CSR School - Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility

Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility School 2021

Τuesday, 15 June – Thursday, 22 July 2021 | Executive Education Program

FREE PUBLIC ACCESS WEBINARS

High Level Panel Discussion

10 June @ 14:00-15:30 CET
Education as a foundation for Sustainability

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Overview of the CSR School

The CSR School aims to provide advanced training regarding the identification of sustainability-related business opportunities and the inclusion of responsibility in the core of one’s business strategy, in order to achieve sustainable value and formulate a more resilient organization.

The training program is envisioned as a journey that will cover all major identified areas that relate to the responsible management of sustainability. Within 6 weeks, during which a minimum of 48 hours of sustainability-related knowledge and management experience will be shared, trainees will gain an up-to-date overview of major developments around the largest environmental, social and governance challenges affecting businesses nowadays.

During the 12-part Webinar series, the participants will attend lectures by distinguished academic faculty members, discuss relevant case studies, learn about best practices that have been implemented by experienced senior professionals and exchange views and thoughts around the incorporation of relevant theory into the CSR initiatives of their own organization.

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WHY ATTEND THE CSR SCHOOL

Learn from world-class experts

Work on real-case scenarios

Earn a professional certificate

Accelerate your career

Discover “how-to” through best practices

Join a broad network of professionals

Earn 10 ECTS

Learn from world-class experts

Work on real-case scenarios

Earn a professional certificate

Accelerate your career

Discover “how-to” through best practices

Join a broad network of professionals

Earn 10 ECTS

Learn More

TOPICS OF THE CSR SCHOOL

Day 1:
Sustainable Value Creation

Day 2:
Sustainable Corporate Governance

Day 3:
Legal Aspects of CSR

Day 4:
Responsible Human Capital Management

Day 5:
Responsibility and sustainability driven marketing

Day 6:
Climate change & energy transition

Day 7:
Circular business models

Day 8:
Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Day 9:
Social Capital, Corporate Relationships & Stakeholders Management

Day 10:
Servant leadership towards responsibility and sustainability

Day 11:
Sustainable Finance & Responsible Banking

Day 12:
Future of Work

LECTURES OF THE CSR SCHOOL

12:00-15:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Value Creation

By Dr. Constantine Manasakis (Assistant Professor, University of Crete)

Scope:
To highlight the business case of sustainable development and the value of introducing sustainability and responsibility in the corporate DNA through business model innovations within an action plan towards sustainable shared value.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Highlight the business opportunities and benefits of sustainable development.
Present the roadmap and the steps towards the development of a business responsibility action plan.
Present the structure of a CSR action plan and its link to administrative practices.
Demonstrate how business responsibility enhances corporate competitiveness.

Contents of the lecture

Introduction: Business as usual.
The business case of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Strategic corporate responsibility and shared value towards SDGs.
Identifying material issues for a strategic corporate responsibility agenda.
Development of an action plan addressing the relevant material issues and proper transformations (identify the relevant goals and objectives; create a plan for how to achieve them; implement the proper transformations; evaluate the performance).
From sustainable and shared value to responsible and sustainable business through sustainable competitive advantages.

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Location: Online

15:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Value Creation - Enel Case Study

By Ms. Giulia Genuardi (Board Member, Enel Americas S.A, Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility, LUMSA)

Contents of the lecture

IA roadmap to a sustainable business model: the approach is changing
Open Innovability to manage the next normal
A robust structure of sustainability process and the role of stakeholders
Sustainability Strategy and systemic view, including finance and remuneration

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Location: Online

12:00-15:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Corporate Governance

By Dr. Alexandros Antonaras (Vice President of Student Services and Associate Professor of Management, University of Nicosia)

Scope:
To introduce sustainability related issues within corporate governance structures, in the context of “Sustainable Corporate Governance - A European Commission Initiative”.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Identify the firm specific sustainability challenges to be introduced in its corporate governance..

Develop a business oriented action plan supporting the introduction of sustainability related issues within a firm’s corporate governance.

