AccountAbility today launched a new, step-by-step guide to
stakeholder engagement: The Practitioner's Handbook on Stakeholder
Engagement.
This handbook, developed in partnership with the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and consultancy Stakeholder
Research Associates, is intended for corporate responsibility practitioners
and professionals in corporate affairs, human resources, risk
management and related fields.
It provides clear and practical
guidance on how to approach each of the five key stages of the stakeholder
engagement process:
Setting strategic objectives and prioritising
stakeholders
Planning and preparing the engagement
Developing the
capacities to engage, both of the organisation and its stakeholders
Designing an engagement process
Following-up, evaluating outputs and
assuring quality
The handbook also offers specially developed tools and
templates for each stage as well as real-life case studies and advice
from practitioners around the world.
The Practitioner's
Handbook on Stakeholder Engagement is the second of a two volume series. The
first volume, Practioners' Perspectives on Stakeholder Engagement provides an
in-depth examination of the stakeholder engagement process and its
opportunities and challenges, based on the international experiences of over
80 practitioners.
Researcher from Ukraine Receives INTAS Grant to attend EABIS Colloquium
Sophia Opatska, the MBA Programme Coordinator of Kyiv Mohyla Business School (kmbs) from Kyiv, Ukraine, was awarded grant to attend EABIS Colloquium in Warsaw.
INTAS promotes scientific co-operation with the twelve New Independent States (NIS) and strengthens their research potential to facilitate the long-term integration of the NIS scientific communities with those of the member states and the FP6-associated countries.
EABIS Central Coordination team supported application process of Sophia Opatska.
The Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative: taking action to develop the next generation of globally responsible business leaders
The Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (the Initiative) is the result of a year of intensive work by a group of senior representatives from companies, business schools and centres for leadership learning from five continents. The group was formed by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) with the support of the United Nations Global Compact.
Taking action and raising awareness
The Initiative is developing a body of knowledge on globally responsible leadership and encouraging its practice in companies worldwide. Specific action targets include:
making global responsibility a foundational requirement within the accreditation systems for business schools.
piloting new best practice approaches to learning within leading business schools and companies so that business leaders not only know what is expected of them, but also practise it.
developing self assessment tools for individual and corporate performance, measured against clear and explicit concepts of global responsibility.
advocacy to enable globally responsible leaders to flourish and become role models of business behaviour.
The report
The EFMD has, on behalf of the founders of the Initiative, published “Globally Responsible Leadership – A Call for Engagement”. This report represents a strong starting point. It outlines both some fundamental conceptual issues of global responsibility and, as its title suggests, is an invitation to companies, business schools and other learning organisations to become involved in the work.
Its contents include a re-definition of the purpose of business, ethics for global responsibility and practical proposals on transforming business education. The report addresses the substantial changes required in the way business schools prepare the next generation of leaders. It identifies not only curriculum issues but also recognises that engendering global responsibility within leaders will require a much broader approach to learning which goes beyond the cognitive acquisition of knowledge.
How you can support the Initiative
The Initiative is now presenting its work to businesses, business schools, other learning institutions and business-related organisations around the world and is seeking their engagement. For all who are interested, the Initiative will provide updates on its work and access to the body of knowledge on Global Responsibility as well as the tools it develops. It will also invite a limited number of organisations to join the founding members in the next phase of work.
Background Information
The 21 companies, business schools and centres for leadership learning from around the world whose senior representatives have worked together over the past year and, as a result of that partnership, founded the Initiative are:
Aviva (UK), Barloworld Limited (South Africa), Bordeaux Business School (France), Groupe Caisse d’Epargne (France), China Europe International Business School – CEIBS (China), ESSEC Business School (France), Fundação Dom Cabral (Brazil), IBM, IESE Business School (Spain), INSEAD (France and Singapore), Instituto de Empresa (Spain), Lafarge (France), London Business School (UK), Pepperdine
University Graziadio School of Business and Management (USA), Petróleo Brasileiro SA - PETROBRAS (Brazil), Queen’s University School of Business (Canada), Responsible Business Initiatives (Pakistan), Telefonica (Spain), The Oasis School of Human Relations (UK), University of Management and Technology (Pakistan), University of South Africa, Centre for Corporate Citizenship (South Africa).
