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The Centre for Responsible Business
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 Dr François Lépineux
Head of the Centre for Responsible Business
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As a number of major crises have already broken out (not only in the financial sphere) and others are still before us (e.g. the effects of climate change, the consequences of the peak in oil supply, the shortage of food and water resources), numerous voices question the relevance of corporate policies, and suggest that the business community should adopt new roles beyond its economic functions.
While consumer groups increasingly expect companies to adopt socially responsible behaviours, new regulations and extra-financial rating agencies invite them to take environmental, societal, governance and ethical issues seriously into account.
Doing business in a responsible way meets the demands of all these stakeholders and may generate a competitive advantage for proactive companies; on that assumption, ESC Rennes School of Business decided to launch the Centre for Responsible Business in 2007.
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The CRB pioneers responsible ways of doing business in order to contribute to a more sustainable world.
By “responsible business”, we mean balancing economic, social, ethical and environmental aspects of doing business.
The Centre for Responsible Business links a global approach to corporate responsibility and performance with a forward thinking orientation regarding the challenges which businesses will face in the coming decades. Contributing to excellence in both theoretical and applied research, the CRB has a vocation for helping organizations devise and implement sustainability policies and processes in a global environment. It also nurtures the School’s pedagogy to include responsibility in all its educational programs.
1) Fostering academic research As the fields of business ethics, business and society or sustainability are undergoing rapid changes, research is necessary to produce both theoretical and applied knowledge that can be used in the School’s educational programs as well as in organizations of all kinds. 2)Raising awareness and developing skills for responsible management Courses dealing with sustainability, CSR, ethics and diversity are gradually being incorporated in all programs taught at ESC Rennes, in order to increase the awareness and understanding of students on these matters. Through their microenterprises, students are also given the opportunity to participate in the greening of the institution; besides, conferences and roundtables connect them with executives from various companies to discuss responsible business.
- Executive MBA Leadership for sustainable competitiveness.
For more information, please visit the following page on the School’s website Programme Executive MBA
3) Providing businesses with sustainable strategic solutions In these times of turbulence and upheaval, businesses will realize that the best way for them to proceed is to reorient their policies and strategies towards corporate responsibility and sustainability. Specifically, the CRB at ESC Rennes School of Business can help both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations make the right decisions and accompany them during the implementation process.
- Example of an action-research contract: Diana Naturals
4) Cooperating in regional and international networks with academia, business, civil society and government
- The Centre for Responsible Business is creating a network of partner organizations, including academic institutions, public authorities, international institutions or initiatives, research centres, business networks, multi-stakeholder forums, NGOs and student associations.
- In cooperation with Rennes’ Chamber of Commerce, the CRB has set up the Responsible Business Club, bringing together about 40 regional and national companies which exchange on their policies and practices and discuss various topics of interest.
1) Responsible leadership and organizational change
- Responsible leaders develop and implement policies and strategies which balance economic, social, ethical and environmental imperatives
- Values-driven leadership: there are many examples of CEOs who endorse and translate into action certain values
- The leader can play the role of a change agent : experience shows that his commitment is necessary to set the organization in motion and support its progress at the operational level.
2) Business and the environment
- Many multinational corporations and companies of all kinds are trying to reduce their ecological footprint, and have already implemented environmental management systems
- However, much still has to be done before the concern about the state of the planet percolates the whole business sphere
- Which levers can be used to raise the awareness of top executives and managers on that issue?
- Green business opportunities: can environmental challenges lead to the development of innovative business solutions?