Contents of the lecture

Corporate Governance fundamentals

Sustainability boards (Committees, etc)

How to establish / What are the key criteria that should be considered in selection / Roles / Functions / Executives or non-, etc.

What are the tasks will be undertaken by the Committee and what are the mechanisms of monitoring progress and achievement of time bounded goals, what are the evaluation / compensation systems…

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Location: Online

15:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Corporate Governance Case Study

By Mr. Henning Olsson (Director of Sustainability, EPSON Europe, Managing Director, Epson Deutschland)

EPSON Case Study on Sustainable Corporate Governance View Details

Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Legal Aspects of CSR

By Dr. Aspasia Tsaoussi (Associate Professor in Sociology of Law and Law & Economics, School of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

Scope:

to present the current normative frameworks for CSR.

to highlight the CSR functions, within corporate governance, as an informal legal context for self‐regulation.

to explore the conjunction between ethics and law in corporations surviving in a globalized environment.

Learning objectives / outcomes:

Present the current normative EU frameworks for CSR.

Introduce voluntary CSD functions and commitments within the formal framework of corporate governance.

Discuss the future of CSR: Its continuing impact on the environmental and social conditions of the corporate environment.

Content:

Can we identify legal dangers for shareholders and investors?

Sustainability legal frameworks (mandatory) VS Guiding Principles (normative) VS standards (voluntary).

CSR as soft law (it is seen as obligatory by most corporations because of consumer expectations and internal norms).

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Responsible Human Capital Management

By Dr. Olga Epitropaki (Professor and Director of Research of the Management & Marketing Department, Durham University Business School)

Scope:
To highlight the role of inclusive working environments and responsible human capital management as key drivers towards CSR.

Learning objectives / outcomes:

Introduce key issues related to responsible human capital management for sustainable organization-building.

Discuss how responsible human capital management can support the CSR strategy by leveraging internal competencies and contributing to a positive, healthy and fair work environment.

Outline the key elements of a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy for inclusive and respectful work environments.

Contents:

Socially responsible human capital management: The interface between CSR and HRM.

Key HRM practices (e.g., recruitment, performance management, talent management) that support the CSR strategy and contribute to improving the work and quality of life of employees.

Diversity and Inclusion frameworks and key pillars of a D&I strategy.

Aligning organizational systems and policies and implementation challenges.

Best practices and organizational examples.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Responsibility & Sustainability-driven Marketing

By Dr. Pavlos A. Vlachos (Associate Professor, ALBA Graduate Business School at The American College of Greece)

Scope:
To identify the links between CSR reporting, marketing (ethics), and analytics.

Key learning outcomes — at the end of this session students should be able to:

Define CSR or ESG performance as a key stakeholder satisfaction metric.

Present the industry of CSR or ESG rating agencies.

Identify the challenges in choosing and implementing an ESG measuring and reporting system.

Offer research-based advice on how to communicate ESG.

Review and experience survey-based instruments to measure ESG performance.

Understand and analyze the role of Marketing Analytics tools like Positioning Maps in helping firms differentiate from competition and broadly compete on ESG performance.

Review and experience how AI and Big Data disrupts ESG scoring with implications for greenwashing and marketing ethics (including for example selling practices & product labeling)

Contents

Marketing Reframed: Stakeholder Satisfaction & CSR Performance.

Danone Case: Adopt Integrated Reporting or Not?

CSR meets Marketing Analytics (Case: CSR positioning maps of Big Tech – competing on CSR)

Truvalue Platform™ Demonstration (Artificial Intelligence, ESG Firm Scoring, and Marketing Ethics scoring). Truvalue Labs™ an awarded Fintech, applies Artificial Intelligence to massive volumes of unstructured data and scores firms on ESG behavior that has a material impact on company value. We will also focus on how AI allows firms to be monitored 24/7 on marketing ethics including customer privacy, access & affordability, product quality & safety, customer welfare, and selling practices & product labeling.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Climate Change & Energy Transition

By Dr. Haris Doukas (Associate Professor in Energy Policy & Management, National Technical University of Athens)

Scope:

To highlight the shared value from the sustainable use of resources and identify the business opportunities related to low-emission technologies, sustainable products and services.

