www.lboro.ac.uk/sbeSchool of Business and Economics
SHARING INFORMATION ON PROGRESS REPORT 2018SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter of continued commitment signed by the Vice Chancellor ............................................. 3
Statement from SBE: The PRME Representative/Team ............................................................ 5
Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1: Brief introduction to the institution
1.1 An introduction to Loughborough University ....................................................................... 7
1.2 An Introduction to the School of Business and Economics ................................................. 8
1.3 An overview of Loughborough University’s Sustainability Strategy ................................ 10
CHAPTER 2: An Overview of practical actions
2.1 Practical Actions: The School of Business and Economics .............................................. 11
2.1.1 Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Learning and Teaching ...... 11
2.1.2 Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in SBE Research ...................... 13
2.1.3 Partnerships with Business ..................................................................................... 16
2.1.4 The Dean’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility ....................................... 17
2.1.5 Responsible Management Seed-Corn Funding .................................................... 18
2.1.6 The role of the School in Community Outreach and Public Service ................. 21
2.1.7 The role of the School in the Local, National and International Community 24
2.1.8 Policies relating to Students ................................................................................... 24
2.2 Practical Actions: University Level ..................................................................................... 25
2.2.1 The University Sustainability Action Plan ............................................................. 28
2.2.2 University Level: Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Research
and Development .................................................................................................... 28
2.2.3 The role of the University in the Local, National and International
Community ................................................................................................................ 30
2.2.4 Organisational Practices: List of Environmental Assessments, Certifications
and Awards received ............................................................................................... 33
2.3 Students: Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility .............................................. 36
2
CHAPTER 3: Reflections on Progress
3.1 A reflection on progress made in the past reporting period ......................................... 41
3.1.1 Achievements from PRME Period 1 2016-2018 .................................................. 41
3.1.2 Opportunities for further development: for strategic consideration .............. 41
3.1.3 Possible challenges in future reporting periods ................................................. 42
3.2 Reference to any metrics being developed and used .................................................... 42
3.3 Accreditations and Awards ................................................................................................. 43
CHAPTER 4: Future objectives
4.1 PRME Reporting Cycle 2018-2020 ..................................................................................... 44
4.2 PRME Reporting Cycle 2020-2022 ..................................................................................... 44
4.3 Beyond 2022 ......................................................................................................................... 44
APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................................ 45
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................... 47
3
FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR: A LETTER OF COMMITMENT
Loughborough University is a successful research intensive, globally connected university
with excellent links to industry. We aim to lead research and practice in responsible
management through our application of the six PRME principles: developing student
capability as responsible leaders, incorporating the values of global social responsibility into
our activities and curricula, enabling learning processes for responsible leadership,
engaging in research for sustainability, working with our commercial and educational
partners, and facilitating dialogue on critical issues related to global social responsibility and
sustainability.
Hazlerigg Building, one of Loughborough University’s oldest standing structures opened in
1938 by Sir Arthur Hazlerigg, the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire
Our mission and values are at the heart of what we do: to further knowledge and
understanding through internationally-recognised research; to provide a high quality,
comprehensive educational experience that prepares our graduates for their future lives and
the global workplace; to influence the economic and social development of individuals,
businesses, the professions and communities; and to shape national and international policy
and practice.
Similarly, ethics, sustainability and social responsibility pervade the way we work: in our
culture of respect and celebration of diversity; in the way we recognise and reward excellence
in our staff for their contribution and commitment; in how we are inclusive and value the
views of our staff, students, alumni and partners; how we respect the communities and
environments in which we operate; how we work together as a team with professionalism
and integrity; and overall, how we take pride in being the very best we can be. We are working
towards achieving our ten-year vision through four central themes – Investing in our staff,
Educating for success, Growing capacity and influence, and Raising standards and aspirations
– with research, teaching, enterprise and sport embedded in each.
4
Professor Robert Allisson, Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University
At corporate level and as a member of the Environmental Association of Universities and
Colleges (EAUC), the University aims to ensure that our own organisational practices should
serve as examples of the values and attitudes we convey to our students. Through initiatives
such as the Loughborough Cup we have brought ethics, social responsibility and
sustainability to the attention of an increasing number of students. Over the next ten years
we aim to further embed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) in
every aspect of the University’s practice.
As Vice Chancellor, I am delighted to make an institutional commitment to support the
Principles for Responsible Management Education; and will continue to encourage the
School of Business and Economics to lead best practice in teaching, research and enterprise
in respect of ethics, sustainability and social responsibility. Over the coming years we hope
to extend a welcome to the PRME community at our campuses in Loughborough, and
Loughborough University in London. My congratulations on your continuing success.
5
FROM THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Our aspiration is that this report gives a flavour not only
of the scope and diversity of activities relating to ethics,
sustainability and social responsibility led by the School
of Business and Economics, but also to the distinctive culture of the School which we believe
is a key contributor to our success. That is, a culture where individuals take responsibility for
ethics, sustainability and social responsibility in every aspect of the School’s activities; where
our teaching and learning are informed by research; and where our business engagement
activities have real impact based on our expertise. Hence, our further aspiration is that our
students leave us very well equipped to be leaders who embrace the values of ethics,
sustainability and social responsibility; to embed these into their professional practices, and
to maintain those values throughout their working lives.
This is our first PRME ‘Sharing Information on Progress’ report. It aims to capture where we
are now, how our practice sits in the context of the wider university, and to give a flavour of
our aims and ambitions for the future. Ethics, sustainability and social responsibility are
themes throughout our research, teaching, enterprise, and institutional practices. I am proud
of what my colleagues have achieved so far, and we have set some challenging goals for the
future. We look forward to a continuing partnership with PRME.
Professor Stewart Robinson
Dean, School of Business and
Economics
Loughborough University’s School of Business and
Economics is proud to be a signatory to the Principles
for Responsible Management Education (PRME). As a
research-led school our Discipline Groups, Research
Centres and Research Interest Groups are the principal
focus of our activity with numerous research projects
focusing on sustainability and responsible leadership.
Ethical practice is a theme embedded in our academic
programmes, which incorporate masterclasses and
thought leadership events on ethics and sustainability.
We engage with not for profit organisations through
research, staff volunteering, student projects and
internships.
6
Dr Andrew Rothwell
PRME Liaison
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Loughborough University joined PRME in July 2016 and we are pleased to submit our first
‘Sharing Information on Progress’ (SIP) report. As a leading UK University with a focus on
excellence in research, learning and teaching and employer engagement; ethics sustainability
and social responsibility are themes that run throughout the institution. This report aims to
present the richness and diversity of these activities, from senior level strategic commitment,
with world-leading research, innovative pedagogy and curriculum, engagement with external
stakeholders and staff and student volunteering among the range of approaches adopted.
In the School of Business and Economics (SBE), Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility
(ESSR) are embedded in the curriculum through a range of modules including: ‘Business Ethics
and CSR’, ‘International Corporate Governance’ and ‘Firms and Corporate Governance at
Bachelor’s degree level. At post-graduate level, relevant modules include: ’Corporate
Governance and Responsibility. In Spring 2018 the School has conducted a review of all
programmes and modules to audit content related to CSR and Ethics, with the aim of
identifying best practice as well as areas for further development. As a research-led School
our Research Centres and Research Interest Groups (RIGS) are a focus of our activity and our
multinational cadre of researchers and research students have provided numerous examples
of research linked to ESSR. The diversity and richness of this research reflects the School well
and include sector-leading work on sustainable supply chains, disaster recovery, sustainability
accounting and corporate governance. Our business partnerships are strongly connected to
the expertise of our academics, with key impact cases including work with ‘Care in the
Community’ undertaken collaboratively with Leicestershire County Council, and pro-active
involvement with a local charity, Action Homeless. Initiatives to support ESSR-related
development that the School has promoted have included the Dean’s Awards for Corporate
Social Responsibility, Responsible Management Seed-Corn funding (now in its second year),
as well as supporting staff volunteering.
Activities and achievements in relation to Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility
(ESSR) within SBE have been developed in the context of significant University-level good
practice. This has included award-winning initiatives to promote staff wellbeing and British
Council Safety awards. University level practice is guided by the Sustainability Action Plan,
which develops the theme of Educating for Sustainable Development (ESD). Aims of the
Sustainability Action Plan include to create learning environments which promote ESD,
maximising the learning opportunities arising from our biodiverse and green campus, and
encouraging research with a positive impact on business and the community. Our students,
through the Student’s Union further enhance this community involvement through raising
over £1 million each year with RAG, the Community Action student volunteering programme,
and Ethics and Environment Week. Future goals include leveraging employer connections to
enhance impact and engagement, enhancing the Schools’ role in PRME nationally and
internationally, and developing our strategic perspective on Ethics, Sustainability and Social
Responsibility.
7
CHAPTER 1:
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIVERSITY
1.1. INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIVERSITY
Throughout its history Loughborough University has built upon its distinctive characteristics.
Today it is one of the country’s leading universities, with a reputation for excellence in
teaching and research, strong links with business and industry and unrivalled academic,
experiential and sporting achievement. It has been named as WhatUni University of the Year
2018, is ranked 1st for Student Experience in the Times Higher Education Student Experience
Survey, 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2019, 6th in the Times ‘Table of Tables’,
7th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, and 7th in the Complete University
Guide 2019. It is Britain’s top university for Quality of Student Life (Lloyds Bank Survey), the
top mainstream University in England according to the 2017 National Student Survey and is
the best Sporting University in the World (QS Global League).
As a research intensive, globally connected university with excellent links to industry we aim
to lead research and practice in responsible management through our application of the six
PRME principles: developing student capability as responsible leaders, incorporating the
values of global social responsibility into our activities and curricula, enabling learning
processes for responsible leadership, engaging in research for sustainability, working with
our commercial and educational partners, and facilitating dialogue on critical issues related
to global social responsibility and sustainability. Accordingly, sustainability is directly linked to
the four main themes of the University’s ‘Building Excellence’ strategy.