3) Managing stakeholder relationships
- Stakeholder management is as a tool for analysing and understanding the complexity of an organisation’s social and natural environment
- From the perspective of strategic management, companies that handle their stakeholder relationships efficiently by establishing fruitful partnerships can gain a competitive edge
- A more normative approach to stakeholder management implies that managers engage in a dialogue with their company’s stakeholders, listen to their concerns and respond to them in an adequate manner
- Today we face social and environmental problems that need to be approached in cooperation. This is done more and more often in multi-stakeholder initiatives
4) Corporate social performance
- The implementation of a CSR or sustainability approach can only be successful through a process of organizational learning which involves all the managers and employees in all the countries or locations where the company operates
- This process requires that the evolutions regarding ethical, governance, societal and environmental aspects be measured on a regular basis according to relevant criteria and indicators, in order to ensure steady progress towards multi-dimensional performance
5) New business models contributing to sustainable development
- The quest for sustainable development offers a wealth of opportunities to create innovative business models
- For instance in the field of green technologies: solar energy, wind turbines, biomass, new engines, autonomous buildings…
- But also as regards socially responsible investment, fair trade, and all the mechanisms that can empower the “bottom of the pyramid”…
6) Diversity management
- The workforce is getting more and more diverse, and this trend will continue over time
- Organizations are increasingly leveraging differences to enhance creativity and performance
- Innovative companies are shifting away from a quota system and embracing a more inclusive approach where differences are not only accepted, but used as the basis for a sustainable competitive advantage
Dr Ahmed ATIL,
Faculty member, Finance and Operations Department
Focus area: information systems for the environment and sustainable development
Dr Andrew BARRON,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr Jens BLUMRODT,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Dr Carole BONANNI,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr François-Marie FERRE,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: Diversity Issues in France
Dr Sarah HUDSON,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: technologies and sustainable development
Mr Simon LAWDER,
Focus area: SME social responsibility and leadership
Dr François LÉPINEUX,
Head, Centre for Responsible Business
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr Don MINDAY,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: sustainable development
Dr Elen RIOT,
Faculty member, Strategy and Marketing Department
Dr Julia ROLOFF,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: business ethic
Dr Ismaël SENE,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: Change Management and Business Ethics
Ms Cyrlene CLAASEN, (doctoral student),
Focus area: corporate social responsibility in Africa
Ms Sophie HENNEKAM, (doctoral student),
Focus area: Knowledge Management and Culture
Dr Ahmed ATIL,
- Environmental commitment in SMEs: information system and learning process
Dr Andrew BARRON,
- Signed a contract with Palgrave for the publication of the textbook "Cross Cultural Management" (in collaboration)
- Transparency in interest intermediation: a transatlantic comparison
Dr Carole BONANNI,
- Ethics in E-business
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Cyrlen CLASSEN (doctoral student)
- PhD dissertation: "Corporate Social Responsibility and Legitimacy of 50/50 Mining Joint Ventures between Governments and Multinationals: The Case of Namibia and De Beers"
- With Julia Roloff: Political responsibility and public-private joint ventures
Sophie HENNEKAM (doctoral student)
- PhD dissertation dealing with the role of perceived age discrimination and HR practices on organizational commitment, job performance and retirement intention of older employees
Dr Sarah HUDSON,
- Corporate social responsibility in small and medium enterprises
- Corporate social responsibility and employee attitudes and behaviour
- Corporate social responsibility and consumer attitudes and behaviour
Simon LAWDER
- Development of a network of CEOs committed to sustainability
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Dr François LÉPINEUX,
- Signed a contract with Dunod for the publication of a handbook on « Responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise », to be written jointly with Jean-Jacques Rosé
- Management and global public goods
- Corporate governance and the paradigm shift
- Exploring the concept of “spiritual business leaders”
- The influence of spiritual business leaders on nature preservation
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Julia ROLOFF
- With Jens Blumrodt: The influence of doping affaires on the sponsors of the Tour de France
- With Sarah Hudson and Simone Klein (Katholische Universität Eichstätt): CSR in SMEs, comparison of France and Germany
- With François Lépineux: Paradigm shift and implications for corporate governance (this project is at an early stage yet)
- With Cyrlene Claasen: Political responsibility and public-private joint ventures
- With Michael Aßländer (Universität Kassel): Corporate autonomy
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
The Centre for Responsible Business
|
Dr François Lépineux
Head of the Centre for Responsible Business
|
|
As a number of major crises have already broken out (not only in the financial sphere) and others are still before us (e.g. the effects of climate change, the consequences of the peak in oil supply, the shortage of food and water resources), numerous voices question the relevance of corporate policies, and suggest that the business community should adopt new roles beyond its economic functions.
