Originally launched in 2010, the COERB was founded “to consolidate and enhance the school’s leading position among global business schools in addressing social, ethical, and environmental challenges in business.” The founders of the COERB are actively involved in business ethics research at Schulich: Andrew Crane is the George R. Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics; Bryan Husted is the Erivan K. Haub Chair in Business and Sustainability; and Dirk Matten is Professor of Strategy and Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility.

The mission statement of the COERB is multifold, but its goal is clear: to foster a “new generation of business leaders who will be equipped to chart a course towards a more just and sustainable society through responsible business.” In order to continue its existence as a main incubator of tomorrow’s top ethical business bosses, the COERB has set its sights on two key themes which are reflected through the curriculum, research, training, and academic activities found at the Schulich School of Business: ethics, integrity and responsibility in business, and sustainable enterprise.

The Schulich School of Business, in conjunction with the COERB, offers three specially-tailored degrees that are designed for those students who wish to become involved in the field of responsible business upon completion of their studies. The first of these, the undergraduate level BBA/iBBA, allows for an undergraduate specialization in responsible business. Subsequently, the MBA/IMBA is a graduate-level degree program which is renowned in Canada and abroad for its deep focus on the intersection of business and sustainability issues. Finally, the PhD track at the Schulich School of Business allows for doctoral students to pursue specializations in several different (but perhaps equally important) core areas of management, including management policy, marketing, organizational behaviour, accounting, finance, and operations marketing.

According to a quote found at the COERB’s website, “few schools in the world can match the depth, diversity, and quality of Schulich’s research on ethics, sustainability and CSR.” Apart from Schulich’s world-class reputation among business schools, its impressive list of projects housed at the COERB is a testament to the superior character of the Schulich School of Business. While the COERB is home to a plethora of exciting research initiatives, the interdisciplinary nature of the research gives Schulich a qualitative edge in innovative thinking on issues revolving around responsible business. Current nodes of investigation at the COERB include diverse subjects including responsible leadership, the politics of promotion, consumer ethics across cultures, and health and safety concerns.

In addition to the aforementioned facets of the COERB that contribute to the overall success of the Schulich School of Business and specifically its responsible business-related regimen, there exist both specialized and affiliated research units which work alongside the COERB, providing the centre with subject-specific legwork on important theme clusters. The Schulich Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program, the Schulich Public Interest Accounting Group, and the Schulich Sustainable Supply Chain Research Initiative fall into the former category. In the latter tier, organizations like our very own Canadian Business Ethics Research Network, the Hennick Centre for Business and Law, the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability, the Network for Business Sustainability, and the York Centre for Practical Ethics provide excellent connections and resources to augment the capacity of the COERB.

Last but definitely not least of all, the students and alumni of Schulich are a cornerstone of the COERB’s and Schulich’s success stories, and many Schulich students are actively involved in operations, management, and consulting alongside their studies. Key student clubs at Schulich include Net Impact, the Natural Resources Opportunities Club (N-ROC), the Non-Profit Management Association (NMA), and the Corporate Social Responsibility  Society (CSRS). Moreover, the York Sustainable Enterprise Consultants (YSEC) is “Canada’s first graduate student-run consultancy focused on putting sustainability into practice…and works on projects that advance sustainable business practices and strategies throughout a number of sectors.” The combination of world-class scholars and top-seeded students has thrust Schulich to the forefront of responsible business research, and the COERB will undoubtedly continue to be an integral component of this institution’s progress for the foreseeable future.

Originally established in 2005 by Drs. Jack Quarter and Laurie Mook, the main focus of the Social Economy Centre is the promotion and dissemination of “multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on issues affecting the social economy.” The SEC aims to act as an interlocutor between the University of Toronto and other community-specific organizations, with a particular interest in developing relations with non-profit and cooperative groups. Social economy and social finance are burgeoning dominions in the realm of business ethics, SRI, and CSR, and the SSHRC-funded SEC has introduced various resources to further promote the work of businesses operating in these sectors.