Strategic Theme Examples of Sustainability Contribution
Investing in Staff
✓ Awards for initiatives to improve staff well-being, (British Safety Council international safety awards)
✓ Improved health, reduced absence ✓ Increased engagement and experience of partnership working investing
in LU as a sustainable community
Educating for Success
✓ Educate and inspire our students to become socially responsible and environmentally aware members of our future society
✓ Support academic colleagues and multi-disciplinary teaching to incorporate sustainable development into teaching and research
Growing Capacity & Influence
✓ Raising competitiveness through innovation that promotes development ✓ Improve our bottom line through resource efficiency
Raising Standards & Aspirations
✓ Strengthen our standards and improve our performance in environmental sustainability
✓ To embed sustainability as business as usual linking the 3 core aspects of sustainability (social, environmental and economic) through University policy and strategy
8
In 2015 Loughborough opened a second campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Loughborough University London has diversified and expanded the high-quality education
offered to both postgraduate students and those looking to advance their professional
development.
1.2. INTRODUCTION TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND
ECONOMICS
The School of Business and Economics at Loughborough
University is a full-service, research led school with a high
proportion of international staff and international
students. It is among just 1% of Business Schools in the
world to have the prestigious ‘triple-crown’ accreditation
(AMBA, EQUIS, AACSB). Although the School can trace its
origin to 1971 when the department of Management
Studies was founded, the current School was established
in August 2010 from a merger of the Business School and
the Department of Economics. The School has an annual
turnover of over £35million (€40.3million; $45.5million).
Just over £30million of our income is derived from
teaching activities, including programme and short
course provision, with the remainder coming from
research allocation, grants and projects. The School is housed in a dedicated building on the
University campus which provides a number of small teaching and seminar rooms, as well as
teaching facilities for executive education. In addition, the School is a major user of pooled
University facilities, including lecture and seminar rooms, and computer laboratories.
The School continues to develop and grow steadily. In the UK Research Excellence Framework
(REF) exercise 2014, the School rose to 13th overall in terms of research power with 75% of
its research classed as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Our research power
ranking is based on both the quality and the quantity of the School’s research. The School
also increased the proportion of its research rated as ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally
excellent’ from 60% to 75%. Within the area of Information Management, the School was
ranked 4th in the country for research power for IM research, with 100% of IM research being
rated as either ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally relevant’, and with an outstanding impact
rating of 100% ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’.
In the 2017 National Student Survey (NSS), all undergraduate programmes achieved high
levels of satisfaction, including being ranked 1st for Business and first for Information Sciences.
All core SBE programmes score >90% for overall satisfaction, showing an improving trend and
much improved consistency across School programmes. As a consequence of research and
teaching performance, the School is consistently ranked as a Top-10 UK business school by
national league tables. It was ranked 1st for Librarianship and Information Management, 4th
9
for Finance and Accounting, 6th for Business Studies and 8th for Economics in The Times &
Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018, the third year running that all School subjects
were ranked in the top ten in the subject tables in this guide. The School offers a full range
of named BSc, MSc, MBA, research degree and post- experience programmes. All of the
School’s programmes are designed to be rigorous and relevant. At undergraduate level we
now offer six full-time campus-based business programmes and five full-time campus-based
economics programmes. At the full-time Master’s level, the one year MSc programmes are
particularly attractive to international students, and include ‘generalist’ management
programmes and a suite of specialist programmes reflecting School strengths. Our post-
experience programmes cover a wide range of general and specialist management areas and
we currently offer a suite of management and leadership programmes, suite of organisational
resilience programmes, and a suite of automotive retail management programmes. Post-
experience MBA programmes are offered as executive (part-time) or as a full-time
programme. Currently the School employs over 200 staff, around 140 of whom are academic
faculty. Our current total student population numbers over 3,000 individuals, on all School
programmes. Approximately 35% of faculty and 32% of the combined student population
originate outside the UK.
The School’s policy for faculty and staff
involvement in ethics, responsibility and
sustainability is that, as far as possible, course
content must include these issues and that
staff members should be able to demonstrate
this from the way they engage with students in
the delivery of the modules (for example, by
paperless delivery currently being cascaded
through the undergraduate programmes,
switching off lights and electronic equipment
at the end of the lecture). These messages are emphasized at staff and discipline groups’
meetings. Moreover, the school publishes news items that speak of staff involvement in the
community as a way of encouraging more engagement with the issues of ethics, responsibility
and sustainability.
Over 30% of the student body comes from outside the United Kingdom, and in respect of
programme sustainability we have managed to move away from a very strong reliance on one
market (China), to a more diverse student body (a change from 17% of the total student body
being from China in 2013/14 to 10% currently). This is a direct result of a focus on our
marketing activities. The School’s values and ethos clearly outline the importance of
responsibility. Indeed ethics, responsibility and sustainability are reflected in our mission,
vision, aims. This is achieved in part by providing world-class research and education within
an environment that fosters a collegial community characterised by inclusivity, equality of
opportunity, the valuing of diversity, mutual trust, and respect. Through the Centre for
Academic Practice, all staff members are encouraged to attend “respecting diversity” training
to engender an atmosphere that recognises and respects diversity and promotes equal
opportunities within the school and the university at large.
10
From an operational perspective, the energy performance operating rating of the School’s
building on campus was driven down from 85 in 2009 to 42 in 2014 (compared with a typical
benchmark rating of 100 for this kind of building) and is now in the second most energy
efficient band. The school is proactive in its recycling efforts and uses 100% recycled paper
for all of its everyday use. In this regard, there are appropriate bins for recycling on the three
levels of the school building. Moreover, staff members are encouraged to print messages
from emails sent within the school only if it is necessary to do so.
SBE Principles for Responsible Management Education Web Page here.
1.3. AN OVERVIEW OF LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY’S
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
From the University Sustainability Strategy 2015-2020:
For the purposes of implementing its Building Excellence Strategy, the University defines
Sustainability as: Action by the University, and its staff and students that considers
environmental impact from a social, economic and environmental perspective following the
principles of inclusivity, integrity, stewardship and transparency, “embedding sustainability
into all our activities, operations and processes”.
The University defines Corporate Social Responsibility as: Action by the University, and its
staff and students, to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impacts of their
actions and activities in line with the principle of “good citizenship”.
Sustainability is strategically important to the University because: It is the right thing to do,
reflecting our mission and values; It builds on the work of our research; and that there is a
sound business case based on the contribution sustainability makes to achieving institutional
strategic goals which include legal compliance, aspiring to best practice and financial
efficiencies.
Sustainability is also of growing importance to a range of important stakeholders including:
✓ Prospective students (Campus environment, health & wellbeing, ethical practice);
✓ Prospective staff (Health & wellbeing, ethical practice);
✓ Current students (student experience, belonging and community);
✓ Current staff (retention, added value, engagement, funding and grants);
✓ Organisations and businesses (Award winning, good practice, compliant ISO 14001. A list of further accreditations and awards is provided in Chapter 3).
Further references are made to the University’s Sustainability Strategy in section 2.2, below.
11
Principle 2
Principle 1
Principle 3
CHAPTER 2:
AN OVERVIEW OF PRACTICAL ACTIONS An assessment of progress made in the past reporting period.
2.1. PRACTICAL ACTIONS: THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND
ECONOMICS
2.1.1. Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Learning and
Teaching
The School is committed to emphasising the importance of corporate social responsibility and
ethics across the courses it offers, and keen to reflect the values espoused. The matter is
constantly discussed at School and at Learning and Teaching Committee meetings and the
philosophy is that the value set of ethics, responsibility and sustainability should not be
reflected in a single module, but that many different modules should emphasise social
responsibility and ethics wherever possible.
In Spring 2018 the School has conducted a review of all programmes and modules to audit
content related to Ethics and CSR. The aims were to recognise aspects of best practice, and
to identify where further development was needed. In the light of the recent financial crisis
and corporate scandals, the school recognised that it is essential for management education
students to understand the symbiotic relationship between business and society, especially
We will incorporate into our academic activities and curricula the values of global
social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United
Nations Global Compact.
We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable
value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable
global economy.
We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that
enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.
12
in terms of the moral dimensions of power placed in the hands of owners and managers. The
overall aspiration is that graduates leave the school fully equipped with the knowledge and
skills to act responsibly in their chosen careers.
The school has taken steps to address this need through a
number of modules. For example, International Human
Resource Management provides an understanding of
fairness in selection and promotion procedures. In the two
core Strategic Management modules for Business
students, Ian Hodgkinson provides students with an
understanding of personal consequences of a firm’s
relocation, downsizing, and there is a specific lecture titled
‘Business Ethics and CSR’; the topic is positioned relative to
competitive advantage. Corporate Finance and Financial
Management have sections on fiduciary responsibilities
and Information Management provides knowledge of
censorship and privacy. In the Analysing Careers option,
students are taught about the need to get a signed consent
form from their participants and explanations are given
about being governed by the British Psychological Society
ethical guidelines. In the core Retailing modules Cathy Hart
teaches Health and Safety legislation. The case study
workshops incorporate Managing a crisis event, Logistics and the Environment and a specific
Workshop on Managing Risks in Retailing. Maxine Clarke teaches Corporate Governance and
Ethics/CSR, on Organisations in the International Context (SBE core module for all first years)
and The Contemporary Business Environment (optional service module for second years).
Angelika Zimmermann teaches on corporate responsibility in Strategic Management at the
MSc level, as does Andrew Rothwell in the module Strategic Human Resource Management,
also at Master’s level.
Two modules/units by the titles International
Corporate Governance and Firms and Corporate
Governance are taught in the final year. The
former addresses issues of corporate governance,
including the board’s ethical leadership and
responsibility, within an international context,
while the latter focuses on the UK market with
emphasis on the role of accounting and auditing
on corporate decisions. These modules offer students an opportunity to learn about ethical
leadership. While most students will not proceed to leadership positions immediately upon
graduation, they still must develop a basic understanding of ethical leadership, board
responsibility and board-level decisions that have an impact on the triple bottom line (social,
economic and environment). The MSc Corporate Finance includes the module ‘Corporate
Governance and Responsibility’, which aims to explore different mechanisms of governance
and topical issues relating to ownership, control, executive compensation and accountability.