While consumer groups increasingly expect companies to adopt socially responsible behaviours, new regulations and extra-financial rating agencies invite them to take environmental, societal, governance and ethical issues seriously into account.
Doing business in a responsible way meets the demands of all these stakeholders and may generate a competitive advantage for proactive companies; on that assumption, ESC Rennes School of Business decided to launch the Centre for Responsible Business in 2007.
|
|
|
|
The CRB pioneers responsible ways of doing business in order to contribute to a more sustainable world.
By “responsible business”, we mean balancing economic, social, ethical and environmental aspects of doing business.
The Centre for Responsible Business links a global approach to corporate responsibility and performance with a forward thinking orientation regarding the challenges which businesses will face in the coming decades. Contributing to excellence in both theoretical and applied research, the CRB has a vocation for helping organizations devise and implement sustainability policies and processes in a global environment. It also nurtures the School’s pedagogy to include responsibility in all its educational programs.
1) Fostering academic research As the fields of business ethics, business and society or sustainability are undergoing rapid changes, research is necessary to produce both theoretical and applied knowledge that can be used in the School’s educational programs as well as in organizations of all kinds. 2)Raising awareness and developing skills for responsible management Courses dealing with sustainability, CSR, ethics and diversity are gradually being incorporated in all programs taught at ESC Rennes, in order to increase the awareness and understanding of students on these matters. Through their microenterprises, students are also given the opportunity to participate in the greening of the institution; besides, conferences and roundtables connect them with executives from various companies to discuss responsible business.
- Executive MBA Leadership for sustainable competitiveness.
For more information, please visit the following page on the School’s website Programme Executive MBA
3) Providing businesses with sustainable strategic solutions In these times of turbulence and upheaval, businesses will realize that the best way for them to proceed is to reorient their policies and strategies towards corporate responsibility and sustainability. Specifically, the CRB at ESC Rennes School of Business can help both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations make the right decisions and accompany them during the implementation process.
- Example of an action-research contract: Diana Naturals
4) Cooperating in regional and international networks with academia, business, civil society and government
- The Centre for Responsible Business is creating a network of partner organizations, including academic institutions, public authorities, international institutions or initiatives, research centres, business networks, multi-stakeholder forums, NGOs and student associations.
- In cooperation with Rennes’ Chamber of Commerce, the CRB has set up the Responsible Business Club, bringing together about 40 regional and national companies which exchange on their policies and practices and discuss various topics of interest.
1) Responsible leadership and organizational change
- Responsible leaders develop and implement policies and strategies which balance economic, social, ethical and environmental imperatives
- Values-driven leadership: there are many examples of CEOs who endorse and translate into action certain values
- The leader can play the role of a change agent : experience shows that his commitment is necessary to set the organization in motion and support its progress at the operational level.
2) Business and the environment
- Many multinational corporations and companies of all kinds are trying to reduce their ecological footprint, and have already implemented environmental management systems
- However, much still has to be done before the concern about the state of the planet percolates the whole business sphere
- Which levers can be used to raise the awareness of top executives and managers on that issue?
- Green business opportunities: can environmental challenges lead to the development of innovative business solutions?