Each year, the SEC hosts an annual workshop series, dealing with the ins-and-outs of non-profit and community organization management. In 2013, a fair number of workshops have been scheduled dealing with issues like financial management in community organizations, legal issues for non-profits, the foundations of cooperative enterprises, and labour relations. Those wishing to learn the ropes in non-profit and cooperative management are treated to deeply instructive presentations from practitioners with many years of experience in these sectors.

Another exciting program organized by the SEC is the organization’s Lunchbox Speakers’ series, which showcase hour-long “lunchtime” lectures by guest practitioners on topics in social economy. These events are simulcast via webcasts, with lectures beginning in the autumn and ending in the spring of each academic calendar year. So far this year, issues in social economy that have been discussed during the Speakers’ Series include “social enterprises and the new wave of food and farming cooperatives” as well as “social enterprise partnerships for people with disabilities in Taiwan.” It is readily apparent that a multitude of different themes are tackled by guest speakers, which affords participants an opportunity to to explore the social economy sector.

In addition to its popular workshops and lunchtime lectures, the SEC is also proactive in developing and leading unique research projects relating to social economy. Currently, the SEC is involved with five different major research initiatives: Business Done Differently, Southern Ontario Social Economy Node, Volunteers Count, Volunteers and Paid Labour, and Co-ops. The first of these, Business Done Differently, is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)  funded “Community University Research Alliance (CURA)” initiative that seeks to understand, work with, and develop knowledge about social businesses in the Greater Toronto Area. The Southern Ontario Social Economy Node, also a CURA initiative, is a massive undertaking encompassing some thirty-five sub-projects that aim to “enhance capacity for ongoing research and development for the social economy of Ontario.” Volunteers Count and Volunteers and Paid Labour are two research projects which are geared toward examining the role of volunteers in the social economy. Last but not least, the Co-ops project has been designed to “understand why co-operatives, including credit unions, are more likely to be found in rural communities than would be expected from the population.”

Apart from the public presentations and research that the SEC produces, it has also played a central role in promoting the study of social economy in Canada through its role as a founder of the Association of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER), an academic network that organizes an annual conference. Moreover, the SEC was instrumental in the creation of the Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, which is an “online open access English and French peer-review publication…dedicated to providing a stimulating and vibrant forum for the open dissemination of contemporary high-quality peer-review research on non-profits and the social economy.”

Access more resources on non-profits, cooperatives, and social enterprises here!

The NSI’s team is divided into three branches, with an executive committee, a management team, and a tier of distinguished research associates. The Executive Board includes representation from government, academia, and finance sectors including Bruce Moore, E.N. Hare, and Jyoti Parikh. On the management side, Joseph Ingram is the current President and CEO, after retiring from a thirty-year career with the World Bank, while distinguished research associates of the NSI include respected academics such as Dr. Margot Salomon, Dr. Richard Newfarmer, and Dr. Danny Leipziger. With such an unparalleled team of professionals as the driving force behind the NSI, it is no wonder that this institution is considered one of the foremost innovators in international development policy research.

The research undertaken by the NSI is divided into three distinct categories, much like its personnel. The first of these subdivisions carries the theme of “Fragile and Conflict-Affected States,” where the NSI’s “core interests are in security sector reform and in the challenges of governance and democratization.” Under the aegis of this research cluster, governance and state resiliency form a separate branch of inquiry, comprising issues of governance in Africa, diaspora engagement in fragile states, and conceptions of sustainable peace-building. The second area of research in this cluster is related to security and development challenges, and includes work on police reform in West Africa, access to justice and public security in fragile states, as well as security sector reform and the idea of the Responsibility to Protect.