Cathryn Hart,
Senior Lecturer in Retailing and
Operations Management
13
Principle 6
Principle 5
At Under Graduate (UG) level, final year students can take the module ‘Business Ethics’, which
has as its aims: to develop an understanding of the role of moral and political philosophy as
applied to the responsibilities of business in the wider society, to strengthen awareness of
the ethical aspects of prior study in Management, to explore ethical questions encountered
on work placement or other work experience.
2.1.2. Ethics, Sustainability and social responsibility in Research
As a research-led school our Research Centres and Research Interest Groups are a significant
focus of our activity with numerous research projects focusing on sustainability and
responsible leadership. The School follows the codes of practice on research and teaching
recommended by the University’s Committee on Ethics.
Our Research Centres are key components of the School’s
research agenda and aim to be instrumental in shaping
policy and practice across both the public and private
sector. The work of Dr Alok Choudhary from the Logistics
and Transportation Analysis Research Interest Group (RIG)
is a notable example, as he has lead two multidisciplinary
and international projects funded by the EU and the British
Council in the area of sustainable and resilient supply
chains. Alok has also been the recipient of one of the
School’s ‘Seed Corn’ awards (in collaboration with the
Carbon Trust and Copenhagen Business School),
investigating ‘Industry- Academia partnership for learning
and research in responsible and sustainable supply chain
management’. The Centre’s forthcoming event,
'Knowledge Management from the Front Line', is the latest
in the Sustainable Knowledge Management series,
featuring a senior speaker from the National Health
Service. In the Centre for Productivity and Performance,
Dialogue: Highlights of prominent or impactful events (e.g. forums, workshops,
roundtables, conferences), including an assessment of their impact.
Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our
understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of
sustainable social, environmental and economic value.
Dr Alok Choudhary,
Reader in Supply Chain
Management
14
Professors Alberto Franco and Gilberto Montibeller won the School’s Impact on Research
award for their research into managing bio-security threats in May 2017.
In the Centre for Professional Work and
Society (CPWS), the work of Dr Iain Coyne
on bullying and cyberbullying is
internationally recognised, with other
research on ethical practices and
sustainability including contributions by Dr
Eva Selenko (precarious employment),
Professor John Arnold and Dr Stanimera
Taneva (thriving at work in late career), Dr
Chloe Vitry's work on zero-carbon homes,
and Dr Andrew Rothwell's research on
employability and the sustainability of work.
The CPWS also hosts events related to
ethical aspects of work, such as the
screening of the film 'I Daniel Blake', and a
masterclass by the former HR Director of
Save the Children on Work-Life Balance. The Centre for Service Management (CSM) again
features some notable examples of sustainability research, such as Dr Lili Yang's work on
water resource management and evacuation modelling.
One of the significant ‘impact’ achievements of the CSM is activity related to the ‘New
Services Operating Model’ community of practice, which involves designing processes to
efficiently deliver products and services based around seven elements, the seventh of which
relates to ‘strategy governance and leadership’. CSM events have included ‘International
Service Innovation in Emerging Markets (January 2017), and a Transformative Service
Research Symposium (June 2017) on the ‘Wellbeing of Individuals, Families and Ecosystems’.
The Research Interest Groups (RIGs) in the School of Business and Economics are clusters of
faculty, researchers and PhD students working on a common research theme. These groups
evolve over time and represent emerging areas of research strength in the School. Current
and recent projects that have a strong orientation towards ethics and sustainability include
Dr Lili Yang’s work in the Emergency Management RIG on disaster recovery, Dr. Huw Edwards’
research on the complex relationship between multinational corporations and SME’s (Firms
in the Global Economy RIG), and Professor M.N. Ravishankar’s investigation of ‘impact
sourcing’ (socially responsible outsourcing) in the Global Sourcing RIG. This RIG is also the
base for to the another of our PRME ‘Seedcorn’ grants led by Ian Herbert, who is investigating
‘Earn to Learn’ as a source of sustainable employability development. This work is being
undertaken in collaboration with Salford University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and
Grovelands, a recruitment consultancy. This work evolved from Ian’s previously reported
research on outsourcing, which culminated in findings which pointed towards concerns about
sustainability in the industry.
(Pictured on the bottom left) Iain Coyne,
Programme Director, Work Psychology and
Business Psychology MSc programmes
15
The Knowledge Management RIG, linked to the CIM, has undertaken work in relation to
sustainability in Knowledge Management (KM), and KM in the energy sector, with a research
event in June 2016 on the latter. Previously the group have focused on KM in the Voluntary
Sector. The Money and Developing Economies RIG has a range of relevant, current projects,
notably ‘Determinants of African financial under-development’, and ‘Financial repression in
newly liberalising countries’. The Town Centre RIG continues its’ previously reported research
towards new research evidence that will help users as well as academics understand the
different drivers of current and future town centre behaviour. The Visual Decision Processes
RIG (VDP-RIG) is the base for an innovative project involving people who are social service
users, focusing on developing a methodology to engage with hard-to-reach people.
As one might expect, there is a considerable focus on the
financial aspects of business, these being represented by
Research Interest Groups for Management Accounting,
and Money & Developing Economies. Professor Noel
O’Sullivan’s work focuses on the role of auditing in firms.
Dr Suzana Grubnic’s research interests are in the areas of
sustainability accounting and performance management
in the public and private sectors. She has co-edited an
issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
on Climate Change and will in the future co-edit a
themed issue on sustainability for Public Money and
Management (with Professor Ian Thomson). Professor
Alistair Milne is a past president of the International
Banking, Economics and Finance Association (IBEFA),
www.ibefa.org, which brings together researchers from
central banks and universities from around the world
working on issues of banking and financial regulation. He
is also an editor of the Journal of Banking Regulation and
of the Journal of Financial Market Infrastructures. Petros
Vourvachis’ research focuses on the reporting and measurement aspects of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) information and how this can be embedded into reporting templates.
Many of our research students have topics related to ethics, sustainability and social
responsibility. An excellent example of innovative research on ethics, and of collaboration
between our research centres, can be found in the recently completed PhD project of Abrar
Al-Enzi, which was jointly supervised by Dr Louise Cooke (CIM) and Dr Andrew Rothwell
(CPWS). Ms. Al-Enzi’s research investigated the use (and misuse) of ‘Wasta’ (broadly speaking,
connections and reciprocal favours) in the context of Kuwaiti business and public life and
represented a highly innovative perspective on an embedded aspect of Middle Eastern
culture. Other notable PhD projects within the School that have an ethics and sustainability
focus include Ghosia Ahmed (‘Knowledge Security’), Alfred Ignatius Ajayi (Cloud computing
and emergency management), Adedoyin Babajide (Conflict and economic growth in
developing countries using Nigeria as a case study), Dimitrios Bolovinos (organisational
responses to the Greek banking crisis), Alqaas Chaudhry (macroeconomic policy in developing
Dr Suzana Gubric,
Senior Lecturer in Management
Accounting
16
Principle 6
Principle 5
countries), Xuan Hai Dinh (Fiscal sustainability and economic growth), Kayode Ejodame (best
practices through ERP), Hannah Evans (well-being and work life boundary), Hilda A.
Mwangakala (viability of e-health systems to improve rural population’s healthcare seeking
behaviour), Syed Muhammad Taqi Zaidi (board members and corporate governance).
2.1.3. Partnerships with Business
Our research is far more than academic activity, and has a real and lasting impact on business,
the community and society. In addition to activities within the Research Centres described
above, the Research Interest Groups that have a direct impact on ethics, responsibility and
sustainability include the Corporate Governance Research Interest Group which explores
issues of board leadership and the impact of governance failure on employees, investors and
the state. Current research from the group has examined the inclusion of female directors on
the board of directors, and their effect on corporate decisions and performance. Moreover,
the research carried out by various members of
the faculty is published in outlets that reach the
wider community in academia, practice and
policy circles. Such work is also disseminated in
seminars and conferences around the world,
thus contributing to the scholarly and practice
debate on sustainability. One notable impact
case is the work of Dr Antuela Tako whose work
on ‘Participative Simulation Modelling’
(PartiSim) has enabled decision making towards
a more efficient use of resources in the UK
Healthcare sector. Dr Tako has also undertaken
work in relation to Care in the Community for
Leicestershire County Council.
Dialogue: Highlights of prominent or impactful events (e.g. forums, workshops,
roundtables, conferences), including an assessment of their impact.
Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our
knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities
and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.
Antuela Anthi Tako,
Reader in Operational Research
17
A further example of our strategic external stakeholder engagement is our connection with a
number of professional accreditation bodies who lend approval to our courses. For example,
the School is pleased to be approved by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development for the delivery of CIPD-approved level 7 awards via an MSc in Human Resource
Management and an MSc in Employment Relations and Human Resource Management. We
are extending our involvement with the practitioner community, including hosting a number
of CPD events and masterclasses. For example, the HRM programme team, with the Centre
for Professional Work and Society hosted a presentation by Infinite Perspective Consulting,
who specialise in supporting businesses through ethical challenges. In this session the
consultancy team, comprising specialists formerly from Rolls-Royce and Ford, shared insights
and learning from several high-profile business ethics cases, including matters that have been
the subject of investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and the UK Equality & Human Rights
Commission. The consultancy has played a leadership role in helping different organisations
develop best-practice responses to these situations.
2.1.4. The Dean’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility
The School of Business and Economics has recently instituted the Dean’s Award for Corporate
Social Responsibility. This recognises any UG or PG student or graduate who has
demonstrated exceptional achievement in relation to one or more of the followings:
community impact, corporate social responsibility (CSR), volunteering, environmental and
ethical best practice. The criteria are that students will have demonstrated exceptional
commitment to CSR, either as art of their studies or outside of their degree studies which has
resulted in notable and made an impact or good practice. Graduates and students who have
studied at the School of Business and Economics are eligible for nomination. Nominations
have been considered by a panel, and applications will normally be invited during the Autumn
term. The panel convenes in January, and the Award will be made at the annual Prize-Giving
event in the Spring. The value of the award is at the discretion of the School.
