Responsible Business

Academia partnering with business, investigating, developing and co-creating robust and innovative solutions to achieve responsible business success. Building the foundations for a more responsible and sustainable future.

Responsible business means business that considers society, economy and environment. These businesses are not only driven by profit, but also by a desire to improve life around the world by providing environmentally safe, ethical and equal working conditions and products.

The Business School’s research, particularly the dedicated Centre for Responsible Business, aims to find pioneering ways to secure a future where business benefits all.

We are committed to promoting curiosity and thought leadership in national and international debates about responsible business.  Find out more on our Responsible Business Hub

Through our research, we aim to focus upon the key challenges around responsible business that face our economy and our society both regionally and globally. 

Responsible research centres From local economic development and diversity in leadership to interdisciplinary teams dedicated to promoting responsible business and reimagining plastics, our research centres are helping shape local and global policy on the world’s most pressing sustainability issues.

‘Urgent Business’ book and Responsible Business Hub We’ve quite literally written the book on responsible business based on our many years of pioneering research. And our Responsible Business Hub aims to be a global authority on the subject, which was highly commended by the FT in its Responsible Business Education Awards.

Postgraduate research and scholarships From sustainable finance to biodiversity in accounting, our PhD students are pushing the boundaries with their research

Our research is diverse and it includes:

Equal Parenting 
The Equal Parenting project aims to understand why shared parental leave does not seem to be appealing to families and what can be done to best improve awareness and increase uptake.

Flexible Working and the Future of Work 
The Flexible Working and the Future of Work Project aims to promote quality flexible working across all industries in order to support gender equality in the workplace. 

Cognitive and Meta-cognitive responsible business behaviours 
The main focus of this research is to examine the cognitive and metacognitive processes that drive responsible behaviour.

Time for a new Social Contract to underpin British Banking?
To restore trust in British banking and to help banks achieve their public duties and social responsibilities, is a new social contract needed to complement the post crisis regulatory reforms and are there lessons to be learnt from the water industry?

Britain's 'Road to Zero': Analysis of the Potential Electric Vehicles Battery Circular Built Environment
This project seeks to deeper understand the policy dynamic of Britain’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy, which sets out ambition for at least 50% — and as many as 70% — of new car sales to be ultra low emission by 2030, alongside up to 40% of new vans.

Sustainable consumption
This project examines the consumption behaviours of urban consumers in developed markets in the context of sustainability. 

"Every day leaders and managers make decisions that impact many different stake holders. There are always tensions and contradictions in the choices we all have to make; our thought leadership explores the decisions made, the tensions created, and the problems we try to solve with organizations. This is our contribution to the creation of responsible futures, through our research, the learning we offer, and the collaborative work we do."

Professor Scott Taylor

Professor Scott Taylor

Business School Director of External Engagement and Responsible Business

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Key Staff

  • Professor Scott Taylor

    Reader/Associate Professor in Leadership & Organization Studies and Business School Director of External Engagement and Responsible Business

  • Professor Ian Thomson

    Director of the Centre for Responsible Business

  • Professor Karen Rowlingson

    Professor of Social Policy and Deputy Director of the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM).

  • Dr Holly Birkett

    Senior Lecturer in Organisational Studies and Co-Director of the Work Inclusivity Research Centre (WIRC)