This year’s conference hosted by the Centre of Sustainable Business is titled Sustainability in Practice, seeking to bring together researchers and practitioners to evidence the ability of research to have tangible impact outside of academia.

The event will feature four sessions on the following themes: Sustainability for Leadership, Sustainable Business Systems, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Consumption. 

Discussions will look at how research collaboration between academics and practitioners can drive research to truly address the needs/challenges of both industry and wider society, creating pathways for impact which are needed now more than ever as we push towards sustainable transition.

The event is held in-person in London, please note that we are now fully registered, should you be interested in attending please contact sustainablebusiness@kcl.ac.uk.

 

About the sessions

Sustainability Communications: Campaigning for Nature in Industry. 
Matteo Montecci (KCL), Andrés Gvirtz (KCL), Kevin Dunckley (Earthwise Partners)

Companies want to engage their employees in sustainability activities, but which communications approaches are most effective in galvanising action? We worked with the Chief Sustainability Officer of HH Global to test which methods were most effective in engaging employees in their Earth Day campaign.

Maximising the Impact of BS25700: Transforming Understandings of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains to Eradicate Labour Exploitation
Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O (KCL), Andreana Drencheva (KCL), Melissa Eisdell (British Standards Institution)

Modern slavery is a societal issue that requires a holistic understanding to enable effective organisational responses. To address this, King’s Business School partnered with the British Standards Institution to advance adoption of BS 25700 on organisational responses to modern slavery. This session discusses the partnership’s purpose, core activities, and emerging outcomes.

Facilitating Community Impact Among Purpose Practitioners in Times of Uncertainty.
Hannah Schupfer (KCL), Lauren Elliott (NatWest)

How can firms implement and sustain purpose during times of geopolitical tension and economic uncertainty? We explore how a community of practitioners across various industries can support purpose-driven business by fostering knowledge sharing, building trust, and shaping a shared narrative around purpose.

Sustainable Investing, Financial Advice, and Industry-Academia Partnerships.
Ylva Baeckstrom (KCL), Thora Frost (KCL) and Nick Britton (Association of Investment Companies).

Using five years of ESG survey data from our partner, the Association of Investment Companies, this session unpacks the drivers and barriers to sustainable investment, the critical role of financial advisors, the impact of the UK's SDR regime, and the value of industry engagement in bridging research and practice.

 

Programme 

12:30 - 1:10PM  Registration and lunch.

1:10 - 1:20PM    Welcome address with Jonatan Pinkse and Catherine Tilley (KCL).

1:20 – 2:10PM    Sustainability Communications: Campaigning for Nature in Industry.  Matteo Montecci (KCL), Kevin Dunckley (Earthwise Partners)

2:10- 3:00PM     Maximising the Impact of BS25700: Transforming Understandings of  Modern Slavery in Supply Chains to Eradicate Labour Exploitation. Gabriela Gutierrez Huerter O (KCL), Andreana Drencheva (KCL), Melissa Eisdell (British Standards Institution)

3:00 – 3:40PM    Social activity and coffee break.

3:40 - 4:30PM    Facilitating Community Impact Among Purpose Practitioners in Times of Uncertainty. Hannah Schupfer (KCL), Lauren Elliott (NatWest)

4:30 - 5:20PM    Sustainable Investing, Financial Advice, and Industry-Academia Partnerships. Ylva Baeckstrom (KCL), Thora Frost (KCL) and Nick Britton (Association of Investment Companies).

5:20 - 5:30PM    Closing remarks.

5:30 - 6:00PM    Drinks reception.

 

Meet the speakers

Ylva Baeckstrom

Ylva is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at King's Business School. Her research and teaching interests are in behavioural finance, entrepreneurship, investment decision making and financial advice with a particular interest in gender and inequality in the financial services industry.

Thora Frost

Thora is a PhD student in Banking & Finance at King's Business School, affiliated with the Centre for Sustainable Business (CSB). Her research focuses on sustainable investment, with a particular interest in the effectiveness of sustainability labels on investment funds to facilitate sustainable capital flows and mitigate greenwashing.

Nick Britton

Nick is research director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), providing insights into investment trusts and the wider industry for the AIC’s members and their investors. He is responsible for the ESG Attitudes Tracker study. A former financial journalist, Nick is a CFA charterholder and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Matteo Montecchi

Matteo is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at King’s Business School, King’s College London. As a trained marketing researcher, he leverages consumer insights and theories to guide and enhance managerial practices. His research delves into the dynamic landscape of marketing in the digital era, with a particular emphasis on technological innovation and ethical engagement with diverse consumer groups.

Andrés Gvirtz

Andrés is a Lecturer in Marketing Technology and Innovation at King's Business School and a Research Affiliate at the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He has two main research streams, with his first research stream focusing on Generative AI as a disruptor in the personalisation space. His second research stream focuses on ‘who’ and ‘where’ consumers are, aiming to improve our understanding of consumer behaviour by combining personality data (who) with spatial information (where).

Kevin Dunkley

Kevin is an award-winning sustainability leader with decades of experience in sustainability and technology-driven innovation, and is the founder of the newly launched Earthwise Partners, a strategic advisory partner helping visionary leaders turn good intentions into real-world impact. 
He is serving a second term as an Executive Fellow at King's Business School, contributing to research partnerships and enriching educational programs, and is an Advisory Group member of the UN Global Compact Network UK.

Hannah Schupfer

Hannah is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Centre for Sustainable Business at King's Business School. Her research focuses on sustainability-related change dynamics in organisations and industries and the roles of meaning and purpose in the transformation towards sustainability. She draws upon literature of organisational and institutional theory, including legitimacy, purpose, frames and framing, and green innovation.

Lauren Elliot

Lauren is Purpose Framework Manager within NatWest Group’s Strategy and Sustainable Banking team. Specializing in organizational development, she enjoys uncovering, connecting, and catalysing the best of human and organizational systems to create meaningful work and positive social impact. Lauren is also a key member of the team that co-created and facilitates The Purpose-in-Practice Community.

Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O

Gabriela is a Senior Lecturer in International Management at King’s Business School and a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. Her work is located at the intersection of international business, corporate social responsibility and comparative institutional analysis. Her research focuses on three strands: cross-national transfer and translation of organizational practices within multi-national enterprises; modern slavery and business and human rights; sustainability and business Schools.

Andreana Drencheva

Andreana is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Entrepreneurship at King’s Business School.  Her research investigates why and how individuals and communities engage in (social) entrepreneurship and with what intended and unintended impact. Her areas of expertise include: social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative industries, entrepreneurs’ identity, identity work, and wellbeing, entrepreneurs’ feedback seeking, meaningful work, and micro-foundations of entrepreneurship.

Melissa Eisdell

Melissa is the Architect of the Social Responsibility Across Supply Chain Initiative (SRASCI) and Co-Lead of BSI’s partnership with King’s Business School, supporting sector-wide adoption of BS 25700. She is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and holds an MSc in Global Governance and Emerging Powers, with a specialisation in China’s Net Zero leadership and the governance and justice dynamics shaping global transitions. Melissa also serves on the Advisory Board of the Fund for Sustainability and Energy (FUND4SE).