18
Picture above: Recipient of the Dean’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, Tek
Simkhada pictured here in Nepal.
The 2018 Dean’s Award was given to Tek Simkhada. Tek graduated in 2017 and has been
involved with raising money for and working directly with various agencies in Nepal to help
them following the earthquake of 2015. He is of Nepalese origin but had not been to Nepal
before 2015. He decided to do his placement year there and secured an unpaid marketing
role in a trekking and travel agent in Kathmandu. The country was then devastated by a huge
earthquake. His placement was still viable, but he spent the next 2-3 months in
Loughborough raising money to fund some reconstruction projects while he was over there
on placement. Tek set up the ‘Loughborough for Nepal’ facebook group and raised nearly
£6,500 to take to Nepal. He set up a blog post letting people know how he was spending the
money and what projects he was involved in. He also had a successful placement where he
helped set the company back on their feet and restored some of the essential operations and
processes to enable tourists to return to Everest expeditions. He continued to work and raise
money for the organisations and schools he worked with when he was back in Loughborough
for his final year. He also travelled back to Nepal last year to continue supporting the work
that he started on his placement year. (nominated by Jo Higham, SBE Placements).
2.1.5. Responsible Management Seed-Corn Funding
As a strategic stimulus for research, enterprise and curriculum development in relation to
ethics and sustainability, the School of Business and Economics has instituted an annual
round of ‘Seed-corn Funding’. Responsible Management Seed-corn Grants support the
School’s Responsible Management strategy by stimulating research and teaching
collaborations in relation to business ethics, sustainability, and responsible management
practices. They can be used to develop pedagogic practice, stimulate new curriculum
19
initiatives, encourage sustainability in the management of the School, develop external
connections, or develop research. They can be used to build on existing practice, develop on
existing links or to initiate new areas of work. Seed-corn Grants are now in their second
successful year of operation, and represent excellent practice in industry-academic
partnerships, research and curriculum development.
YEAR 1 PROJECTS
Dr Alok Choudhary is a Reader in Supply Chain Management: His project, ‘Industry-
Academia Partnership for Learning and Research in Responsible and Sustainable Supply
Chain Management’ was undertaken with the collaboration of The Carbon Trust, and
Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. The seed-corn funding aimed to initiate further
grant-funding bids, to develop research student capacity, to promote dissemination through
workshops, to engage a network of companies, to develop learning materials such as case
studies, and academic publication. Dissemination was undertaken in September 2017
through the Supply Chain Sustainability 2nd Annual Conference at Loughborough University,
London Campus. The event brought together 65 experts from more than 50 companies
including Carbon Trust, LEGO, M&S, Telefonica, Willmott Dixon, CDT, GSK to discuss and
share ethical, responsible and sustainability practices from across the industry. This event
helped to significantly improve SBE’s visibility for ethical, responsible and sustainability
related research among a diverse group of industrial experts. In addition, the team
developed two video cases of leading companies (Willmott Dixon & Telefonica) for ethical,
responsible and sustainable practices for SBE teaching. Furthermore, it supported
international collaboration with Prof. Julian Hsuan (Copenhagen Business School) in the
areas of Sustainability related research.
Ian Herbert is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Financial
Management. His project Research and development of a
work-based learning (WBL) framework that will establish
stronger links between academic theory and work practice -
involved collaboration with the University’s Careers and
Employability service, Grovelands Ltd., and a stakeholder
group including business leaders, senior civil servants, and
student representatives. This project aimed to develop an
innovative way of learning, whereby students gain practical
workplace skills at the same time as they are studying,
through the development of business processing centres
(BPC’s) co-located with University campuses. The principal
activity during the operation of the project was a number
of workshops, where the various stakeholders contributed
to knowledge creation, including the use of the ‘World
Café’ format. Final dissemination was through a series of
conference presentations. Key findings included that
Graduates with high levels of social capital (e.g. from family
role models) will have an advantage in adapting to
Ian Herbert,
Senior Lecturer in Accounting
and Financial Management
20
organisational contexts, as will those who have undertaken substantive, relevant and paid
work experience alongside conceptual studies. Evidence was submitted to Select Committee
on Higher Education Funding (UK Govt.). This was accepted as evidence for the call: ‘Is the
current structure of post-school education and training, and the way it is financed,
appropriate for the modern British economy?’ September 2017.See Ref. HFV0056 here. A
‘white paper’ report can be found here.
Although a business partner for further development of the project has yet to be identified,
there is extensive support for the EtoL concept, at national level from both government
departments and business leaders.
YEAR 2 PROJECTS
The second year of Seed-corn funding saw
the approval within the School of two very
different projects, both rather more related
to curriculum development and student
engagement. Dr Rahul Kumar is a Lecturer
in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. His
project was undertaken with the
collaboration of the Department of
Computer Science and the Loughborough
University Student Enterprise Initiative. The
project, entitled: ‘From Values to Ventures:
Inspiring sustainability by enabling students
to translate their learning into open source
apps, business models, solutions that tackle grand challenges outlined in UN Sustainable
Development Goals’, looks beyond the PRME principles to the SDG’s and is therefore
consistent with the future aims of the School in extending the scope of activity relation to
ethics sustainability and social responsibility. Specifically, the project aims to develop an ‘App’
to help students across the University engage with the
SDG’s, to create on-line learning materials to help
embed the SDG’s in the curriculum, to support
workshops involving students, industry experts,
practitioners and researchers. Anticipated outcomes
include a portfolio of sustainability-enhancing apps,
video narratives of student and collaborators’
experiences, and the development of interdisciplinary
learning. Future activity towards sustainability of this
work may also involve a collaborative funding bid.
Dr David Roberts is a Senior Lecturer in International
Relations. His project, ‘The Responsibility to Engage:
researching the impact of visual learning strategies
for dyslexic students of Management Education ‘, has
a strong focus on teaching. It is pedagogical inquiry
Dr Rahul Kumar,
Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
David Roberts,
Senior Lecturer in International
Relations
21
Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments
that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.
Principle 3
Principle 6
into engaging and including dyslexic students in management education strategies. The
project aims to develop existing knowledge and practice relating to neuro-standard students
in Management Education and many other disciplines regarding the benefit they derive from
the introduction of multimedia lecture modalities. This project intends to establish the
efficacy of image use in large group lectures for dyslexic students of Management Education
in terms of increasing their engagement with academic content. The funding aims to support
research into dyslexic students’ learning and teaching needs and will ultimately lead to both
academic publications and research-informed curriculum development.
We anticipate that Responsible Management Seed-corn Funding will be a regular and
sustainable part of the School activity relating to ethics, sustainability and social
responsibility.
2.1.6. The role of the School in Community Outreach and
Public Service
In addition to research the School also supports more direct interventions. In August 2014,
the School part-funded the Summer Residential Camp for the ‘LYOS Programme’. The
Leicester Riders Basketball Club in association with Leicester City Youth Offending Service
(LYOS) and SBE piloted a summer residential camp for young offenders within the Leicester
City and Leicestershire County areas. This pilot residential camp utilised the Leicester Rider’s
boarding facility known as ‘Field House’. The camp provided a variety of activities to engage
the interests of young offenders alongside short educational sessions including; knife crime,
sex education, substance misuse and anti- social behaviour. SBE became involved in this as
our interests lie in building the knowledge and understanding of social enterprise amongst
a group of young people from a disadvantaged demographic.
Integral to the mission of the School is the delivery of value to society both locally and globally.
One element of that relates to the active engagement of the School with the regional non-
Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue and debate among educators,
students, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and
other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social
responsibility and sustainability.
22
profit sector to support the locality within which the School is based and of which the
University forms an important part. To date such engagement has been driven either by LSU
led student initiatives or the voluntary activities of individual members of staff. Clearly these
are important forms of engagement and the School is committed to supporting such
initiatives. However, it is equally clear that to fulfil its commitment to delivering value to
society it is necessary to take a more proactive approach to engagement. Thus, in summer
2014, SBE partnered with Action Homeless, a charity/ social enterprise based in Leicester
(http://actionhomeless.org.uk/). This partnership thus became the focal point of much
activity within the school to support delivering value.
Since September 2014 a range of activities have taken place in SBE for and/or with Action
Homeless to support the partnership. These include:
✓ In March 2016 SBE hosted an evening seminar on Social Enterprises to mark our
partnership with Action Homeless: approximately 60 individuals and organisations
from the Leicestershire charity / social enterprise sector attended;
✓ Staff from AH have participated in the Institute of Directors programmes in the
School, including the CEO;
✓ Mark Grant (CEO) has acted as guest speaker on lectures (for example, in the
undergraduate ‘Small Business and Entrepreneurship’ module);
✓ In the run-up to Christmas, SBE holds a collection for toys/games/clothes/food to
contribute to Christmas parcels for people using AH and also held a collection for
selection boxes for children affected by homelessness;
✓ Regular monetary donations have been made to AH through the VIP tickets available
for Leicester Riders games / Nottingham Panthers games;
Maxine Clarke, Director of International Programme, helps collect donated food and household
items to be sent back to the Action Homeless offices.
23
✓ As part of the ESSAM programme groups of MBA students have undertaken a number
of projects on behalf of AH. These have included a short term social enterprise project
with AH in the area of “Developing a distribution supply chain for surplus food from
supermarkets and other suppliers”, which provided useful recommendations for AH.
Another example in summer 2017 was the investigation into rental v buying property
for AH;
✓ In September 2016 staff from SBE took part in a volunteer day, helping to renovate
one of the Action Homeless refuge properties.
We are also investigating ways that our student body can become involved in this initiative
and have consulted with the Student Council. We see this relationship as developing and
expanding in the future, both with Action Homeless and with other charities in the local area.
