Impact of globalisation on circular economy and sustainable development

Currently, the issues related to the global threats of the environment represent a special, increasingly more significant category of global issues. The main cause of the constantly changing conditions of the environment is the economic growth itself as it is closely connected to the growth of population, satisfaction of the man's needs and a consequent increase in consumption. With the increase in consumption, there is an increase in the use of natural resources which we perceive as a usable resource that results in the transformation of raw materials into materials being used in the production of consumer goods. The energy used in the production, together with the reusable resources, is being later returned to the economic cycle in the form of waste. However, the way we currently use resources is not sustainable. To ensure sustainable development in the Slovak Republic, as well as in the whole European Union, we need to employ resources in a more inteligent, sustainable way. It is evident that the linear model of economic growth, that we relied on in the past, does not fullfill the needs of present, modern societies in the globalized world. The transition to a circular economy seems to be an appropriate system that can provide environmentally- and economically- sustainable use of available resources, and, thereby, being able to support the main objective within the Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth - Europe 2020.