Magdalena Dragan (p)

Gabriela Tudose

Dealing with bio-waste in urban areas is a challenge for the institutions in charge of solid municipal waste management, but decentralized composting proved to be a viable solution for many cities and regions in Europe. In the present paper we explore the possibility of a decentralized bio-waste management in urban areas in Romania. Out of the many successful examples in the scientific literature, we chose three decentralized composting systems applied in the European Union (that were different in terms of spatial scale, population involved, efficiency, etc.), and searched for best practices that could be transferred to the bio-waste management in Romania. We found out that several aspects are important for implementing a successful decentralized composting system: good knowledge of the local situation, support from the local authorities, keeping the resources local, training expert composters (that know very well the biological processes involved at various scales), and educate the population. We also searched on local mass-media and on social media for bottom-up initiatives for decentralized composting in Cluj-Napoca (the second-largest city of Romania). We found informal groups for collecting and composting bio-waste, local producers and consumer groups promoting the circular use of agricultural products, start-ups providing bio-waste collection services to urban households and community gardening and composting. The identified best practices from European cases and the described local initiatives represent a foundation that can be built upon in order to create locally adapted bio-waste management systems in urban areas in Romania, in accordance with the circular economy principles.

Carmen Beatrice Pauna (p), Raluca- Ioana Iorgulescu, Tiberiu Diaconescu

Magdalena Dragan

Covasna County is one of the top Romanian promoters of bio-based industries and has been involved in many related EU projects. In the concrete case of efforts for building green skills, in order to integrate SDGs in local / regional economic activities, the boundary between good practices and bio-innovators is quite sensitive. If good practices have already become a concept / term or even a method of achieving goals, / bio-innovators could be considered an example of good practice.
The objective of this paper is to reveal the importance bio-innovators have in designing the roadmap for the development of a regional bioeconomy strategy.
The contribution of the paper to this special session’s topic refers to documenting the influence / complex role attributed to the local bio-innovators, who managed in an inspired way to weave the tradition of certain activities with innovative elements.
The adopted method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses and a broad stakeholder consultation process is used, with the aim of promoting, supporting and further developing regional bioeconomies. It involves a mix of means / elements: defining the topic, identification of subjects, distribution of questionnaires according to the exact field of their activity, processing their answers, the conceptualization of the economic phenomena found in the investigated local economic practice, and the drawing up of small-scale business models dependent on bioeconomic activities.
Covasna County’s bioeconomy roadmap was the result of combining the outcome of the logical matrix with the current situation of the circular bioeconomy in the county. It outlines the action plan for the achievement of the goals as well as the monitoring and governance.
The paper draws an important conclusion, that Covasna County represents the case of a nodal involvement of bio-innovators in the local economy and it represents a case study for a competitive framework combined with inter-human and institutional solidarity, based on common values and a common vision of the potential for local bioeconomy strategy development.

Cristina Lincaru (p), Speranța Camelia Pîrciog, Adriana Grigorescu, Cătălin Corneliu Ghinăraru

Carmen Beatrice Pauna

Digital transformation affects work and labour market. New radical and disruptive technologies
Brings complex, ample, and profound changes are not reflected anymore by the present occupational standards. Job classifications systems and their Occupational standard are the Labour market nexus. The new strategical framework is multilevel global, regional (EU27), national, local and individual level. Phenomena are simultaneously and highly complex. We analyse this new strategical framework and its linkages with SDGs with direct relevance to the labour market focused on upgrading and adapting the occupational standards according to the new framework. Our conclusion state that, the natural evolution of the Agenda 2030 implementation is at the level of occupational standards, the real nexus of the labour market. Job classification systems in the 2030 Sustainable Agenda is the digital transformation process toward universal classification occupational standards by the SDGs relevant criteria.

Gabriela Tudose (p), Ghenadie Ciobanu

Cristina Lincaru

European Union countries’ performance of skills in the context of green inclusive economy

This paper proposes a cluster analysis, where the clusters are formed using the new indicator European Skills Index (CEDEFOP - ESI), Green Growth Index (GGI) and Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDP/capita) to show which countries are better equipped to reach what the |Sustenability 2030 Agenda aims. The analysis uses data from 25 states members of EU at NUTS1 in the year 2020 from CEDEFOP database (for skills index), Global Green Growth Institute database (for GGI) and Eurostat (for GDP per capita). Using the method of hierarchical cluster analysis, the results organized by groups in a hierarchical order will show us which countries have simultaneously enough capabilities in term of dimensions skills index, like skills development, skills activation and skills matching and in terms of performance in achieving four green growth index dimensions: efficient and sustainable resource use, natural capital protection, green economic opportunities and social inclusion, as well as a good level of GDP per capita. Based on this analysis, four distinct clusters are identified showing similarities and differences and reflecting the true patterns in the data. The analysis allows us to, also, observe the relationship between different sub-pillars of skills index and the green growth index/sub-pillars of the green growth index at level of whole EU or by clusters. The paper conclusions will offer some insights for future green economy growth policies and also for skills transformation, as well as for labour market and future orientation of educational policies. The policy needs to focus on extensive accelerating of up- and reskilling and providing guidance and support to workers who will need to change occupation, sector or geographic location (CEDEFOP, 2021).