Contacts
For further information on the launch of the initiative please contact:
Anders Aspling, Chair of the Initiative, EFMD anders.aspling@aspling.net +46 706223204
Mark Drewell, Group Executive, Barloworld Limited mdrewell@barloworld.com +27 11 4451204
For background information on the Initiative and an on-line copy of the report “Globally Responsible Leadership – A Call for Engagement” visit: www.globallyresponsibleleaders.org
Turning Point – Interview with Michael Spicer, Chief Executive, South Africa Foundation
Turning Point - Managing HIV/Aids At Eskom: A Non-Negotiable For Business Sustainability
Corporate Citizenship in South Africa: A Review of Progress since Democracy, by Wayne Visser
Seeking Common Ground: Multi-stakeholder Processes in Kenya’s Cut Flower Industry, by Catherine S. Dolan and Maggie Opondo
The case for collective corporate citizenship action to achieve systems change: Exploring the contributions made by the private sector to the social, economic and political transformation process in South Africa, by Andre Fourie and Theuns Eloff
The Cocoa Industry and Child Labour, by Elliot J. Schrage and Anthony P. Ewing
Corporate Citizens, Colonialists, Tourists or Activists? Ethical challenges facing
South African Corporations in Africa, by Daniel Malan
Local Governance as Complex System: Lessons from Mining in South Africa, Mali and Zambia, by Ralph Hamann, Dan Sonnenberg, Andrew Mackenzie, Paul Kapelus and Paul Hollesen
CSR in Electrification of Rural Africa: The Case of ABB in Tanzania, by Niklas Egels
Why Teach Corporate Citizenship Differently? By Derick de Jongh and Paul Prinsloo
Epilogue – The Campaign to Make Poverty History, by Nelson Mandela
International Academy of African Business and Development
Event: 7th Annual International Conference
Organisers: International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD)
Theme: African Development: What Role for Business?
Track 2: Ecological/Environmental/Agricultural Issues
Track 11: Legal Issues, Social Responsibilities, Ethics & Values
Venue: Accra, Ghana
Date: 23-27 May 2006
Submission Deadline: 6 January 2006
For more details: http://www.iaabd.org/PDF/CallPapers06.pdf
Or email: "wayne@waynevisser.com
UNEP Finance Initiative invites you to join a new online discussion on the topic of Socially Responsible Property Investing. The goal is to create an online community of people who are interested in the intersection of real estate and
socially responsible investing. Topics would include current investment opportunites, new product development, screening criteria, networking opportunities, and relevant research.
The discussion list is a free service and is strictly voluntary. TO SUBSCRIBE, send email to listserv@listserv.arizona.edu with the following as the only line in the body of the message:
subscribe rpi Firstname Lastname
Substitute your first name for Firstname and your last name for Lastname.
If you would like to read about Responsible Property Investing, you might look
at the following two articles:
More than 20,000 campaign groups and voluntary organisations are planning to use freedom of information laws to put companies' dealings with the public sector under unprecedented scrutiny, according to a report.
Thousands of voluntary and community groups believe the FoI regime will enable them to examine the extent of corporate influence on public authorities as never before. That could have an "enormous" impact on companies' political lobbying as campaign groups try to dig out "skeletons in the closet", the report, commissioned by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, concludes.
Researchers found 18,000 such organisations had already used the laws, which took effect at the beginning of the year, to demand information from public bodies.
Matthew Gitsham, lead author of the report conducted by Ashridge Business School, said: "The Freedom of Information Act will have a major impact on how business interacts with government. Not only will the legislation bring a new accountability to the way in which companies lobby government, it may also reveal a few skeletons in the closet."
With the increasing involvement of private contractors with the public sector, many businesses are concerned the FoI regime may lead to the revelation of confidential and commercially sensitive information, particularly in relation to lobbying activities and bids for contracts.
Ed Mayo, chief executive of the National Consumer Council, said: "There may be 20,000 requests coming, the survey suggests, on the relationship between government and business. This will be one to watch, as the private sector is, overseas, the dominant user of Freedom of Information, because of the commercial advantages it brings. It will be a test of the strength and vision of the civil society sector in the UK as to whether they make as much use of FoI as the private sector."
The survey, distributed to 600 directors and chief executives of voluntary groups, indicated 9 per cent had made FoI requests, mostly to central and local government. But 36 per cent said they would use the act soon, which could mean more than 50,000 organisations making at least one information request. Twenty-six per cent were involved in education and training, 21 per cent in disability issues and 16 per cent in the medical and health arena.
Almost half of the requests were for information about how a public body had arrived at a decision, while 27 per cent were intended to "inform campaign activity", and one in five concerned information on funding criteria and decisions.
Phil Michaels, solicitor at Friends of the Earth, one of the groups that co-operated with the survey, said: "There remains an ingrained culture of secrecy in many public authorities . . . It is only through making requests, and pursuing them in the face of initial refusals, that we will create the cultural change needed."
