Eva Niesten
Head of SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies
2024 GRONEN Conference will take place on May 27-30, 2024 in Paris at SKEMA Business School.
The SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies (SCSS) is a dynamic research group whose purpose is to generate excellent research on how business activities can be sustainable and contribute to a better world.
Research themes
Adopting interdisciplinary perspectives, the more than
20 members of SCSS study three sustainability themes:
Diversity, Inclusivity, and Social Justice
Research within the SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies focuses on diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing. We draw on expertise in human resource management, organizational behaviour, entrepreneurship, economics, and sociology to conduct inter- and trans-disciplinary research. Strongly anchored in our respective local communities, we focus on the social and societal impact of our research on stakeholders and strive to integrate our research into teaching and executive education. Our research contributes to both new theoretical and practical insights.
- Using a gender perspective, we question the different dimensions of business such as leadership, entrepreneurship, organizational structures, and performance. Our aim is to investigate and analyse the place and role of women in organizations and society.
- We also investigate whether and how mindfulness, or the quality of conscious awareness, is positively associated with ecological attitudes and sustainable consumption.
- We study the responsibilities of business for the human rights of refugees and migrant workers, in contexts where rights and freedoms are being undermined by the politics of immigration and labour laws and relations.
Environmental Stewardship
The SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies investigates corporate social responsibility as well as how business models, partnerships, and business ecosystems contribute to environmental sustainability and the adoption of sustainable technologies, such as solar and wind energy, electric vehicles, organic food, biomass, and biofuels.
- This theme covers research on policy instruments studying incentives that stimulate technological solutions, emissions trading schemes, emission scandals, and the circular economy with a focus on e-waste and pollution control.
- We also study how climate services and climate information provide critical data and insights that facilitate the transition to a resource-efficient economy.
- We provide insights about the ways in which firms and organisations align compliance and competitive positioning with environmental stewardship.
Digitalisation for Sustainability
The SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies analyses the interplay between sustainability and digitalisation. Digital technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to address sustainability challenges while posing threats to the fabric of a sustainable society.
- Our goal is to harness the power of digital technology to drive positive environmental, social, and economic change. Through interdisciplinary research, we delve into the impact of digitalisation on a wide range of sustainability challenges.
- We focus on studying the impact of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, on the transformation towards more responsible societies and businesses, and responsible management practices within organisations, to understand the implications for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.