Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development

Rennes SB’s objective is to define a Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (SD&CSR) policy and to deploy it at all levels and within all activities. Fully committed to a CSR approach, Rennes School of Business appointed a Chief Sustainability Officer in 2019. Within the School, the CSO coordinates a workgroup made up of professors, students and administrative staff in order to implement the SD&CSR strategy.

Our partners

Global Compact and PRME
Rennes SB has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2010. In 2007, the School joined the Principles for Responsible Management Education(PRME) initiative and became a founding member of the France Benelux PRME chapter. As a member of these two initiatives, Rennes School of Business reports on its contributions to the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact and the six principles for responsible management education set out by the PRME initiative.

European Business Ethics Network & Cercle Ethique des Affaires
The School is a member of the European Business Ethics Network and of its French component, the Cercle d’éthique des affaires. These networks promote exchanges between entrepreneurs and researchers through conferences, publications, workshops and projects.

CRICDD, the Rennes Inter-Campus Collective for Sustainable Development
Rennes School of Business is an active member of the Rennes Inter-Campus Collective for Sustainable Development which consists of 10 universities, engineering schools and management schools that work together on CSR and sustainable development-related issues (through inter-school events and challenges).

Our programmes with a strong base in CSR and Sustainable Development

Rennes SB offers three main programmes that specialise in corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and business ethics:

• The MSc in Sustainable Management and Eco-Innovation (SMEI) in double-degree format with l’École des Métiers de l’Environnement is our main programme that specialises in sustainable development.

• The Executive Master in Business Administration, an EMBA for business executives and leaders.
• The Summer Programme in Responsible Management, a two-week programme for students from our partner universities, based on corporate social responsibility.

Mandatory classes related to CSR

All students at Rennes SB must complete at least one introductory course to CSR or Business Ethics.

In addition to the CSR-focused courses, certain courses have a more particular focus on a specialised CSR topic such as Sustainable Consumption, Corporate Sustainability Reporting or Information Systems Support for Environmental Sustainability.

In addition, “traditional” courses include CSR themes in their syllabus such as Tourism Management and Marketing, Leading People and Teams…
The Corporate Sustainability Officer works in collaboration with the five teaching departments (Supply Chain and IT, Marketing, Finance, Management & Strategy) in order to systematically include CSR content in the programme content.

Sulitest
Sulitest is a tool for raising awareness among students and employees about sustainable development and testing their knowledge in the areas of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ecology whilst improving their learning.

The Climate Fresco
The Climate Fresco (La Fresque du Climat) is a fun, collaborative and creative workshop intended to raise awareness about climate change through collective intelligence. At the start of the academic year in September 2020, first-year students of our Bachelor in Management programme were able to participate in the Climate Fresco during their induction day.

Fresque du climat 2020, at Rennes School of Business

Reciprocity
Reciprocity is an BiM teaching module that must be completed to obtain the Bachelor’s degree. The module aims to develop students’ social awareness, humility and empathy. Students team up with an NGO or a non-profit organisation to carry out a humanitarian project on which they are subsequently evaluated as part of their programme.

Rennes SB Research.Lab

Two of the areas of excellence that make up the Rennes School of Business Research. Lab have particularly strong links to the conservation of resources, climate change, sustainable development, ecology, the environment and industrial ecology.

Agribusiness (Agribusiness, Sustainable Development and CSR)
The Agribusiness area of excellence has a particular research focus on the Sustainable and Responsible Agri-food Sectors.

Green, Digital & Demand-Driven Supply Chain Management (G3D)
The Green, Digital & Demand-Driven Supply Chain Management (G3D) area of excellence has a research focus on Green Supply Chain Management.

Many members of the Faculty teach or carry out research related to Corporate Social Responsibility and/or Sustainable Development.

Sustainable development

Dr Maher AGI

• Maher A.N. Agi, Xinghao Yan (2020) Greening products in a supply chain under market segmentation and different channel power structures. International Journal of Production Economics, Volume 223 (2020) 107523 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.107523
• Agi, M., Faramarzi-Oghani, S., Hazir, O. (2020) Game theory-based models in green supply chain management: a review of the literature. International Journal of Production Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2020.1770893

Dr Tanveer AHSAN

• Qureshi, M.A., Kirkerud, S., Theresa, K., Ahsan, T. (2020) The impact of sustainability (environmental, social, and governance) disclosure and board diversity on firm value: The moderating role of industry sensitivity. Business Strategy and the Environment, Volume 29, Issue 03, pp.1199-1214 https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2427

Dr Ahmed ATIL

• Atil, A., ben Bouheni, F., Lahiani, A., Shahbaz, M. (2019) Factors Influencing CO2 Emissions in China: A Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lags Investigation. The Journal of Energy and Development, Volume 44, N°1, pp. 95-127

Dr Ricardo AZAMBUJA

• Roux-Rosier, A., Azambuja, R., Islam, G. (2018) Alternative Visions: Permaculture as imaginaries of anthropocene. Organization , Vol 25 (4), pp. 550-572 https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508418778647
• Ricardo Azambuja: La permaculture n’est pas un mouvement agricole neutre. Ouest-France Communication. 31/08/2018 https://www.ouest-france.fr/medias/ouest-france/parole-d-expert/parole-d-expert-la-permaculture-n-est-pas-un-mouvement-agricole-neutre-5942707
• Azambuja, R., Roux-Rosier, A., Islam, G. (2019) La permaculture tire le meilleur parti des interactions naturelles entre les êtres vivants. Le Monde, 22/02/2019 https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/02/22/la-permaculture-tire-le-meilleur-parti-des-interactions-naturelles-entre-les-etres-vivants_5426912_3232.html
• Azambuja, R., Martiniello, G. (2020) Repenser l’agriculture contractuelle en Afrique de l’Est : pour qui, dans quel but ? Afrique Agriculture, numéro 438, Sept-Oct 2020, pp 10-1

