This paper examines the changing understandingof corporate social responsibility (CSR) by looking atthree aspects: the growing public demands regardingcorporate behaviour, the role of government in“promoting” or “requesting” the socially responsiblecorporate behaviour, and the attempts of business todeal with changing demands.
The global tourism industry witnesses significant challenges and changes when it comes to sustainability, changing consumer preferences and ICT developments. Against this backdrop, tourism businesses need to innovate in order to stay relevant for their markets and stakeholders. Critical tourism professionals with strong analytical skills can initiate and guide these processes of innovation in the future, and reach beyond existing blueprints and organizational frameworks. This is the idea behind Sustainability in Tourism—The Corporate Perspective (SUSCOR), a 6-week, English taught, intensive specialization course that explores how sustainable business practices can create (social) returns on investment. SUSCOR is built around a real-life consultancy assignment for a work field commissioner. Students work in international project teams to assess the client’s CSR activities in order to identify strategic improvements, design a business case, present this business case to the board of directors at the client’s head office, and conclude with a final consultancy report. SUSCOR offers students a platform to practice and develop their problem solving and consultancy skills while simultaneously getting a reality check about their future professional field. As the assignment is embedded in a series of lectures and workshops about contemporary theories about sustainable development, social responsibility and business innovation, SUSCOR links academic knowledge to the reality of today’s professional field. This chapter presents the concept and design of the course, illustrates the course week by week, and provides a number of concluding remarks and recommendations that aim to guide the further development of this type of teaching activity.
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CSRD staat voor Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Via deze nieuwe wet- en regelgeving moeten bedrijven duurzaamheidsgegevens opnemen in hun jaarverslag onder andere vanuit de keten. Accountants dienen deze vervolgens te voorzien van een accountantsverklaring. Vanuit de bloembollen- en knollensector (in opdracht van de stichting Sustainable Suppliers; vertegenwoordigt 80% sector voor de droogverkoop) is er een CSRD-consortium opgericht met kernteamleden uit de keten. Royal Anthos (de brancheorganisatie voor de handel bloembollen en knollen) heeft de lead om met het consortium de toepassing van de CSRD te onderzoeken. Verwacht wordt dat een beperkt aantal bedrijven en afnemers van handelsbedrijven (vaak retailers) rapportageplichtig zullen zijn en de nodige duurzaamheidsinformatie zullen opvragen uit de keten. Tijdens de eerste CSRD-exploratie sessies kwamen vragen naar voren zoals: Kunnen producenten in de keten de data leveren? Wat wordt er van ze verwacht? Deze vragen zijn zeer geschikt om in een KIEM-aanvraag te onderzoeken, met als hoofdonderzoeksvraag: “Hoe beschikbaar en geschikt is de CSRD-data binnen de bloembollen- en knollensector bij leveranciers?”, en deelvragen: a) Welke eisen stellen afnemers aan producenten? b) In hoeverre voldoen de producenten aan de eisen? c) Hoe kunnen producenten voldoen aan deze nieuwe informatievraag? d) Welke inspanningen zijn nodig om ontbrekende data te verkrijgen? e) Welke rol hee^ bestaande certificering in de informatiebehoefte? De beoogde projectresultaten zijn: o Website CSRD Q&A bollensector: o Welke CSRD-informatie is voorhanden en wat niet (de GAP)? o Mogelijke acties om de GAP te verkleinen (laaghangend fruit) o Masterclass praktisch omgaan met CSRD (wordt omgezet naar een webinar) o Ontwikkelen van een vaktechnische publicatie en of wetenschappelijke publicatie Het KIEM-project wordt geleid en uitgevoerd door het Yuverta practoraat Circulaire Agribusiness waarin wordt samengewerkt met het Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen lectoraat Futureproof Control (gespecialiseerd op CSRD en reporting).
The project is a field study for several diverse hotel chains, including individual properties operated under the Marriott brand, Postillion Hotels. Each brand has unique values, missions, and visions. Therefore, this integration will lead to the development of company-specific sustainability strategies and processes. The study will use the model of levers of control to provide such tailor-made solutions and determine if a generic approach can be developed to match a corporate sustainability strategy with a corporate strategy and develop a supporting management control system for operationalizing the sustainability strategy. Research question: How can a hotel brand formulate and implement a sustainability strategy with a supporting management control system that not only complies with the new CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) legislation but also emphasizes the creation of substantial value in financial and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) aspects, based on double materiality, in line with the organization's corporate values and beliefs? Objective The aim is to develop a validated method, including tools, that hotels can use to create a sustainability strategy in line with the CSRD guidelines. This strategy should create value for the organization, the environment, and society, while aligning with the hotel's values and beliefs. Merely being compliant with the CSRD is not enough for hotels. Instead, they should view the implementation of the CSRD as an opportunity to stand out in terms of sustainability. By creating value in areas such as environment, safety, and governance, or through the six capitals (financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural) that align with the UN-SDGs, and explicitly taking both an inside-out and an outside in perspective (double materiality), hotels can significantly enhance their sustainability reputation.
Gender barriers are a complex problem, as they are created and maintained by multiple dimensions of our societal system; governments, the corporate world, and by society itself. Within the hospitality industry, one of the most people-oriented sectors there is, gender barriers are especially a problem. Although there is equality amongst the entire Dutch hospitality sector in general (48.2% women, (CBS, 2022)), only 17% of top-management positions within the 5 largest hotel-chains in the country are occupied by women (Hampshire Hotel Group, 2022; Accor Group, 2022; van der Valk International, 2022; NH Hotels, 2022; NIBC, 2022). With the hospitality industry revolving around people and experiences, it is of utmost importance that it represents the actual world-population and society. In order to address the current challenges the industry is facing, it is time to face the elephant in the room; why don’t women get included in top and senior management within the hospitality industry as much as men do? This trajectory aims to identify where gender barriers occur within the Dutch hospitality industry and accordingly develop, and test interventions (enablers) together with two of the largest hotel-chains in the Netherlands, in order to improve women career advancement. The first phases of the trajectory will focus on the entire Dutch hotel sector, while the intervention phase will only be executed in collaboration with NH Hotels and IHG. The final phase of the trajectory will explore the implications of the findings from the industry to hospitality management education. By enabling more women to advance their hospitality careers, this will have a large impact on the industry’s sustainability and resilience, and again positively impact wider society.
