Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand

11 November 2010

Theme: The Business Case for Social and Environmental Responsibility

Following a successful Sustainability Conference we hosted in November 2009, we are having a follow up Workshop to continue the debate.

Purpose

Business participation in social and environmental responsibility has moved from being presented as an opportunity to ‘give back’ something to society to action that can enhance business performance. This moves responsibility away from something that is ‘a nice thing to do’ to something that can be justified on the basis of economic self interest. Demonstrating that a business case exists for responsibility counters the objection to businesses moving outside the traditional areas of activity that have been held to impact on shareholder value. Investment in social and environment responsibility can simultaneously respond to stakeholder concerns while generating a positive financial return for shareholders.
Questions arise as to whether experience is actually supporting the existence of a business case for responsibility, and if so how strong the evidence is, and how the search for a business case may reshape the actions taken.
The aim of this symposium is to explore these questions in the context of business experience in Australasia. It will provide a forum for academics, business managers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers to present their experiences of developing, working with and evaluating business cases for social and environmental responsibility.