Assoc. Prof. Irena Markova Defended Dissertation Thesis on the Insurance of Environmental Risks and Corporate Security for the Degree of Doctor of Science

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Markova successfully defended her dissertation thesis for the degree of Doctor of Science on the Insurance of Environmental Risks in the Corporate Security of the Industrial Enterprise at the UNWE Department of National and Regional Security.

The research is in the scientific area of professional field 3.8. Economics, Scientific Specialty Economics and Management /Defence and Security/.

The scientific jury was composed of Prof. Dr. Tsvetan Tsvetkov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantin Pudin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivaylo Beev from the UNWE and external members - Prof. Dr. Yordan Christoskov, Prof. Dr. Andrey Zahariev, Prof. Dr. Stanislav Dimitrov, Prof. Dr. Tilcho Ivanov. The event was also attended by Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of UNWE and Head of the National and Regional Security Department and by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noncho Dimitrov, Scientific Secretary of the Department.

“The insurance of environmental risks is a topic of deep public and social importance but it is still not enough studied in the insurance theory”, pointed out Assoc. Prof. Markova in the presentation of her dissertation and outlined that securing the principle of sustainable development of the country's economy increases the role of environmental insurance and requires improvement and innovation of the insurance products.

"The functioning of industrial enterprises in a turbulent environment under the influence of a number of internal and external factors determines the issue of enhancing corporate security. The manifestation of environmental risks and new threats in industrial enterprises of different sectors of the economy is the focus of attention of corporate risk management. The global problems related to the environmental pollution make it necessary for business units to improve their risk management in the direction of conducting environmental assessments and to take measures to prevent and minimize the consequences of environmental risks", is said in the exposé of Assoc. Prof. Markova: "In the context of the green transition, industrial enterprises are striving to increase their corporate social responsibility, to improve their environmental policy and to support the European Union's measures towards a zero greenhouse gas economy by 2050. The most vulnerable in terms of environmental pollution are enterprises with hazardous production such as the operating business units in the field of nuclear energy, chemical industry, etc."

Assoc. Prof. D.Sc. Irena Markova expressed her thankfulness to the members of the National and Regional Security Department, to the Dean's Managing body of the Economics of Infrastructure Faculty and personally to the Rector Prof. Dimitrov for "the opportunity to present the dissertation for consideration and discussion at the Department".

Assoc. Prof. D.Sc. Irena Markova expressed her gratitude for the institutional support to Prof. Dr. Gavriisky Foundation and the Bulgarian Chamber of Chemical Industry for conducting the specialized research on supply and demand in the environmental insurance market in Bulgaria. She also expressed thankfulness to her lecturers from Higher School of Insurance and Finance - Prof. Neno Pavlov, Prof. Prof. Boyan Iliev, Assoc. Prof. Yoto Yotov as well as to her colleagues from the UNWE Human Resources and Social Protection Department and to all the colleagues she has worked with over the years.