Source: Financial Times, 9 November 2005, Bob Sherwood, Legal Correspondent
Beyond CSR? Business, Poverty and Social Justice - Call for Papers
May 22nd 2006 , Venue: House of Commons, London (tbc)
How far can CSR initiatives help to address poverty, social exclusion and other development challenges? What is the balance of responsibilities between state, market and civil society in addressing these problems and meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? What new tools, strategies and methodologies are required to harness the positive potential contribution of business to development and deter corporate irresponsibility?
The Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation at Warwick University and the Middlesex University Business School in association with the International Research Network on Business, Development and Society are hosting a conference to bring together a dynamic mix of academics, development and business practitioners to address these themes in a focussed and innovative way. Academics from all disciplines are encouraged to attend as well as government, business and civil society actors active in this important field.
Paper proposals in the form of a short abstract of no more than 300 words are invited on the following themes:
CSR and International Development: Will CSR initiatives help achieve the MDGs?
Impacts of CSR initiatives: Who benefits?
Governance dimensions of CSR: What role for the state?
Globalisation and CSR: From Responsibility to Accountability?
Power and Participation in CSR: New voices, new approaches?
Beyond the Business Case: Towards a Poverty-Focussed CSR Agenda?
Abstracts should be submitted in the first instance to George Frynas (G.Frynas@mdx.ac.uk) and Peter Newell (P.J.Newell@warwick.ac.uk) by February 10th 2006. The organisers will be editing a publication based on selected papers from the conference.
“Corporate Responsibility and Global Business: Implications for Corporate and Marketing Strategy”, Hosted by London Business School, Co-Sponsored by the Aspen Institute, Boston University, California Management Review, the Haas School of Business Center for Responsible Business (University of California, Berkeley), July 13-14th, 2006
London Business School is pleased to invite submissions to the third in a series of international corporate responsibility conferences (following the Haas conference in 2005 and the Boston conference in 2003). Topics for inclusion again range widely. We are particularly interested in papers that explore the implications of corporate responsibility, globalisation and global business for business and marketing strategy. Research papers can be either empirical or conceptual. A selection of papers presented will be considered for a special issue of the California Management Review. Proposal submission deadline (1-page abstracts) is December 31st, 2005.
Download call for papers from here (note you need to be a member of EABIS Members community, for assictance mail Volodja Vorobey at volodja.vorobey@eabis.org)
New Hall College, Cambridge will be the venue for EBEN UK 2006 conference: ‘Ethics at Work’. The conference will run from the 11th to 12th of April and we welcome submissions on all aspects of ethics in organisational life. This international conference is primarily for academics, though previous conferences have had a healthy quotient of practitioners, and we will welcome a number of different kinds of contribution (as outlined below). There will also be a doctoral workshop, with a focus on practical tips and strategies that should be of broad interest to doctoral candidates.
For more information on the conference click here
or contact EABIS member, Kingston Business School, contact person - Professor Diana Winstanley (d.winstanley@kingston.ac.uk).
On 15-16 December, in Durham, UK, Durham Business School and EABIS are organising a conference to address the lack of knowledge regarding corporate responsibility and SMEs. The conference will bring together academics, practitioners and policy-makers to identify the knowledge bases that already exist; examine the gaps in knowledge and policy formulation and to formulate an agenda for research that will inform policy making.
Confirmed speakers include:
David Grayson, Small Business Consortium and Business in the Community, UK
Tom Dodd, DG Enterprise & Industry, European Commission
Prof. Francesco Perrini, SDA Bocconi, Italy
Allan Jørgensen, The Copenhagen Centre, Denmark
It is the aim of conference to facilitate the formation of a European network of academics and academic institutions under the umbrella of EABIS which can take forward the identified research agenda.
To find out more, view the programme and find out how to register, click here
EABIS Partners in Beyond Grey Pinstripes Award 2005
The Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes Award was launched in Oct 2005. This bi-annual ranking of business schools around the world again produced a significant amount of coverage with articles in the Financial Times, Business Week and elsewhere.
A number of EABIS founding partners and members did very well in the rankings with ESADE finishing 2nd overall and Nottingham, INSEAD, IESE and the Rotterdam School of Management all finishing in the top 30 schools of this prestigious award.
EABIS is the European partner for the Faculty Pioneer Award, which will be judged by a mixed panel of business and academia on the 10th Nov with the ceremony taking place at the Gala Dinner at the 2005 Colloquium in Warsaw.
Sophia Opatska, the MBA Programme Coordinator of 
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