage farmers to adopt practices that lead to the greening of agricultural production and is contributes to the retardation of intensive transforming of habitats in rural areas. Agricultural producers in the Podkarpackie voivodeship are seeking new opportunities and they see a chance for the development of their farms also in agri-environmental program. Survey research has shown that the majority of the farmers decided to participate in the agri-environmental actions for economic reasons and in the extent of their knowledge and the way in which they perceive environmental issues do not differ much from the surveyed parties who do not carry out agrienvironmental program. Even thought they composted organic waste, do not dispose them in the illegal dumpsites and they claim (98%) that they comply with the Code of Good Agricultural Practice (while in the group who do not realize the program that answer was provided only by 20% of the respondents), they did not recognize the threat to the environment due to the deterioration of biodiversity.

Abstract The article proves the necessity and expediency of using financial leasing by extractive industry enterprises to minimize the cost of purchasing, using, maintaining equipment and maintaining production capacity. Foreign and domestic financial leasing practices analyzed and their direct impact on the development of the country’s economy is determined. Financial leasing will become more accessible and understandable for enterprises of different sectors of the economy after the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Financial Leasing”. The analysis of the value of the concluded financial leasing agreements by sectors of the economy carried out and their basic tendencies defined. It is determined that the volume of concluded financial leasing agreements by extractive industry enterprises has a small share in comparison with other branches of economy. The analysis of the effectiveness of structural changes confirm the low demand for financial leasing by extractive industry enterprises. It is determined that the use of financial leasing by extractive industry enterprises will expand existing production, introduce the latest technologies, minimize costs for the purchase, use, maintenance and upgrade of equipment and means of production.

The European Union is currently in the process of transformation toward a circular economy model in which different areas of activity should be integrated for more efficient management of raw materials and waste. The wastewater sector has a great potential in this regard and therefore is an important element of the transformation process to the circular economy model. The targets of the circular economy policy framework such as resource recovery are tightly connected with the wastewater treatment processes and sewage sludge management. With this in view, the present study aims to review existing indicators on resource recovery that can enable efficient monitoring of the sustainable and circular solutions implemented in the wastewater sector. Within the reviewed indicators, most of them were focused on technological aspects of resource recovery processes such as nutrient removal efficiency, sewage sludge processing methods and environmental aspects as the pollutant share in the sewage sludge or its ashes. Moreover, other wide-scope indicators such as the wastewater service coverage or the production of bio-based fertilizers and hydrochar within the wastewater sector were analyzed. The results were used for the development of recommendations for improving the resources recovery monitoring framework in the wastewater sector and a proposal of a circularity indicator for a wastewater treatment plant highlighting new challenges for further researches and wastewater professionals.

The demographic low, and thus the inevitable aging of the populations of economically developed countries, makes it necessary to extend the working life of citizens. Therefore, an increasing percentage of workers are representatives of the so-called “silver” generation, i.e., people over 50 years of age. The main objective of the study is to characterize the system of values, attitudes to work, and related expectations of professionally active women and men over 50 years of age and to determine whether, and if so, how the hierarchy of values, attitudes to work, and job satisfaction affect the further development of their professional careers. In order to achieve such a goal, a CAVI survey was conducted on a sample of n = 600 respondents. The statistical significance of the differences between the groups was tested with the Mann–Whitney U test. To verify the main hypothesis, ordinal logistic regression models were built. The results of the study were supplemented with elements of descriptive statistics. In the course of the research work, it was confirmed that there are significant differences between the studied men and women in the assessment of traits concerning their value hierarchy, attitudes towards work, and career prospects. Traits such as value hierarchy and attitudes toward work have a significant impact on the career development of both women and men of the “silver” generation, while job satisfaction shows a significant impact on career development only for women.

The aim of the paper is to study the impact of human capital and R&D on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) from a nonlinear perspective. In the spirit of the theory of innovation-driven growth and models with thresholds in human capital and low-growth equilibria, we hypothesize that the impact of human capital and R&D on TFP is nonlinear. We also make an attempt to explain complementarities between R&D expenditures and human capital, applying developments in the R&D-based growth models. We use spatial panel data models to estimate the link among R&D, human capital, and TFP across the European regions between 2009 and 2014. Empirical evidence shows that there are decreasing returns to human capital and R&D in the European regional space. Moreover, R&D and human capital turn out to be strategic complements. Finally, regional TFP is found to be positively affected by TFP of neighboring regions.