AUDENCIA BUSINESS SCHOOL’S CSR APPROACH
Audencia Business School is able to draw on its pedigree as France’s pioneering business school in CSR while continuing to develop and put into practice innovative business models, strategies and management practices which combine economic, social and environmental performance and deliver value to all participants.
The #Audencia2020 strategic initiative underscores the school’s ambitions in this area, reaffirming the central role played by CSR in pursuing a range of different objectives. For example, CSR has been one of the decisive factors prompting the University of Shenzhen to work with Audencia to create the Shenzhen Audencia Business School. In May 2017 this new campus will host an international conference on CSR and a study visit on sustainable urban development organised by the WWF, one of Audencia’s strategic partners. In the same fashion, CSR facilitates the development of new courses of study, creating scope for differentiation in an increasingly competitive international market – this emphasis on CSR has contributed to the success of the MBA and DBA programmes. By definition CSR lends itself especially well to cooperation with other participants in the creation of programmes, and this is a further key objective in the strategic plan. The school’s chair in CSR encourages tutors/researchers, students, businesses and public bodies to work together on initiatives benefiting the local area and beyond. In short, CSR is a common thread running through the activities of all internal teams which allows the school to adapt flexibly to a constantly changing environment.
Audencia Business School’s main strength lies in its cross-disciplinary approach to CSR and its involvement of different participants, from within and without. Under the leadership of André Sobczak, Academic Director and co-holder of the CSR chair, all activities in this area are coordinated by Céline Louche. She in turn is closely supported by Aline Polipowski, who is in charge of teaching projects, by Barbara Haddou, who is responsible for internal procedure and communication with participating parties, and by the CSR teaching and research staff. The chair in CSR focuses on work with businesses and key players in the area.
As a signatory of the Global Compact since 2001 and of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) since 2007, Audencia has renewed its commitment to these two United Nations initiatives. The school has made Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) its point of differentiation and aims to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
