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Envisioning Sustainable Futures – Sustainability Research Network Launch

This week marks the official launch of the Sustainability Research Network (SRN) at the University of Nottingham; a student-led initiative designed to bring together PhD students and early careers researchers with an interest in sustainability. The network has been developed by five PhD students: Georgina Wood (Geography), Sarah Glozer (ICCSR), Eleanor Hadley Kershaw (ISS), Jennifer …

The glorious reign is over – NUBS staff defeated by the Undergraduates

The staff’s glorious (one-year) reign of holding the NUBS staff-student cricket trophy came to an inglorious end on 8th May at Grove Farm cricket fields, on the banks of the Trent.  In a ruthless display, the undergraduates reclaimed the trophy, winning by 9 wickets.  Winning the toss, the staff struggled in the seamer-friendly conditions, but …

Responsible Tourism – a research note

Ever since ‘sustainable tourism’ emerged in response to the negative impacts of the tourism industry, it has been the subject of much scepticism and critique. Of particular note is the question of whether tourism can be thought of as a sustainable practice at all; “it’s either sustainable or its not!” As these (absolutist) debates rumble …

Margaret Thatcher, CSR and me…

Margaret Thatcher’s death prompted many appraisals of her impact on politics and on people’s lives.  I offer my, seemingly unlikely, tale of her impact on CSR and me. Thatcher’s government introduced me to corporate social responsibility (CSR).  Whilst researching public policy responses to mass unemployment, we were, first, perplexed, and then intrigued, by the business …

Everyday entrepreneuring – sowing the seeds for more sustainable business.

The usual, everyday patter we hear around us about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship conjures up inevitable clichés: entrepreneurs are brash innovators, charismatic to the nth degree, relentless in their pursuit of profit. Likewise, we have all become familiar with the argument that entrepreneurship is a panacea for economic downturns; all we need to do is “to …

New CSR Dynamics? Institutions and systems in a more challenging era

The first decade of the 21st century saw growth in the talk about, and espousal of, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), particularly by multinational corporations (MNCs) across a wider set of geographical regions, most notably Asia. This growth was accompanied by other phenomena. The first was that CSR emerged as much more of a multi-stakeholder concern, …

A University of Nottingham alumnus shares some thoughts for World Water Day.

Some thoughts today, this 20th anniversary of World Water Day, from snowy Nottingham….. In 1832, Nottingham was hit by an outbreak of cholera…”… there were 930 attested cases and 330 deaths. It was generally agreed at the time that the lower parts of the town had been the worst affected and that the higher streets, built …

What the Feminists Thought: Taking CSR To New Audiences

InterGender.net is a site well worth looking at if you’re ‘into’ gender theories and feminist studies. It was just by chance that I stumbled across a doctoral course they were running called ‘Let’s Get Organised! Gender, Organisations, Policy, Power’ which called for doctoral researchers studying these concepts. A frenzied application later, and I was on …

Our evening with Michael Woodford and Nuncy

This story really was extraordinary.  Over 180 staff, students and business people listened intently to Michael as he recounted how, as newly appointed president of Olympus, he discovered and began to unpick an accounting fraud approaching $2 billion. Storytelling is clearly one of Michael’s talents, and the detailed tale and colourful descriptions and anecdotes provided …

Women’s Empowerment & CSR

“We want to see women in front of other women, talking to them”: Women’s Empowerment & CSR Four International Women’s Days’ ago, I was sitting in front of the KTWN women’s network committee; women who were forthright in their demands to be on an equal footing with the men in their community. We were in …