Learning objectives / outcomes:

Highlight the value from transforming the economy towards climate neutrality.
Introduce climate change within corporate risk management.
Identify and introduce emissions related material issues within a CSR strategy.
Identify a corporate portfolio with transformations, tools and investments, from a decarbonization point of view, towards increasing energy efficiency at the lowest possible cost.
Development of an action plan addressing the relevant material issues, transformations, tools and investments (identify the relevant goals and objectives; create a plan for how to achieve them; implement the proper transformations; evaluate the performance).

Contents

Energy and Climate Change.
Energy efficiency First Principle.
Energy and Sustainable Financing: A key pillar towards Climate Neutrality (EU Taxonomy, ESG).
Sustainable Energy Financing tools and methods: DEEP and triple database, Triple A toolbox.
Energy Efficiency Case Studies and Example.

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Location: Online

15:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Climate Change & Energy Transition - Signify Case Study

By Ms. Juliette Gaussem (Global Sustainability Reporting Manager, Signify)

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Location: Online

12:00- 16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Circular Business Models

Dr. Antonis Zorpas (Associate Professor, Open University of Cyprus)

Scope:
To highlight the business opportunities of the circular economy and promote the development of business models innovations towards sustainable and affordable goods and services.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Identify and introduce circularity related material issues within a CSR strategy.
Identify a corporate portfolio with transformations, tools and investments, from a decarbonization point of view, towards sustainable and affordable goods and services.
Development of an action plan addressing the relevant material issues, transformations, tools and investments (identify the relevant goals and objectives; create a plan for how to achieve them; implement the proper transformations; evaluate the performance).

Contents

Circularity in production processes and value chains.
Circular business models.
Circularity strategies.
Circularity entrepreneurship and SMEs.
Consumers’ awareness and willingness to pay for circular goods and services.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

By Dr. Anne Touboulic (Associate Professor in Operations Management, Deputy Chair, Social Environmental Responsibility Group, PRME Lead, Nottingham University Business School)

Scope:
To identify the links and highlight the importance of CSR within the supply chain management.

Learning objectives / outcomes:

Identify and introduce material issues related to responsible human capital management, within in a CSR strategy.

Development of an action plan addressing the relevant material issues and proper transformations (identify the relevant goals and objectives; create a plan for how to achieve them; implement the proper transformations; evaluate the performance).

Contents:

Defining sustainable supply chain management.

The importance of supply chain relationships for sustainability.

Governance of sustainability in supply chains.

The European Commission’s study on the due diligence requirements through the supply chain.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Social Capital, Corporate Relationships & Stakeholders Management

By Dr. Djordjija Petkoski (Lecturer and Senior Fellow, Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, The Wharton School - University of Pennsylvania)

Scope:
To highlight the role of partnerships aligning competing (private-private; private-public) or cooperative priorities.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Integrate, analyze, evaluate, and manage the different aspects of innovative strategic partnerships at an organizational, local, and global level.

Identify and introduce stakeholders’ related material issues within in a CSR strategy.

Contents

How to align private sector interest with public sector priorities?

Partnerships that go beyond the traditional models of public-private partnerships (partnerships with competitors; development organizations; donor agencies; foundations; and NGOs).

Innovative partnerships and finance: How to move from “billions” to “trillions” in investments for financing the SDGs?

Strategic collective action: From project based to long-term initiatives

The challenge of implementation and leadership.

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Location: Online

15:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Social Capital, Corporate Relationships & Stakeholders Management Case Study

By Ms. Maria Alexiou (Senior ESG Advisor, TITAN Group; Chair BoD, CSR HELLAS, member BoD, UN Global Compact Network Hellas, member BoD, CSR Europe, member PTF-RNFRO, EFRAG)

Scope:
To highlight the role of partnerships aligning competing (private-private; private-public) or cooperative priorities.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Integrate, analyze, evaluate, and manage the different aspects of innovative strategic partnerships at an organizational, local, and global level.

