Sustainable («Green») Rural Development: Criteria for Assessing Project Compliance

Sustainable development of rural areas is based on the implementation of well-balanced “green” and adaptive business projects that do not have a crucial negative impact on the environment, following the principle of “Do no significant harm”. Businesses embed this value in their mission and apply corporate management tools in accordance with the ESG concept. The subject of the study is a comprehensive assessment of the projects’ compliance with the priorities of sustainable development. The research is based on logical, scientific abstraction, graphical, analytical methods and literature review. The priorities of sectoral development that meet the modern global challenge are highlighted, and graphical working tools for strategic analysis and planning are proposed. Two maps were developed – a map of the positioning of rural areas, taking into account the assimilation ability of ecosystems, and a map of the assessment of a business project according to the level of balance of equivalent and interrelated criteria - effectiveness, efficiency, environmental friendliness and ethics. Each map identifies the types of strategic positions of rural areas and measures of demanded public influence. In the first case, the situation is assessed, determined by the probability of environmental risk. In the second case, the types of rural areas are determined in accordance with the priorities of economic activity. Moreover, business ethics is positioned as a new value and a sought-after measurable indicator of management quality for sustainable development purposes. The final matrix of these results can serve as a tool for making business decisions and control during the verification of project decisions.