As part of its partnership with Nottingham Panthers and Blue Bell Hill Academy the School of
Business and Economics has supported
a long-term Community Schools
Programme at The National Ice Centre.
Five sessions were scheduled each
season involving over 300 primary
school children from five schools visiting
on each occasion to watch training and
then skate with the players. The
children joined the Panthers squad at
their training sessions and had
classroom activities which involved
finding out more about being healthy,
looking after each other, behaving and
working as a team. Schools from
Nottinghamshire who have participated
in the programme include Blue Bell Hill
Academy, Arnold Hill, Sycamore
Academy, Carlton Digby, Arno Vale,
Oakfield School and Brocklewood. The
support from the School of Business and
Economics in 2017 and 2018 enabled 15
schools to participate in the project.
There are a number of examples of staff volunteering. In a recent survey around 15% of all
SBE staff reported some voluntary activity, not related to their subject area. A substantial
proportion of this was in local education, such as Schools or pre-schools and also in
organisations such as Guiding or Scouts. There was also activity in fundraising and charities,
both nationally and locally. Colleagues have taken on the role of Hall Wardens, and many are
involved in their local community and church organisations, servicing the local communities
in various ways at a personal level. At the local level, the School believes very strongly that it
Dan Spang, Nottingham Panthers,
Loughborough School of Business and Economics
MBA Graduate 2017
24
is a matter for individual members of staff to be involved in the service of the community.
This is supported by the School, for example by being flexible with working hours when
attendance is required at meetings, for example.
One further example of staff volunteering is the association that Dr Andrew Rothwell has had
over a 20-year period with the Scout Sailing Association. Andrew recently received Bear Gryll’s
Chief Scouts Commendation for Good Service award, having volunteered as a Royal Yachting
Association qualified sailing instructor teaching young people, often from disadvantaged
backgrounds or with disabilities, to sail.
2.1.7. The role of the School in the Local, National and International
Community
There are numerous examples of the School’s role in the local, national and international
community, documented elsewhere in this report. Summarised in brief, these include:
✓ Engagement through staff and student volunteering with community and voluntary
organisations such as Action Homeless;
✓ Active participation at local and national levels in ethically-driven professional
organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the
Building Societies Association;
✓ Engagement through research and dissemination of best practice in national and
international networks through conferences and other fora;
✓ Alignment with prestigious external accrediting bodies, including being one of just 1%
of Business Schools worldwide to have ‘triple-crown’ (AMBA, AACSB, EQUIS)
accreditation.
2.1.8. Policies relating to students
A number of policies demonstrate our commitment to ethical support for students:
✓ The school has procedures, through the Programme Committees, for handling
identified instances of academic dishonesty. Relatedly, the school uses Turnitin
software to detect possible plagiarism;
✓ In terms of students, the University and School of Business and Economics are
monitored in respect of Government targets on widening participation. The School
25
Principle 6
complies with statutes including SENDA (the Special Educational Needs and Disability
Act 2002) and DDA (the Disability Discrimination Act 2005);
✓ The School does not operate a policy of positive discrimination or affirmative action
in its admissions policy; on the other hand, it encourages applications from all sections
of society and sets out to treat all individuals fairly. The School adheres to the
University wide codes of conduct on Equality and Disability. The University is
committed to achieving an educational and working environment, which provides
equality of opportunity and freedom from unlawful discrimination on the grounds of
race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, disability, religious
belief, age, sexual orientation or offending background;
✓ Wheelchair access is available in all buildings and lecture theatres and note takers are
available to sit in on lectures and take notes for students who are partially sighted or
are dyslexic.
2.2. PRACTICAL ACTIONS AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL
2.2.1. The University Sustainability Action Plan
Institutionally, the main drivers for Principle 3 can be found in the Sustainability Action Plan,
which develops the theme of Educating for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The University is committed to acting in a socially responsible way that maximises its positive
impact and minimises its negative impact on society and the communities in which it is based.
This is reflected in the University’s strategy Building Excellence which states that “we will
embed sustainability and social responsibility considerations into all of our processes,
operations and developments” and also “will work closely with local partners to enhance the
social, cultural and economic wellbeing of the communities and regions in which we reside”.
The University takes its responsibility for the
environment seriously and understands the need to
respond to the challenges we face globally around issues
such as climate change, human wellbeing, food, water
and energy security. Loughborough seeks to respond to
these opportunities by leading in environmental
sustainability, building on the work of our research and
Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue and debate among educators,
students, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and other
interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social
responsibility and sustainability.
26
enterprise activities and aspiring to make the campus a living laboratory demonstrating
operationally our mission to provide a sustainable campus. There is also an opportunity in
teaching and learning where students are increasingly interested in courses which include
sustainability.
At University level a number of initiatives are worthy of note, led by the Pro-Vice Chancellor
(Learning and Teaching). These include the ‘Personal Best Programme’ and the ‘Graduate
Attributes Scheme’. At the present time these are operational in the Schools of Civil
Engineering & Building, and Art & Design. These include an emphasis on global citizenship,
ethics, community engagement and critical thinking. The aim is to build better links to the
curriculum with the notion of educating for sustainable development.
In respect of social responsibility there are wide-reaching implications for how staff and
students are respected and supported, for relationships with local communities and for how
we undertake our academic and business activities, as well as opportunities to embed
research and enterprise. There is a strong link to the curriculum where, within the key aim
Educating for Success, “we will develop our students as individuals, enhancing their
capabilities as creative, confident and adaptable 21st Century citizens who will make a
significant contribution to global society”. The Students Union is central to the University’s
social responsibility response, in particular through the work of Action and RAG.
The following table is adapted from the Loughborough University Sustainability Action Plan
2015-2020, pp4-5.
Sustainability Action Plan – Strategic Aims & Objectives
TEACHING
Aims: 1. We will aspire to create a learning environment where students are provided with the opportunity to become informed on the applicability of sustainability to their area of study
Objectives: ✓ To provide appropriate training to academic colleagues with professional
development opportunities in educating for sustainable development (ESD)
✓ To give students access to ESD via a set of learner attributes that are delivered through the formal and informal curriculum
✓ To embed elements of sustainability across the curriculum using the
interdisciplinary approach already in place within the Research challenge areas and alignment with wider institutional pedagogic, teaching, learning and curriculum initiatives. To provide opportunities for students to develop skills to respond to global sustainability challenges as adaptable 21st century citizens that make a significant contribution to global society in an emerging green economy
Actions to be taken: ✓ Work towards the UNESCO framework for ESD
✓ Increase the number of students on relevant environmental or sustainability
modules and courses
✓ Map ESD in the formal and informal curriculum utilising existing University systems and processes
27
✓ Conduct a baseline review of all taught units, develop training initiatives, generate open access online resources and implement monitoring procedures
✓ Continue to promote internships and placements
Lead: ✓ PVC Teaching (lead) ✓ Associate Dean Teaching (Lead) ✓ Learning & Teaching Committee (Enablers) ✓ Centre for Academic Practice (Enablers) ✓ ESD Working Group (enabler)
Aims: 2. To enhance the student experience through informal learning using the biodiverse and exceptionally green campus as a platform to foster sustainable and healthy lifestyles alongside learning
Objectives: ✓ To create a “living laboratory” through our teaching, research and
operational activity and programmes allowing students to live and study sustainably whilst learning through experience.
✓ To promote the Loughborough community where engagement and
participation are encouraged supporting a sense of wellbeing and belonging. Working in partnership with Loughborough Students’ Union, we will offer the best possible all-round experience, providing our students with a wide range of opportunities that enable them to achieve their full potential, professionally and personally as well as academically.
✓ To provide students with the tools to promote sustainable business practice,
leadership and an awareness of environmental issues
Actions to be taken: ✓ Seek to empower students to become global citizens through their fields of
study, our community action programmes and employability award scheme.
✓ Encourage students to support the demonstrator campus and living laboratory themes either through their studies or day to day activities.
✓ Continue to promote active social and cultural engagement with sustainable
volunteering opportunities on campus
Lead: ✓ Academic (enabler) ✓ SU (lead) ✓ Employability/Careers (enabler) ✓ Centre for Academic Practice (Enablers) ✓ Enterprise (enabler) ✓ Sustainability Team (enabler)
28
2.2.2 University Level: Ethics and Sustainability in Research and
Development
Although the main focus of this SIP report is the School of Business and Economics, there are
numerous examples of research relating to ethical and sustainable practice from across the
university. For example, one further example of a practical application of Loughborough
University research is the installation of technology known as ‘Community Slope Safe’ (CSS)
in Myanmar that could revolutionise landslide monitoring and protect vulnerable
communities. Researchers from the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, aim
to reduce the number of landslide-related deaths. The project has the cooperation of
Myanmar’s Chin Committee for Emergency Response and Rehabilitation (CCERR) and the
team have met with Minister of Social Affairs for Chin State Pu Pau Lun Min Thang to discuss
their work. Landslides have resulted in more than 30,000 fatalities over the last decade –
predominately in South East Asia and Central and South America. It is hoped CSS can help
save lives by providing valuable time to evacuate. CSS was developed by Professor Dixon, Dr
Smith and Dr James Flint, of the School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing
Engineering, with Enterprise support including funding, and was highly commended in the
University’s 2017 Enterprise Awards.
The University’s Doctoral College has recently announced its first ‘LGBT+ Research’ event at
Loughborough event, due to take place in May 2018. This event will enable researchers and
academic staff from Loughborough and neighbouring institutions to share ideas and best
practice. Examples of some of the planned sessions include: ‘Looking back moving forwards:
LGBTQ research after equality’; ‘Physical Activity and sport, how inclusive is it for transgender
people’; ‘Lived experiences of LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees in the UK’; ‘LGBT in
Construction: exploring experiences to inform inclusive practices’.
The following table is adapted from the Loughborough University Sustainability Action Plan,
pp. 5-6.
