Abstract:

Today's world is characterised by great differences in economic development and living standards between countries and continents. Populations in the economically developed countries of the world are aware of the limitations of natural resources and are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of the planet as well as the ethical aspects that accompany the production of food and consumer goods. The ethical aspects of production, respect for basic human rights in the producing countries and animal rights are important principles of solidarity and are among the important issues of the present and the future.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the orientation of students of a selected university in the field of sustainability in the context of ethical principles of production and to find out their satisfaction with the level of information obtained in the courses taught during their studies. The article was prepared on the basis of own quantitative research, which was conducted through the method of questionnaire survey. The implementation was carried out in the autumn months of 2022. The target group was students of economically oriented direction of study of a selected university in the Czech Republic. The total number of respondents was 328 persons aged 18-26 years from bachelor's and master's degree studies. The results show that the majority of students show a general interest in sustainability and environmental issues in the context of ethical principles, but at the same time they admit a discrepancy between their ideas and their application in everyday life. Practical knowledge of the various symbols indicating ethical production was shown by respondents to a lower extent, with the exception of the Fairtrade logo, of which more than 80% of university students declared knowledge. Respondents stated their overall satisfaction with the inclusion of general questions related to sustainability issues in the subjects taught, but at the same time they would welcome more information on ethical aspects of production

Keywords:

Assessment, education, ethical, production, students, sustainability.