Responsible Business in 2020 – 10 forecasts for Responsible Business Week
March 31, 2014
After 20 years in the CSR game as a professional and academic, I find myself reflecting on a vexing paradox: we have more CSR than ever before, yet many of the challenges that CSR is supposed to be tackling are still getting worse, not better. Partly, I think this is because we tend to focus …
Letter from a dry country
March 3, 2014
In the last few weeks we have seen exceptional storms and flooding affecting much of southern Britain. It therefore feels almost surreal to read about these events on the other side of the world in drought-wracked Australia. While the weather is getting wetter in the UK, it is getting dryer in Australia. Such extreme weather …
Doing the Business 2013 – Gasland II
November 27, 2013
In the fourth and final instalment of this year’s film series, we showed Gasland 2 (2013) directed by Josh Fox. In order to confidently introduce the sequel I also watched Gasland (2010). Josh Fox’s first documentary about hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’. The rather moving and personal story of Gasland strongly reminded me of Rachel Carson’ …
The beauty of the sustainability sector is that it recognises gender issues aren’t confined to within office walls
August 26, 2013
The business case for gender equality has really taken off. With the help of reports from McKinsey, Forum for the Future and Oxfam, the message to boost opportunities for women in business is finally getting out. Getting women into leadership positions and particularly on the board, is an especially hot topic. As recruitment firm Korn/Ferry …
The future of business school teaching: the challenge of sustainability
July 25, 2013
Programs like the MSc in CSR here at the University of Nottingham have played an important role in ensuring that citizens are well equipped to understand ethical considerations in navigating complex and often contradictory demands from business and society. The main aim has been to ensure that natural resources and societal stakeholders are taken into …
Envisioning Sustainable Futures – Sustainability Research Network Launch
May 21, 2013
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 …
Responsible Tourism – a research note
May 14, 2013
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 …
A University of Nottingham alumnus shares some thoughts for World Water Day.
March 22, 2013
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 …
My experience at the ARCS PhD Sustainability Academy
March 4, 2013
In October last year, I had the opportunity to participate in the 2012 PhD Sustainability Academy, an annual event of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) hosted by the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) in Canada. The purpose of the event was to assist PhD students in developing papers …
Should we be using carrots rather than sticks?
February 12, 2013
You’ve probably heard about flashmobs, but have you heard about carrotmobs? I came across this article in the Financial Times last week (FT 31st Jan, Activists trade stick for carrotmob by Amy Tsang), which raised some interesting questions. A carrotmob is described as a group of consumers coming together to buy a company’s product in order …
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