On Friday 22 November, UCL School of Management officially launched the UCL Centre for Sustainable Business, which is the first centre of its kind dedicated to delivering unique solutions that support sustainability in business. Co-Directors Professor Onesun Steve Yoo and Professor Paolo Taticchi developed the centre to contribute to shaping a more sustainable future and driving change in the business world. The exclusive launch event invited executives, business leaders and members of the community who are passionate about sustainability and change to celebrate the initiative.
UCL School of Management invited keynote speakers Dr Sanchita Banerjee Saxena from Article One and Ernesto Ciorra from POLIMI Graduate School of Management and MIT Technology Review Italia to deliver a speech on their perspective on how to achieve a sustainable future. Sanchita expresses the main contribution is education, research and consultancy, while Ernesto highlights that innovability (innovation combined with sustainability) is a way of moving forward as a society. Following this, the floor opened to a panel of pracitioners joined by Mark Q. Mc Lane from M&G plc, Sophie Goodard from Canary Wharf Group, Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri from CIV:LAB, Riccardo Angelini Rota from Leonardo and moderated by Silvia Pavoni from Financial Times to discuss sustainability.
Discussing the launch, co-director Paolo Taticchi notes, “Thanks to the new Centre, we are building a community of organisations which are committed to drive positive change in society. We are keen to demonstrate through research and practical projects that there is no tension between sustainability and profit, and this is the only way forward to build successful organisations.”
Co-director Steve Yoo adds “The UCL Centre for Sustainable Business aims to be the focal point for bringing the brilliant researchers and thought leaders we have here at School of Management. We have the expertise in cutting edge technology, awareness in organisation-specific problems, and the ability to convene business leaders. We want to utilise our unique vantage point to address a range of wicked problems and impact business operations to promote a sustainable future.”
In relation to the Sustainable Development Goals founded by United Nations, the centre is on a mission to provide business leaders with cutting-edge knowledge and tools for sustainable business transformation, whilst following three thematic areas:
1. Data-driven sustainable transformation
2. Integrating sustainability into core business
3. Responsibile leadership for sustainable transformation
On behalf of UCL School of Management, we would like to thank the researchers, affiliated fellows, scientific advisory board and professional staff who contributed to the launch of the Centre for Sustainble Business and showed their support on Friday. We look forward to showing you the impact this centre will have.
Want to join the centre and help your company make a greener impact in society? Sign up today!