The second research cluster at the NSI has to do with the “Governance of Natural Resources,” which is both the theme and title of this category. The goal of the NSI with relation to this cluster is “to improve natural resource governance in Africa by promoting cooperative solutions for appropriately shared socio-economic benefits between local and external stakeholders.” This area of research is primarily focused on ethical behaviour, accountability, and corporate social responsibility with regards to natural resource management, consumption, and distribution. Research projects operating under the auspices of the GNR cluster include analyses of the private sector and economic growth, conflict and the governance of natural resources in Africa, the transnational governance of natural resources, and international trade and poverty. This cluster also includes research on natural resource issues related to Latin America, another major regional focus with major relevance to the theme of the GNR cluster.

The third research cluster at the NSI focuses on the theme of “Governance for Equitable Growth,” (GEG) and operates on the premise that sustainable economic growth is the answer to reduce global poverty. However, the NSI rightfully points out that “in some places, despite growth, poverty remains entrenched, inequality is on the rise and access to critical public services is lacking.” In order to develop policy research which will help reverse global inequality, the GEG cluster concentrates on models of “effective governance by national and sub-national governments, as well as aid donors, international institutions and the private sector.” The cluster is divided into three groupings with even more specific foci: inclusive growth and models of development, the changing aid landscape, and global governance for development. Examples of projects in these three categories include domestic resource mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa, civil society and international development cooperation, and international aid architecture.

In addition to the diverse and in-depth research conducted by the NSI team relating to the three aforementioned clusters, the NSI is also the parent organization of the Canadian International Development Platform, which is a data analysis repository tracking Canada’s engagement with international development projects.  Moreover, the NSI hosts many events throughout the year which range from academic lectures by selected speakers to international forums to roundtables, and more. The NSI also features an ‘opinion’ column on its website, where members of the institute will post ruminations about hot topics in the world of international development that are relevant to Canadian policy circles.

The central mission of the RÉOQ, as stated on its home page, is “to encourage the development of ethics and ethical practices in organizations and to contribute to their continuous improvement.” In keeping with this guiding mantra, the RÉOQ is working diligently to become a pivotal networking tool linking business ethics practitioners and researchers in Quebec to their peers on the municipal, provincial, national, and international levels. Aside from its aspirations to become a top business ethics networking hub in Quebec, members of the RÉOQ are also actively involved in conducting or contributing to studies on organizational ethics.

Since its inception as an independent organization in 2011, the RÉOQ has organized an annual colloquium in Quebec which is used as a forum to generate discussion about pivotal issues that are shaping the discourse of business ethics today. The first conference organized by the RÉOQ, held in June 2011 in Quebec City, examined the challenges of ethical decision-making in organizations, and speakers included prominent ethics researchers including Professor Linda Treviño and Professor Luc Bégin. The 2012 colloquium was entitled “Ethical Risk in Organizations: Identifying the Proper Responses,” and featured guest speakers Pauline D’Amboise and Professor Yves Boisvert, among others.

For the 2013 annual conference, the theme is drastically different, as the organizers shift their attention to the role that social media plays in the transformation of the “normative and social framework for individual and collective responsibilities in an organization.” The role of social media in fomenting societal change is a new phenomenon and its implications are not entirely clear, but this form of communication has been readily adopted by corporations around the globe. As a result, the intersection of business ethics and social media has become a popular subject of business and technology-related publications, as this article from Mashable demonstrates.

In addition to the popular annual conference discussed above, the RÉOQ has partnered with like-minded organizations in order to showcase other events which are designed to draw together business ethics researchers and practitioners in Quebec. On May 6 and 7, the RÉOQ’s colleagues at the Institute of Applied Ethics at Laval University will be hosting a symposium discussing the normative expectations of civil society, individuals, and institutional bodies vis-à-vis ethics, which will feature guest speakers from universities in Quebec and France. Subsequently, Laval will be staging multidisciplinary meetings at the Institute of Applied Ethics between June 3 and 4 where participants will present papers on intervention in institutional or organizational ethics. Finally, in October 2013, the RÉOQ is hosting its first official networking conference about the “WOW effect,” where renowned guest speaker Jasmin Bergeron will talk about some of the ins-and-outs of responsible ethics.