Sustainability Action Plan – Strategic Aims & Objectives
RESEARCH
Aims: 3. We will encourage knowledge transfer amongst our staff, students and alumni that can contribute to a meaningful and positive approach to addressing some of the challenges of sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Objectives: ✓ To widen the community action programme to ensure staff and students
can participate in environmental, sustainability and CSR projects
✓ To communicate and promote our environmental sustainability activities and achievements to the Loughborough community
Actions to be taken: ✓ Expand our community action programme to include staff.
✓ Continue to improve our award winning behavioural change campaign to
ensure engagement and positive behaviour change.
✓ Consult with our community through our policies and strategies using meaningful and accessible examples of sustainability
29
✓ Encourage our alumni team to promote our sustainability and CSR achievements
Lead: ✓ HR (lead) ✓ Sustainability Team (Lead) ✓ Marketing & Advancement (enabler) ✓ Centre for Academic Practise (enablers)
Aims: 4. To identify research related to sustainability and identify where this can be linked to operational activity on campus. To utilise our Research Challenge areas to facilitate knowledge exchange amongst the Loughborough community
Objectives: ✓ To continue to identify and publicise research activity in our 6 challenge
areas that focuses on climate change, human wellbeing, food, culture and citizenship, water and energy security
✓ To establish the synergies between teaching, research and operations
identifying current activities and initiating new activity through alignment with Research Challenge implementation plans and funding proposals. The relevance of our research to real-life issues will place us at the forefront internationally, increasing significantly the global visibility and reputation of the University
✓ To evidence that our students are involved with and introduced to world
leading research that responds to these opportunities fulfilling the ambition of Building Excellence
Actions to be taken: Work with Research Office to:
✓ Evidence funding for environmental sustainability related research ✓ Ensure transparency through annual reporting of research led operational
activities ✓ Promote and signpost key activity on the sustainability webpages ✓ Identify and publicise relevant case studies
Lead: ✓ PVC Research (Lead) ✓ Associate Dean Research (Knowledge) ✓ Research Challenges Academic (enablers) ✓ School Research Coordinators (enablers) ✓ RCD Managers (enablers) ✓ Sustainability Team (enablers) ✓ FM (enablers)
30
Principle 6
2.2.3 The role of the University in the Local, National and
International Community
The University, and the School, recognises that it has a corporate social responsibility, the
explicit goal of which is to work with the town of Loughborough, and our local authorities and
indeed within the globalised community, to deliver an environment in which the inter-related
communities of the University, the locality and the region can thrive. Many of the aims of the
University have been discussed elsewhere, including the provision of a supportive
environment free from discrimination. Activities may be student centred (through the
medium of the Students’ Union), University centred or initiated by individual members of
staff. The University works very closely with the Students’ Union and the School is involved
with many of the activities.
For the last nine years, community and voluntary groups in Charnwood have been offered the
chance to bid for funding through the University’s annual Donations Fund Programme. The
Open Fund, which has been running since 2009, accepts bids in Autumn each year, and the
spring round commences in March. Awards are normally £750 each. In 2017, awards were
made to 14th & 11th Loughborough Guides (new tents, old tents will be donated to local
homeless/refugee charities); Grace's Princess Gifts (funding will cover the materials needed
to provide hand-knitted wigs to young children suffering from cancer or other illness that
causes hair loss); Friends of St Bartholomew’s Association ((FOSBA, funding will aid the
development and regeneration of the ‘Peace Garden’); Charnwood Talking News (Funding
will cover new sound and recording equipment for this organisation, who record the week’s
newspaper for blind and partially sighted people); Upstarts Gymnastics (Funding will cover
the booking of facilities for this club to train and coach more progressively); Glebe House (a
charity with supports those with learning disabilities).
There is also a Community Relations Programme. The University has an established
community relations programme, which has been in place for over 7 years. To date much of
the programme has been focussed on mitigating perceived and actual detrimental impact on
other local residents, of the high numbers of students living in the community, by working
with several community forums and local resident groups. The university also sets aside
£45,000 per year for the Community Donations Fund to provide financial support to
community groups and organisations across Charnwood. The University has run for several
years the Loughborough Campus and Community Liaison Group, which is a multi-agency
group that meets quarterly to discuss at a strategic level all issues associated with the
presence of the College and University in the town. As well as representatives from the
Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue and debate among educators,
students, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and
other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social
responsibility and sustainability.
31
University, College and Students’ Union the group also involves resident groups, Officers and
Councillors from Charnwood Borough Council, Landlords and Leicestershire Police. The Terms
of Reference for this group mean that new residents groups can be considered for
membership on an ongoing basis. There is also an opportunity for individuals with a
particularly relevant skill or expertise to be co-opted onto the group.
The University is a major provider of sports and arts activities in the local community. Some
of this is direct provision, for example through the programme of our Arts Centre, some of
which is delivered at venues in the town and some on campus, and through sports classes and
camps (especially for children during school holidays and half terms). Other provision is
indirect where the University is a facility provider to a range of local arts groups, sports clubs
and schools. The University is a centre for high performance sport and this includes providing
facilities and services for the many athletes who choose to live in the area to use the training
environment here on campus.
Finally, the University works directly with Third Sector organisations, for example by donating
furniture to Exaireo Trust, a charity helping the homeless and providing temporary supported
accommodation (April 2018).
The following table is adapted from the Loughborough University Sustainability Action Plan,
p. 6, and focuses on Enterprise-related activity in respect of ethics, sustainability and social
responsibility.
Sustainability Action Plan – Strategic Aims & Objectives
ENTERPRISE
Aims: 5. To create a Demonstrator Campus
Objectives: ✓ To establish tangible evidence of a “living laboratory” through
teaching, research and operational projects by identifying current activities and initiating new activity through alignment with current implementation plans and enterprise projects.
✓ Foster collaborative projects within the Loughborough Community to
deliver this objective moving from theory-based work and research to actual practice providing our students with an exceptional learning environment.
Actions to be taken: Identify the synergies between teaching, research and operations and to evidence this through active programmes of delivery on campus. This may include projects such as:
• Campus partner cluster activity
• Sustainability of LUSEP infrastructure
• Active Travel
• Greening the fleet (low emission)
• Fruit Routes and Eat your Campus
• Developing research led projects into campus development
Lead: ✓ PVC Enterprise (lead) ✓ Research Challenges Academic (enablers) ✓ Sustainability Team (lead)
32
✓ Associate Dean Enterprise (enablers) ✓ RCD Managers (enablers) ✓ FM (enablers
Aims: 6. To use enterprise and innovation to showcase our contribution to meeting the global challenges in sustainable development
Objectives: ✓ To continue to create social, cultural and economic impact from
University research that contribute to the global challenges of climate change, human wellbeing, food, water and energy security ensuring that the impact of our activities helps to support economic development and drive innovation and performance on local, national and international levels
✓ To encourage the building of partnerships (particularly in developing countries) that creates successful sustainable projects that are mutually beneficial. Through the integration of influential research, vibrant enterprising culture and outstanding learning opportunities, we will enhance our ability to drive forward solutions to contemporary global challenges
Actions to be taken: Work with the Enterprise Office to:
✓ Evidence where funding has been awarded to create impact for environmental sustainability related activity
✓ Ensure transparency through annual reporting of enterprise led
operational activities
✓ Promote and signpost key sustainability related case studies
✓ Evidence the number of spin out/businesses that are working in or have contributed technologies to developing countries
✓ Evidence of knowledge, technology and innovation that has
contributed to the global challenges of climate change, human wellbeing, food, water and energy security
Lead: ✓ PVC Enterprise (lead) ✓ Associate Dean Enterprise (enabler)
33
Organisational Practices
“Principle 7”
2.2.4 Organisational Practices: List of Environmental Assessments,
Certifications and Awards received
The University has a high profile in the local and national environment as a result of, inter
alia, fund raising for charities and its sporting prowess. The sporting achievements, which
include many students of the School, have helped to raise National standards. There are
several elite sporting facilities on the campus, which include the National Cricket Academy,
the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre, the Sebastian Coe high performance athletics centre, the
Olympic standard swimming pool and the Beckwith Centre which includes as part of its
remit training and development of disabled athletes. More than 80 Loughborough students
or graduates and people who were based at the University took part in the Rio Olympic and
Paralympic Games in 2016. If the University had been a country, it would have finished 17th
overall in the Rio Olympics, 10th overall in the Paralympics, and 10th overall in the 2018
Commonwealth Games.
In addition, the direct involvement of both staff and students in community activities that
connect to ethics, responsibility and sustainability sends a positive signal to society of the
salience of these issues, thus encouraging the wider society to both appreciate and embrace
them.
Crystal Lane claimed silver in the individual pursuit and bronze in the road race at the 2016 Rio
Paralympic Games
34
The Green Gown Awards
Loughborough University reached the finals in the Green Gown Awards in 2017 in recognition
of its sustainability initiatives. The awards are run by the Environmental Association for
Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and celebrate sustainability excellence in post-16 education
institutions. Loughborough was a finalist in the Facilities and Services category for
Maintaining the Green, Living the Sporting Dream, a project which combined Loughborough’s
holistic landscape management with its elite sporting facilities.
Tim Garfield, Director of Sports Development at Loughborough University said: “Our sporting
prestige is a direct result of the combined passion and ambition of all those associated with
sport at Loughborough. There’s an atmosphere and determination on campus and a will to
succeed that pervades all our activities – and our management of the facilities and grounds
reflects this.”
The University was also nominated in the Food and Drink category for the Loughborough Cup
(pictured below) – a sustainably produced reusable cup. As a result of wider environmental
management plans, reducing the number of disposable cups has been a major factor in overall
waste reduction across campus. Nik Hunt, Loughborough’s Environmental Manager said: “The
project has embedded the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, economic and social
– whilst promoting the Loughborough University brand. It has been a fantastic success.”