3) Managing stakeholder relationships
- Stakeholder management is as a tool for analysing and understanding the complexity of an organisation’s social and natural environment
- From the perspective of strategic management, companies that handle their stakeholder relationships efficiently by establishing fruitful partnerships can gain a competitive edge
- A more normative approach to stakeholder management implies that managers engage in a dialogue with their company’s stakeholders, listen to their concerns and respond to them in an adequate manner
- Today we face social and environmental problems that need to be approached in cooperation. This is done more and more often in multi-stakeholder initiatives
4) Corporate social performance
- The implementation of a CSR or sustainability approach can only be successful through a process of organizational learning which involves all the managers and employees in all the countries or locations where the company operates
- This process requires that the evolutions regarding ethical, governance, societal and environmental aspects be measured on a regular basis according to relevant criteria and indicators, in order to ensure steady progress towards multi-dimensional performance
5) New business models contributing to sustainable development
- The quest for sustainable development offers a wealth of opportunities to create innovative business models
- For instance in the field of green technologies: solar energy, wind turbines, biomass, new engines, autonomous buildings…
- But also as regards socially responsible investment, fair trade, and all the mechanisms that can empower the “bottom of the pyramid”…
6) Diversity management
- The workforce is getting more and more diverse, and this trend will continue over time
- Organizations are increasingly leveraging differences to enhance creativity and performance
- Innovative companies are shifting away from a quota system and embracing a more inclusive approach where differences are not only accepted, but used as the basis for a sustainable competitive advantage
Dr Ahmed ATIL,
Faculty member, Finance and Operations Department
Focus area: information systems for the environment and sustainable development
Dr Andrew BARRON,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr Jens BLUMRODT,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Dr Carole BONANNI,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr François-Marie FERRE,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: Diversity Issues in France
Dr Sarah HUDSON,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: technologies and sustainable development
Mr Simon LAWDER,
Focus area: SME social responsibility and leadership
Dr François LÉPINEUX,
Head, Centre for Responsible Business
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Mr Don MINDAY,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: sustainable development
Dr Elen RIOT,
Faculty member, Strategy and Marketing Department
Dr Julia ROLOFF,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: business ethic
Dr Ismaël SENE,
Faculty member, Management and Organisation Department
Focus area: Change Management and Business Ethics
Ms Cyrlene CLAASEN, (doctoral student),
Focus area: corporate social responsibility in Africa
Ms Sophie HENNEKAM, (doctoral student),
Focus area: Knowledge Management and Culture
Dr Ahmed ATIL,
- Environmental commitment in SMEs: information system and learning process
Dr Andrew BARRON,
- Signed a contract with Palgrave for the publication of the textbook "Cross Cultural Management" (in collaboration)
- Transparency in interest intermediation: a transatlantic comparison
Dr Carole BONANNI,
- Ethics in E-business
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Cyrlen CLASSEN (doctoral student)
- PhD dissertation: "Corporate Social Responsibility and Legitimacy of 50/50 Mining Joint Ventures between Governments and Multinationals: The Case of Namibia and De Beers"
- With Julia Roloff: Political responsibility and public-private joint ventures
Sophie HENNEKAM (doctoral student)
- PhD dissertation dealing with the role of perceived age discrimination and HR practices on organizational commitment, job performance and retirement intention of older employees
Dr Sarah HUDSON,
- Corporate social responsibility in small and medium enterprises
- Corporate social responsibility and employee attitudes and behaviour
- Corporate social responsibility and consumer attitudes and behaviour
Simon LAWDER
- Development of a network of CEOs committed to sustainability
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Dr François LÉPINEUX,
- Signed a contract with Dunod for the publication of a handbook on « Responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise », to be written jointly with Jean-Jacques Rosé
- Management and global public goods
- Corporate governance and the paradigm shift
- Exploring the concept of “spiritual business leaders”
- The influence of spiritual business leaders on nature preservation
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
Julia ROLOFF
- With Jens Blumrodt: The influence of doping affaires on the sponsors of the Tour de France
- With Sarah Hudson and Simone Klein (Katholische Universität Eichstätt): CSR in SMEs, comparison of France and Germany
- With François Lépineux: Paradigm shift and implications for corporate governance (this project is at an early stage yet)
- With Cyrlene Claasen: Political responsibility and public-private joint ventures
- With Michael Aßländer (Universität Kassel): Corporate autonomy
- Research-action at Diana Naturals
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