CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND GREEN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Temeljna svrha ovog rada je bila prikazati društveno odgovorno poslovanje i zelenu javnu nabavu u odabranim visokoškolskim organizacijama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Postavljeni istraživački ciljevi nastojali su utvrditi utjecaj društveno odgovornog poslovanja za visokoškolske ustanove, te povezanost takvog djelovanja sa zelenom javnom nabavom, kao i njenu primjenu u praksi. Također, nastojalo se utvrditi i postoji li specifična praksa primjene društveno odgovornog poslovanja u predmetnim ustanovama. Prilikom izrade rada primjenjeno je sekundarno istraživanje dostupne literature, analiza poslovanja odabranih sastavnica Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, te provođenjem intervjua sa odabranim ispitanicima koji su zaposleni u sektoru nabave u navedenim ustanovama. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da predmetna Sveučilišta na različite načine provode društveno odgovorno poslovanje, no da postoji mnogo prostora za napredak. Također, utvrđeno je i da se zelena javna nabava u predmetnim ustanovama provodi u zanemarivoj mjeri i potrebno je u budućnosti mnogo ulagati u edukaciju i osvješćivanje dionika u visokoškolskim ustanovama o važnosti i utjecaju održive nabave na okoliš. Smatra se da je ovo istraživanje dobar temelj i polazište za buduća istraživanja o provođenju održivog poslovanja i primjene zelene javne nabave u visokom obrazovanju na razini cijele Hrvatske.The basic purpose of this paper was to present socially responsible business and green public procurement in selected higher education organizations in the Republic of Croatia. The set research goals sought to determine the impact of socially responsible business for higher education institutions, and the connection of such activities with green public procurement, as well as its application in practice. Also, efforts were made to determine whether there is a specific practice of implementing socially responsible business in the institutions in question. During the preparation of the paper, a secondary research of available literature, analysis of the operations of selected components of the University of Zagreb, and conducting interviews with selected respondents who are employed in the procurement sector in these institutions were applied. The results of the research showed that the Universities in question conduct socially responsible business in different ways, but that there is a lot of room for improvement. Also, it was found that green public procurement in these institutions is carried out to a negligible extent and in the future it is necessary to invest heavily in education and awareness of stakeholders in higher education institutions about the importance and impact of sustainable procurement on the environment. It is considered that this research is a good foundation and starting point for future research on the implementation of sustainable business and the application of green public procurement in higher education at the level of the whole of Croatia