A number of other initiatives are evident around the campus such as:
✓ An attempt to reduce carbon emissions while in the car;
✓ Four ‘Combined Heat and Power’ units which both generate and consume electricity;
✓ The University Travel Plan, which aims to reduce road usage on campus, and increase the
number of electric vehicle charging points;
✓ Managing Biodiversity within the Biodiversity ecological Action Plan. As a green campus
the estate is home to a number of endangered species;
✓ Fruit routes is a collaborative project managed by the sustainability team. This initiative
promotes the notion of the University as an edible campus.
35
From the Loughborough University Sustainability Action Plan 2015-2020, p.7
Sustainability Action Plan – Strategic Aims & Objectives
TEACHING - OPERATIONAL
Aims:
7. To manage our estate in an efficient and low risk way reducing our impact through ongoing monitoring of our operational processes, systems and outputs.
Objectives: ✓ Waste - To ensure that, in accordance with legislation, waste will be
managed in a sustainable manner following the waste hierarchy
✓ Carbon - To reduce the institution's carbon footprint, focusing in particular on the reduction in use of gas and electricity from the national grid
✓ Water - To reduce water consumption from the University’s
operations
✓ Construction and Refurbishment - To reduce the impact of construction, refurbishment and maintenance of the estate Sustainable Travel - To reduce the use of fossil fuels for personal and business travel in order to decrease the carbon impact of these as part of the transport management strategy
✓ Emissions to Air & Discharges to Water - To reduce risk of pollution
✓ Sustainable Procurement - To reduce the demand for non-
sustainable goods and services
✓ Noise Pollution - To reduce complaints and nuisance
Actions to be taken: Deliver operational objectives and targets in the following areas:
✓ Waste Management ✓ Carbon Management ✓ Water Management ✓ Construction and Refurbishment ✓ Sustainable Travel ✓ Emissions to Air & Discharges to Water ✓ Sustainable Procurement
These will be measured using a per capita framework. Provide cohesion for these areas using the environmental management system ISO 14001. This will also give quality assurance and support LU to embed sustainability and social responsibility into all of its processes, operations and developments.
Lead:
✓ Sustainability Team (lead) ✓ Local HSE Groups (enablers) ✓ Operational Managers (lead) ✓ FM (lead) ✓ Finance (lead) ✓ Procurement (enabler) ✓ SU (enabler)
36
2.3. STUDENT ACTIVITY IN RESPECT OF ETHICS AND
SUSTAINABILITY
Student activities include:
RAG – Each year, Loughborough students raise over £1 million, this makes it easily the largest
student charity appeal of any UK University, and the contributions are made both locally and
nationally. This has been raised through a variety of activities, many of which are sponsored
by faculty members. Activities include climbing Kilimanjaro for Meningitis Research
Foundation, following the Inca trek for the Epilepsy Society, trekking to Everest Base Camp
for Help for Heroes and running in European Marathons for Breast Cancer Campaigns. The
School is rightly proud of our students and are happy to assist them in pursuit of these
fundraising efforts.
Ethics and Environment week (E&E Week) is led by the LSU Ethical and Environmental
Development Officer and was launched in 2015. The week, held February/March each year,
aims to shed light on the need to integrate a greater awareness of environmental issues
across the University. Working collaboratively, the Sustainability Team and the Students’
Union organise a variety of activities for staff and students to get involved in throughout the
week. The SU hosted a number of organisations during the week including ‘Love Food Hate
Waste’, ‘Wastecycle’ and ‘Fairtrade Gifts’.
Santander Discovery Grants: two were awarded to Loughborough University in March 2018.
The first, in partnership with the student’s union, was ‘The Price is Right’ which comprised a
series of money management workshops aimed at year 10 and year 12 pupils, to teach them
essential financial skills for the future.
37
Community Action - This is a very significant programme with more than 500 student
volunteers, across Loughborough, giving time on a regular basis to assist with a range of
projects from “Right to Read” to befriending schemes, working with young people, arranging
events for vulnerable members of the community and overseas projects.
Examples of programmes run under the Community Action programme include:
1. Enterprise
Leicestershire Education Business Company
works with students from Primary through
to Post 16 brokering links between
businesses and the wider community and
education establishments. Enterprise is an
initiative aimed primarily at 14 – 16-year-old
students seeking to make them more
employable. The aim is to encourage
innovation and improve their problem
solving and economic skills.
2. Abbeyfields – Befriending
Volunteers take a trip to Abbeyfields care
home and spend time with elderly residents
who would otherwise probably not have
visitors on a regular basis. Befriending helps
to overcome the problems of isolation
suffered by the elderly while also providing
volunteers with the opportunity to socialise
with someone else besides their peers.
3. Running Action
Running Action works with people with mild mental health problems working on the
premise that exercise is a good tool in helping combat depression. Volunteers go for
an early evening group run, once a week, on one of a number of pre-selected routes.
4. In Tandem
Action Volunteers can enjoy a leisurely cycle ride around Loughborough and its
environs. Able- bodied riders are paired up with someone who may be blind, deaf or
have physical or learning difficulties. Volunteers are in control of the bicycle but
share the pedals with the other rider.
5. Number Partners
This Project is designed to help children improve their numeracy skills. Volunteers
play maths orientated board games with young pupils at nearby primary schools for
one hour a week. Each volunteer is assigned four students who are often struggling
with their numeracy skills and need support to build confidence.
Winners, Giving Back, Whatuni
Student Choice Awards Winners 2018
38
6. Right2Read
Right to Read is a project where volunteers go into a local school to read one-to-one
with children with below average reading abilities who, as a result, are often lacking
in confidence. Volunteers are assigned four or five children who they will 'read' with
on each visit.
7. Young Persons Projects - University Challenge
University Challenge is a new project for widening participation, it brings children
from less-privileged backgrounds onto campus for a day to experience university life,
engage with current students and participate in various academic and extra-
curricular workshops.
8. Action Soup Kitchen
This is a new project to help the homeless, with the introduction of a soup kitchen
which operates once a week providing a warm meal and a friendly, social
atmosphere. Volunteers help cook and serve the food and take the time to chat
with everyone that comes through the door.
9. Student2Student
At university students can all experience times when they feel lonely, homesick or
have problems with their course. This project, for which training is provided by the
University Counselling Service, offers fellow students advice, support and comfort in
times of hardship and anxiety.
10. Overseas opportunities
Action has been helping students to volunteer overseas for several years, in various
countries. One example of this is that in Summer 2014 for the 4th year running
Action worked with Thrive Africa; a not-for-profit UK based charity ran solely on the
efforts of volunteers. Together, Action and the charity have assisted in the
development of schools and communities across Africa, in ways such as building
water pumps in villages that have no clean water supply and teaching maths, English
and science as well as encouraging school attendance through sport and other
activities.
South Africa Challenge 2018
The South Africa Challenge is an international experiential learning programme for high potential emerging leaders, set in Durban, South Africa.
Throughout the programme, participants work individually and as a team to design, define and structure their own approach to delivering products, services and projects that
capture their imagination, and have the potential to make a real impact to the work of our local partners, or the communities they support in South Africa. The process by which we do this provides wider economic and social benefits to one of the most deprived and
problem-stricken areas of the planet.
39
The SA challenge was started by SBE student Peter Bailey in 2012 and was carried on by Helen
Ots, also from SBE the following year. Helen still runs the challenge (2018) and SBE students
have participated every year. The School has contributed to their fundraising of around £500
per student each year. Each student has to fundraise around £2000 in order to go on the trip
so each individual still makes a considerable commitment. Four students will participate in
2018.
The Challenge aims to: ‘-bring together teams of bright high potential young people for an
experiential learning programme that will build their capacity to develop products and
projects that have the potential to change the world.’ As the Challenge website states:
‘Our long-term aim is to increase our Challenger's ability to lead the development of
economically, environmentally and socially responsible products and projects in the future.
We focus on developing enterprise skills and leadership capabilities through the practical
challenges associated with starting a social action project. They gain an understanding of the
complexity of societal challenges, how culture plays a part, and how to develop new
networks. Together these elements aid our participants to understand the skills, knowledge,
and importantly the confidence, to take on leadership opportunities.’
The Challenge involves: ‘- cultural activities, visits to communities, and working with
businesses and NGOs, exposing participants, to another view of South Africa something which
tourists rarely see. Participants witness how economic inequality can affect a country’s
development and play a significant role in people’s lives; as well as the influence of traditional
cultures and historical racial segregation. What it also does is highlight the opportunities
created by economic and community development.’
40
South Africa Challenge 2018
The 2018 programme will have four Loughborough students participating, three of whom are in The School of Business and Economics (SBE), studying undergraduate courses. An alumnus from the school is responsible for the development of this year’s programme. The three participants from the School of Business and Economics are Simona Petrova (International Business), Raoul Patel (International Business) and Diba Tavakolizadeh (Information Management and Business).
Simona and Diba’s project will tackle the lack of career guidance for high school students in South Africa. The consequence of poor career guidance leads to a lack of awareness of key employability skills needed for the future of work and South African economy, and therefore further education or career paths. They believe in order to ensure that young people in South Africa have a better future, it is essential to equip them with the knowledge of all their career opportunities after high school.
Simona and Diba will be working with high schools within the Kwandengezi community near to Durban to deliver workshops on career guidance. In order to make their project sustainable and able to continue after they leave South Africa, they will be building partnerships and collaborating with existing organisations such as the local community education centre, to co-design these workshops. We believe that the young people will benefit from this project through a raised awareness and knowledge of career options, employability skills they will require and most importantly where to access further information.
Raoul will be continuing a project tackling HIV/AIDs stigma, which SBE students began exploring in 2017. The team in 2017 identified that a key enabler of continuing stigma is a lack of open conversations between generations. Many children and young people are highly educated on prevention methods but feel unable to speak openly to adults to gain further knowledge, which continues the stigma and misconceptions.
He believes by tackling the lack of open ended discussions and encouraging safe conversations between the adults and the youth could start to bring a solution to this issue. He is planning to collaborate with partners such as Whizz Kids and the AIDS Crisis Centre to formulate various means of encouraging and sparking conversation on HIV/AIDS in the older generations that could possibly break the beliefs and stigma associated with the disease.