Although the RÉOQ as an independent organization is a new name in the Quebec business ethics sector, it has already started making an impression among its peers. Diane Girard, who served as the Quebec regional coordinator for the EPAC/APEC from 1998 to 2011 and laid the foundations for the formation of the RÉOQ was honoured last year with the Prize for Quebec Businesswomen by the Network of Businesswomen in Quebec in tandem with the Desjardins Group and the Quebec Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Aptly entitled “New Finance for America’s Cities,” this scholarly publication investigates the impact of new investment sources in US urban centres, as it sets out a best practice framework with the goal of ensuring that these investments have as deep of a social impact for American municipalities as possible. In the course of their research, Hebb and Sharma found that public pension funds are one of the major conduits of new finance, and they have progressively burdened the lion’s share of responsibility for funding urban revitalization projects in the United States, as a result of high government deficits following the downtown of the global financial crisis.

Hebb and Sharma posited that an “effective governance system is a key factor among successful impact investing funds.” The two researchers also observed that there exist four common denominators among the most successful pension funds: 1) a goal directed investment strategy, 2) they tap experts and intermediaries in order to create investments that result in financial and social gains, 3) they let expert vendors handle their specialized investments, and 4) they maintain a dialogue between senior management and board members on investment strategy.

In something of a happy coincidence, global management consulting giant McKinsey and Company interviewed Mark Wiseman, president and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, in November 2012 to learn about his organization’s approach to making smart investments in infrastructure and urban projects. During this segment, the CPPIB boss noted that governments would be more competitive in financial investing if they only learn to “compete more successfully for investment capital by reducing risk for investors.” Wiseman also suggested that a major sticking point in convincing lenders and government borrowers about providing cash up front for infrastructural renewal projects is that these investments will pay off in the long term, and not in the immediate short term.

On the whole, Dr. Hebb and Dr. Sharma, through their research, concur with Wiseman on the point that “urban growth is key to development”, while Wiseman notes that for  the CPPIB, the best investments are the ones that will prove to be the safest, providing returns over 25, 50, and even 75 years, or until the time that the concession ends. In their report, Hebb and Sharma expressed their hopes that long-term changes in urban demographics and innovation will provide “an opportunity for savings to be put to work in advancing long-term sustainable growth”, and that investing in urban infrastructure is attractive to pension funds because of its “ancillary positive impacts on communities.” In the meantime, Wiseman noted in the CPPIB’s 2012 Report on Responsible Investing that he believes “organizations which take the opportunities to manage ESG factors effectively are more likely to endure, and create more value over the long term, than those which do not.”

Governance is another element that is at the pinnacle of corporate stewardship, responsible investing, and in this case, urban revitalization. At the 2012 Global Agenda Council on Long-term Investing, Wiseman raised the subject of governance, observing that “having a long horizon accentuates the importance of governance models, and long-term investors can play a critical role in fostering leading governance practices.” His remarks correspond with research on responsible investing that has been produced by 3ci, particularly Dr. Hebb’s working paper on retail SRI investing, which gives key evidence on how individual and institutional investors have the power to influence corporations and encourage them to adhere to responsible investing practices.

Heather Hachigian’s report on the governance of responsible investment also calls for a heterogeneous approach that envisages institutional investors as part of a tripartite group, along with the state and markets, which concurrently provide checks-and-balances to promote good governance of financial markets. All in all, the research concocted by the 3Ci team – particularly the scholarly journal entry “New Finance for America’s Cities”, demonstrates that long-term impact investing is key to ensuring sustainable pattern of growth and development in urban municipalities of the United States (and abroad). McKinsey and Company’s interview with Mark Wiseman underscores the findings of the 3Ci team, and it should be no surprise that Wiseman will be a keynote speaker at the 3^rd Annual Institute of Corporate Directors’ National Conference in May 2013, which will appropriately focus on shareholder activism, short-termism and long-termism in the financial industry.

Read a summary of this research on CBERN’s Research Snapshot repository