Identify and introduce stakeholders’ related material issues within in a CSR strategy.

Contents

How to align private sector interest with public sector priorities?

Partnerships that go beyond the traditional models of public-private partnerships (partnerships with competitors; development organizations; donor agencies; foundations; and NGOs).

Innovative partnerships and finance: How to move from “billions” to “trillions” in investments for financing the SDGs?

Strategic collective action: From project based to long-term initiatives

The challenge of implementation and leadership.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Servant Leadership towards Responsibility & Sustainability

By Dr. Anthony Montgomery (Professor of Work & Organizational Psychology, University of Macedonia)

Scope:
To unfold around the fundamental practices that help boost mutual respect and collaboration in the era of disruption and digitalization, in order to build connections between servant leadership and sustainable leadership.

Learning objectives / outcomes

Understand the differences between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and explore the connection between the growth mindset and the servant mindset.

Explore the techniques, behaviors competencies connected with the growth mindset: curiosity, agility, openness, experimentation, vulnerability, dealing with risk and with failure, persistence, commitment and passion for continuous learning.

Reflect on the value of purpose as well as on the ways that they can co –create organizational and community contexts that promote value and purpose for sustainability, prosperity and growth.

To introduce Servant mindset, the values and competencies interrelating with it, as well as the core practices connected with a servant approach, such as empathizing, listening, unleashing the energy and intelligence of others, finding meaning, changing the pyramid from top to bottom, igniting growth and sharing foresight.

Contents:

Review of how Mindsets impact on effectiveness.

The connection between Servant Leadership and Sustainable leadership.

Identifying Meaning and Purpose in organizational life.

Using emotional regulation strategies in leadership.

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Location: Online

12:00-15:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Finance & Responsible Banking

By Professor Kern Alexander (University of Zurich and Queens' College, University of Cambridge)

Scope:
To highlight the role of finance towards CSR and shared value creation.

Learning objectives / outcomes:

Understand the drivers affecting the transition from “finance” to “sustainable finance”.

Understand how CSR investments improve firms’ access to capital.

Identify macro-, meso-, and micro-ESG issues affecting corporate risk and the cost of capital.

Planning and financing responsible investments towards sustainable value creation.

Contents:

The inclusion of environmental and societal risks in finance.

Drivers affecting the transition from “finance” to “sustainable finance”.

Business opportunities within sustainable finance and the relevant returns.

Investment planning fulfilling the “Principles for Responsible Banking”.

Capacity building for SMEs.

Implementation of the “Principles for Responsible Banking”: The banking perspective.

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Location: Online

15:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Sustainable Finance & Responsible Banking Panel Discussion

By Mr. Fotis Kourmousis (Special Secretary for Private Debt Management (NPL), Ministry of Finance & Board Member, Hellenic Development Bank) & Dr. Hakan Lucius (Head of Corporate Responsibility, European Investment Bank)

Scope: to explain the need of SMEs and entrepreneurs to realize and adapt to the changes tied to CSR and ESG criteria, while presenting best practices of ESG incorporation in the public supplies sector.

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Location: Online

12:00-16:00 CET (Brussels time zone)

Future of Work

By Dr. Eleni Lamprou (Research Fellow, ALBA Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece)

Scope:
Sustainability as a key driver for the Future of Work.

Learning objectives / outcomes:
Provide key insights on how we can develop the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in an ever-changing work environment, and unfolds around emerging trends with regards to the:

Utilization of technology, automation, and virtual reality.

Rise in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

Importance of developing soft skills and the significance on valuable transferable skills.

Opportunities and challenges presented due to the imperative for sustainability.

Contents:

Impact of technological advancements, economic factors, demographic patterns, societal norms and sustainability on the organization of work.

Repercussions on the labour market, competencies in demand and emerging working models / forms of work.

Scope of intervention of alternative stakeholders (institutions, organizations, individuals) in ensuring decent and sustainable work for all.

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