41
CHAPTER 3: AN ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS
3.1. AN OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS MADE IN THE
PAST REPORTING PERIOD
Although this has been the first two-year period when the School of Business and Economics
(SBE) has been a member of the Principles for Responsible Management Education, this has
been far from a standing start in respect of good practice in ethics, sustainability and social
responsibility (ESSR). Indeed, one challenge has been to capture the diversity, scale and
scope of activity: we hope this report has at least given a flavour of this. This ‘assessment of
progress’ section briefly considers achievements, opportunities for future development, and
possible challenges. The section concludes with an identification of some of the metrics
being developed that impact on ESSR activity in SBE and the University.
3.1.1. Achievements from PRME Period 1 2016-2018
✓ As SBE is a research led School, starting with understanding the scale and scope of
ESSR related research activity;
✓ Recognising good practice in respect of ESSR in the curriculum;
✓ Identifying business partnerships and employer links related to ESSR, links with
community and not-for-profit organisations, staff and student volunteering;
✓ Engaging with University-level ESSR roles and processes such as the Sustainability
and Social Responsibility Sub Committee, University Sustainability Manager;
✓ Recognising student-led ESSR activity through eg. The Student Union and RAG;
✓ Building relationships with PRME at national and regional level;
✓ SBE initiatives such as the Dean’s award for Corporate Social Responsibility and
Responsible Management Seed-Corn Funding.
3.1.2. Opportunities for further development: for strategic
consideration
✓ Locate SBE as an active participant in the evolving PRME UK-regional networks;
✓ Integrate the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the SBE
Curriculum;
✓ Align the SBE Curriculum with the UNESCO Goals of Education for Sustainable
Development;
✓ Leverage networks and connections to better effect in relation to PRME objectives
eg. Internal (alumni, SBE strategic advisory board); external (employer networks,
affiliated professional organisations, research networks, accrediting body networks
such as AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS);
42
✓ Engage more SBE staff in activities such as volunteering and pro bono consulting;
✓ Reinforce PRME Liaison and support roles and systems;
✓ Creation of an ESSR risk management strategy (see Risk Register).
3.1.3. Possible challenges in future reporting periods: These are fairly broad in scope, and in general have the nature of a possible and potential
rather than actual and immediate risk
✓ Key staff (thought leaders in respect of research, teaching) leave either due to other
opportunities or retirement;
✓ Restricted research funding opportunities due to reduced funding in the UK HE
sector;
✓ Network limitations due to loss of employer/community/not for profit organisation
contacts, or limited growth of alumni networks;
✓ Performance challenges arising from the need to sustain the University’s leading
position in relation to a range of external metrics;
✓ Resource limitations across arrange of competing activities diverting attention from
ESSR.
3.2. METRICS BEING DEVELOPED AND USED
At both School and University level a number of Metrics are being developed and used in
respect of Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. While the culture of the School of
Business and Economics is not to performance manage ethical processes in a directive
manner, nonetheless we do aspire to capture and disseminate best practice. For example at
School level:
✓ An audit is currently (April 2018) in hand in respect of identifying ethics, social
responsibility and sustainability in the curriculum at both programme and module
level. Following this guidelines for best practice will be established and Programme
Directors and Module Leaders tasked with implementing these;
✓ In academic year 2018-2019 we aim to produce a detailed census of ethics, social
responsibility and sustainability in research, and a qualitative evaluation of how this
impacts on the curriculum;
✓ As part of our preparation for the forth coming Research Excellence Framework
(REF), a school-wide evaluation of research impact is also being undertaken, which
we anticipate will inform future PRME reporting;
✓ We will continue to positively encourage staff volunteering, and, where appropriate
and practical, will support staff in doing so. We will develop metrics such as the
number of staff volunteering days per year.
43
At University level, a number of metrics are currently used which include:
✓ Waste and recycling: the target is 75% recycling and 5% to landfill. In order to
implement and demonstrate continual improvement to the University’s
environmental performance the University is developing an Environmental
Management System (EMS). For example, between 2009/10 and 2015/2016
recycling of waste reduced across the campus as a whole from 28.53% to 75%. At the
same time, the amount of waste going to landfill fell from 71% to just 5.61% in the
same period. Absolute emissions and carbon emissions have gone down from
29,503tC02e to 27,732 Tc02E;
✓ Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Unit contribution: over £3million since 2011;
✓ Conversion of waste to energy: 19.39% in 2015/16.
3.3. ACCREDITATIONS AND AWARDS
Continuing the theme of ‘winning’ from much earlier in
the report, the following are some of the accreditation and
awards the University (as distinct to the School) has
attained in respect of ethics, social responsibility and
sustainability: For example, the University actively
espouses the principles of sustainable development and is
eager both to lead in areas such as renewable energy,
assisted by its Centre for Renewable Energy Systems
Technology, and to adopt and match best practices
identified elsewhere. One specific aim is to develop and
maintain a sustainable campus, to help with this in 2009
the University launched the “It’s Better off” campaign
which initially focused on energy efficiency. Between
February 2009 and February 2012, the campaign has led
to savings of 3.75m kWh, £300k and 2,000t C02. At its peak
there were 250 Environmental Champions across campus
and led to us winning various accolades, such as the Green Gown Winner in 2011 for
Promoting Positive Behaviour Change. Loughborough has also reached the finals of the
national 2014 Green Gown Awards. The University has been shortlisted in the ‘Continuous
Improvement’ category for its Environmental Decathlon project – a portfolio of ten activities
that aim to embed environmental management into Loughborough’s ethos and practice.
Loughborough is an Eco campus, gaining Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. The University is
currently working towards the Platinum award and ISO14001. Waste segregated now
includes: paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, metal, WEEE, toner cartridges, food and
polystyrene. Other issues such as waste, water consumption, and sustainable transport are
also covered under the broad umbrella of sustainable development. The School of Business
and Economics fully participates in these University-wide Sustainability campaigns.
44
CHAPTER 4:
FUTURE OBJECTIVES The School of Business and Economics is pleased to commit to continuing membership of
PRME. Below, we set out clear objectives for future development and look forward to
extending our engagement in the future.
4.1. PRME Reporting Cycle 2018-2020
✓ Engage in PRME Regional Network;
✓ Teaching: Work towards ESSR as a learning objective across all programmes;
✓ Research: Continue Seed-corn funding, monitor and report outcomes of ESSR
research (ESSR Research web page, social media); establish an SBE presence at PRME
conferences and EAUC conferences;
✓ Enterprise: increase level of staff involvement in volunteering to from 15% to 20%;
✓ Enhance integration of SBE ESSR practice with the LU Sustainability Action Plan;
✓ Embed the ‘Personal Best Programme’ and ‘Graduate Attributes Scheme’ in SBE;
✓ Implement metrics for ESSR performance evaluation in line with SBE and University
practice.
4.2. PRME Reporting Cycle 2020-2022
✓ To embed the UN Sustainable Development Goals in SBE research, curriculum and
enterprise practice;
✓ To raise SBE’s profile of at national level in research, employer engagement and
curriculum practice in ethics, sustainability and social responsibility, including PRME
and EAUC Conferences;
✓ To bid to host a National Conference in Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility
to be held at the Loughborough Campus;
✓ To engage SBE in national fora relating to research, employer engagement and
curriculum practice in ethics, sustainability and social responsibility.
4.3. Beyond 2022
✓ To further develop ESSR objectives in Teaching, Research and Enterprise;
✓ To engage SBE in international fora relating to research, employer engagement and
curriculum practice in ethics, sustainability and social responsibility;
45
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: PRME Principles: Mapping to report content
1. 2.1 2.2 2.3 3 4
Principle 1
Purpose
We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.
Statement of the school’s vision, including the school’s interpretation of what responsible management education means
x x x x x x
Principle 2
Values
We will incorporate into our academic activities, curricula, and organisational practices the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.
Reference to institutional values and principles, ethical guidelines, mission statements, codes of conduct, oaths, and pledges
x x x x x x
Principle 3
Method
We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.
Description of strategy and systems in place to develop PRME-related course content and assess its collective impact on students and alumni
x x x x x
Principle 4
Research
We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.
Assessment of the extent to which student are involved in PRME-related research
x x x x x
Principle 5
Partnership
We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.
Description of strategy for stakeholder engagement and partnerships (including but not limited to community, government and business)
x x x x x
Principle 6
Dialogue
We will facilitate and support dialog and debate among educators, students, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.
Highlights of prominent or impactful events (e.g. forums, workshops, roundtables, conferences), including an assessment of their impact
x x x x x
46
“Principle” 7
Organisational Practices
We understand that our own organisational practices should serve as example of the values and attitudes we convey to our students.
List of environmental assessments, certifications and awards received
x x x x x
APPENDIX 2
The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
1. No Poverty – End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture
3. Good Health and Well-Being – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at
all ages
4. Quality Education – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable management of
water and sanitation for all
7. Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
clean energy for all
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduced Inequalities – Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human settlements inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns
13. Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Life below Water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development
15. Life on Land – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Partnerships for the Goals – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize
the global partnership for sustainable development
47
GLOSSARY OF TERMS This Glossary provides details of terms and abbreviations used within this Report. ABS Association of Business Schools.
AH Action Homeless. AMBA Association of MBAs. CEO Chief Executive Officer. EAUC Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges.
ESSR Ethics, Sustainability and Social Responsibility. NGO Non-governmental organisation. NSS National Student Survey. PG Post Graduate (Graduate Student). PVCT Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching. REF Research Excellence Framework. SBE School of Business and Economics. SSRC Sustainability and Social Responsibility Sub Committee.
UG Under Graduate (Bachelor Student).
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
VC Vice-Chancellor (President).
7360
9/C
PS/
OC
T18
@lborosbe
/lborosbe
/lborouniversity
/lborounisbe
General enquiriesProfessor Stewart RobinsonDean, School of Business and [email protected]
Dr Andrew RothwellPRIME Liason, School of Business and [email protected]
i.youku.com/lborouniversity
lborouniversity
www.weibo.com/lborosbe