REMINDER: EABIS rebrands as ABIS – The Academy of Business in Society

As of March 2013, EABIS is dropping the ‘E’ and will go by the name of ABIS – Academy of Business in Society.

We believe in change which emerges from adaptation, progress and growth. This guiding point has been at the heart of the Academy of Business in Society activities and that is why we are ready to follow the path we started years ago, and to open more doors. One of the immediate changes concerns our image: we are rebranding as ABIS and improving our website.

 

As many of you know, EABIS officially celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. Milestone events were hosted by Nottingham University Business School and Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, allowing us to take stock of progress made in the past decade on integrating CR and sustainability into management education and research (including corporate learning) and to assess the challenges and opportunities for the next ten years.

 

Supported by initial insights from global CEO and Deans surveys, a number of key messages emerged from these debates:

 

1. Real progress has been made in terms of overall awareness of critical issues – supported by evidence of business model, strategy and process innovation in global firms and curricula development in business schools and universities.
2. Business retains an acute need for innovative, interdisciplinary research that underpins practical solutions, but institutional barriers in academia continue to hinder this kind of work and a deeper collaboration with industry.
3. There are major indicative gaps between strategy, HRM and capability building in firms’ approach to sustainability – while survey data suggests that business schools are not seen as the lead training providers to address this skills gap.
4. Corporate leaders prioritised three areas for future research and education: (i) impact & influence of sustainability on brand value; (ii) sustainability-driven innovation; and (iii) scenario planning and macro sustainability trends.
5. 68% of CEOs surveyed indicated that their companies would benefit from closer engagement with business schools and academia in the next ten years.

 

Against this backdrop, the core EABIS model of business-academic partnership clearly retains its legitimacy and value as we enter our second decade. This is also reflected in another year of membership growth with 12 new academic members and 2 new corporate members.

 

As a recognition of our global position, EABIS is rebranded as “ABIS – The Academy of Business in Society” and a new logo is available for download (see below). In February 2013 we shift to www.abis-global.org as our new web domain. 

 

The 2013 Calendar of Events – available to download here– showcases the international dimensions, with conferences foreseen in North America, China, the Middle East, Africa, Japan and South Korea.

 

Looking ahead: what else awaits the ABIS network in 2013?  

 

• Expanding our global membership with a specific focus on China, North & South America and Australasia. By end 2013, we intend to have activated a regional group of members in each of these vital regions. 
• Benchmarking and measuring accelerated progress in the core mission of ABIS: mainstreaming  Sustainability in education and learning at schools and in companies. 
• Expanding our capability to connect members around the world through new technology channels for “real time” involvement in ABIS activities.
• Expanding our engagement with global companies to provide strategic value through tailored collaboration with academic members by region.
• Expanding our efforts to support the next generation through a new PhD & DBA Network, as well as initiatives in broader management education.
•  Expanding the resource base for collaborative member projects through approaches to international foundations and other potential funding streams. 

 

We look forward very much to working with you all to deliver daily value and to ensure that ABIS reaches the end of 2013 in the strongest possible position. This year will be vital for The Academy in consolidating its position as a global platform of excellence for the next ten years. We will count on your commitment and support to make this ambition a reality!

                  

For further inquiries about our name and / or logo change, please contact Raquel Lopes at [email protected]

 

Download ABIS logo here:

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