Сертификацията – инструмент за „зелени“ комуникации в глобалната търговия

Recent decades have witnessed a huge leap in the development of industrialization and increased consumption. This, of course, makes economic activities related to the use of more resources and the generation of growing quantities of waste, responsible to a great extent for environmental degradation. In order to reduce the negative impact, a change is needed which requires the involvement of all stakeholders - consumers, businesses and government institutions. This can be achieved when each participant in the chain assumes their responsibility for their actions. Producers - by reducing consumption of resources and by producing in an environmentally friendly manner. Consumers – by consuming responsibly, taking into account the impact of the products and services used on nature. The state - by creating conditions and stimulating the implementation of sustainable production and consumption patterns. An important point in this change is the communication between the different stakeholders. Certification systems can successfully fulfil the role of a tool giving information about the implementation of appropriate sustainable practices and thus suppress information asymmetry in the market. The said so far also defines the main aim of the monograph, namely to present the possibilities of certification schemes as a tool for providing information to stakeholders about the implementation of sustainable practices in Bulgaria. In order to identify the opportunities of certification to provide specific information, the business motivation for applying sustainable practices and consumer perceptions and attitudes towards such practices were analysed in the monograph. The evaluation in the course of the study will prove the hypothesis that certification schemes are an appropriate information tool for “green” communication with stakeholders in global trade. In the first chapter of the monograph, the theoretical foundations of certification, the chronology of development and its role in suppressing information asymmetry are ...