Strategic Development of Social Entrepreneurship Mechanisms and Regulation in Biomass Waste Management

Abstract

Introduction. The environment, which is polluted by biomass waste, high unemployment, primarily in agriculture, and the need for alternative energy sources, requires the search for new organisational forms in the circular economy. Therefore, the issue of social entrepreneurship in biowaste processing is relevant. Research on social entrepreneurship has unique potential for effective biomass waste management, serving as a key catalyst for simultaneously achieving a circular economy and energy transition.

Aim and tasks. The study aims to investigate the strategic development of social entrepreneurship in biowaste management, considering the relationships between financial policy and social and environmental effects, and to develop a model for integrating social enterprises in the biomass management chain.

Results. European social enterprises have developed various innovative business models for biowaste utilisation. Simultaneously, Ukraine is not ready to introduce social enterprises into the waste processing industry. However, correlation analysis confirmed significant multidimensional relationships between the policy of financing biowaste processing and social and environmental effects. The correlation coefficient between biomass fuel consumption and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is 0.985; between the installed capacity of bioenergy equipment and the number of additional jobs is 0.942; and between the volume of recovered biowaste and the level of employment in the industry is 0.978. The low level of social entrepreneurship development in biomass management in Ukraine has led to the development of a model that allows a social enterprise to position itself in the chain of collection, sorting, and logistics of biowaste.

Conclusions. Increased logistics costs and current costs for the collection and disposal of biowaste led to a 15.6-fold reduction in investments in biowaste processing compared with 2015. As a result of a 3.8-fold reduction in the employment growth rate in this sector and a 4.6% reduction in the proportion of biowaste disposal, the importance of social initiatives for the strategic development of entrepreneurship in biowaste management is increasing. The involvement of local communities contributes to the growth of the social effect, and social entrepreneurs can adapt the use of European financial and technical support instruments for the strategic development of social entrepreneurship in biowaste management.