19 april 2010 - PRESS RELEASE- Renowned Sustainability and Climate management scholar Gail Whiteman has been appointed as the holder of the newly established Sustainability and Climate Change endowed chair at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The new chair is sponsored by Ecorys and will be in the department of Business-Society Management of RSM, where social and environmental issues in business are a core part of research and education. 

Prof. Gail Whiteman

 “Climate change is arguably the biggest management challenge currently facing the world, and companies are both part of the problem and part of the solution. The main purpose of this chair is to explore the management challenges and opportunities of sustainability and climate change,” says Professor Whiteman. “We’ll look at these issues not just within companies, but  within municipalities and other governmental structures who will have to cooperate with various stakeholders in order to achieve effective results,” she says. She adds that climate change is a strategically relevant issue for companies for four main reasons:

1. companies are key contributors to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions;
2. companies will be increasingly affected by society’s reactions to such changes, including governmental voluntary initiatives and/or regulations;
3. companies face potential operational risks from climatic changes, and;
4. climate change presents strategic opportunities in terms of innovation and new business opportunities.

She continues: “My overall ambition is to develop top research in this field and further extend our already internationally recognised research centre Sustainability and Climate Research (SCR). Moreover, I want to maintain a prominent place for sustainability and climate change in the curriculum of RSM, and continue to deliver high visibility and out-reach for RSM on this topic. I am looking forward to  collaboration with the experts from Ecorys who are specialised in guiding governments, companies and other organisations in incorporating sustainability into their policies and day-to-day practices.”

George Yip, Dean of RSM, says that the decision to install this chair is really in line with an ongoing effort at RSM to put sustainability and stakeholder management at the forefront of  research and education efforts. “For several years now, subjects like sustainable leadership, stakeholder value and context vs. content have been an integrated part of RSM’s research and education programme,” he says. “ In 2009, RSM was ranked 7th worldwide and 1st in Europe in the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking on sustainability, and the sustainable business model is indeed in the genes of RSM. We were among the 100 first members of Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), the UN initiative with the mission to inspire and champion responsible management education, research and thought leadership globally. Moreover, RSM is sponsor and member of EABIS (European Academy for Business in Society).”

Marten van de Bossche, General Director of ECORYS Nederland B.V., comments: “The partnership with RSM and Professor Gail Whiteman is a great opportunity for Ecorys to increase its research-based knowledge and activities in the field of sustainable development worldwide. Ecorys has dedicated experts working globally on issues related to sustainable development, energy and climate change, covering areas like real estate, transport, local and regional development. We deliver strategic advice to policy-makers by combining in-depth energy and environmental expertise with a clear understanding of the societal and economic context in which new policies have to be implemented. Joining forces with RSM will further expand our knowledge base.”
 

Picture: Nick van der Lijn (Ecorys) and George Yip (RSM) signing the contract

About Gail Whiteman
About Gail Whiteman: Gail Whiteman is Professor at  Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.  She has a PhD from Queen’s School of Business in Canada. Whiteman is co-founder and the Director of the Sustainability and Climate Research Centre (SCR) at RSM. The broad objectives of the SCR  are to reach a clearer understanding of the management challenges posed by climate change and to identify effective management practices in multinational companies to contribute to climate adaptation and mitigation. Her research on sustainability has been published in leading management and ecology journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Nature, Ecology & Society, Organization Studies, Business Strategy & The Environment, Journal of Business Ethics, Organization & The Environment, Journal of Management Inquiry, Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment, Human Relations, International Journal of Business Ethics, Qualitative Research in Management and Organization, as well as numerous book chapters.  Media coverage includes The Wall Street Journal (European Edition), Business Week, Yahoo Finance, European Management Journal, Greenbiz, Climatebiz, Reuters.co.uk, BBC Radio Scotland, Ode Magazine, AD Rotterdam, TV Rijnmond, and the BBC Radio World Service. Before entering academia, Whiteman was an Account Director and brand manager in a variety of corporate communications and marketing companies. She has dual citizenship: British and Canadian.

Nick van der Lijn, George Yip and Gail Whiteman

Ecorys is a leading European research and consultancy company with approximately 600 staff and 16 permanent offices in 11 countries, providing sound analysis and inspir-ing ideas. Its mission is to improve public policy worldwide. Ecorys works on local, regional, national and international levels with clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Ecorys applies its expertise to improve the economic and social conditions of the countries in which it has  offices; in the European Union and its neighbouring states; and in developing countries, with a particular focus on poverty alleviation.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is consistently ranked amongst the top 10 business schools in Europe. It is located in the international port city of Rotterdam where core Dutch values of openness, flexibility and acceptance of diversity have attracted businesses on a global scale. Our emphasis is on groundbreaking research and practices relevant to business; our primary focus is on developing business leaders who carry their innovative ideas into a sustainable future. Our portfolio includes a broad array of bachelor, master, doctoral, MBA and executive education programmes. Website: www.rsm.nl

For more info:

Robert Eijkelestam
Head Dpt. Marketing & Communication
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Marianne Schouten
Media & Public Relations Manager RSM
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