Dr Saqib AZIZ

• Aziz, S., Chikh, S., Dowling, M., Trabelsi, D. (2018) Committing to widespread disclosure of carbon impact. Bankers, Markets & Investors, Vol.154-155, Nov Dec 2018, pp. 12-24 http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3157120

Dr Irena DESCUBES, Dr Tom MCNAMARA

• Descubes, I., McNamara, T., Cragg, T. (2018) Recycling waste and upcycling people: a new type of environmentally-motivated social enterprise strategy. Int. J. Manufacturing Technology and Management, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2018, pp. 270-296

Dr Ramzi HAMMAMI

• Hammami, R., Nouira, I., Frein, Y. (2018) Effects of Customers’ Environmental Awareness and Environmental Regulations on the Emission Intensity and Price of a Product. Decision Sciences, Vol. 49 Number 6, December 2018, pp. 1116-1155 https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12302
• Hammami, R. (2019) Opter pour une chaine logistique verte optimise les ventes. Ouest-France, 28/10/2019 https://www.ouest-france.fr/economie/transports/opter-pour-une-chaine-logistique-verte-dynamise-les-ventes-6585875

Dr Sarah HUDSON, Dr Cyrlene CLAASEN

• Hudson, S., Gonzalez, H., Claasen, C. (2019) Legitimacy, particularism and employee commitment and justice. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol 157, N°3, pp. 589-603.

Dr Imen NOUIRA

• Palacios-Arguello, L., Gondran, N., Nouira, I., Girard, M.-A., Gonzalez-Feliu, J. (2020) Which is the relationship between the product’s environmental criteria and the product demand? Evidence from the French food sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 244, 20 January 2020, 118588 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118588
• Chelly, A., Nouira, I., Frein, Y., Hadj-Alouane, A.B. (2019) On The consideration of carbon emissions in modelling-based supply chain literature: the state of the art, relevant features and research gaps. International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 57, Nos. 15–16, pp. 4977–5004 https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1497310

Dr Dirk SCHNECKENBERG

• Pankov, S., Velamuri, V., Schneckenberg, D. (2019) Towards sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: examining the effect of contextual factors on sustainable entrepreneurial activities in the sharing economy. Small Business Economics, DOI: 10.1007/s11187-019-00255-5

Dr Dieter VANWALLEGHEM

• Vanwalleghem, D. (2017) The real effects of sustainable & responsible investing? Economics Letters, Vol. 156 (2017), pp. 10-14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2017.04.008
• Vanwalleghem, D., Mirowska, A. (2020) The investor that could and would: The effect of proactive personality on sustainable investment choice. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Volume 26, June 2020, 100313. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2020.100313

Corporate Social Responsibility

Dr Bakr AL-GAMRH

• Al-Gamrh, B., Jalan, A., Al-Dhamari, R., Jahanshahi, A.A. (2020), The impact of board independence and foreign ownership on financial and social performance of firms: evidence from the UAE. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 201-229.

Dr Jens BLUMRODT

• Blumrodt, Jens. Frequently Revisited Corporate Websites and their Appropriate Brand Image: The Example of Professional Football Teams and their CSR Commitment. In: 3rd Annual International Colloquium on Branding, Athens, Greece, July 2015

Dr Öncü HAZIR
(Chapitre)

• Burze Yaşar, Hande Hekim, Öncü Hazır et al. Analysis of Sustainability Policy and Practices of a Turkish Group Company: OYAK Case. In: Schmidpeter, R., Capaldi, N., Idowu, S.O., Lotter, A. (Eds.). International Dimensions of Sustainable Management: Latest Perspectives from Corporate Governance, Responsible Finance and CSR. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019, 347 p. pp. 277-290. ISBN 978-3-030-04818-1

Dr Sarah HUDSON and Dr Irena DESCUBES

• Hudson S. and Descubes I. (2020) Ten years on: National context and legitimacy changes in French managers’ perceptions of CSR 2007-2017. Management International, Volume 24, Issue 6, pp. 1-16

Dr Puncheva P., Dr Michelotti M., & Dr Hudson, S.,

• Puncheva-Michelotti, P., Hudson, S., Jin, G. (2018) Employer branding and CSR communication in online recruitment advertising. Business Horizons, Vol. 61, pp. 643—651
• Puncheva-Michelotti, P., Hudson, S., Michelotti, M. (2018) The role of proximity to local and global citizens in stakeholders’ moral recognition of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Research, Vol. 88, July 2018, pp. 234-244

Dr Julia ROLOF

• Aßländer, M.S., Roloff, J., Nayir, D.Z. (2016) Suppliers as Stewards? Managing Social Standards at First and Second Tier Suppliers. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 139, (2016), pp. 661-683
• Longondjo Etambakonga, C., Roloff, J. (2020) Protecting environment or people? Pitfalls and merits of informal labor in the Congolese recycling industry. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 161, Issue 4, pp. 815–834
• Roloff, J., Zyphur, M.J. (2019) Null Findings, Replications, and Pre-Registered Studies in Business Ethics Research. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 160(3), pp. 609-619
• Roloff, J (2018) La question de l’organisation concréte du dialogue avec les parties prenantes se rélève centrale. Entreprise & Carrières, Vol. 1377, 19-25 March 2018, pp. 22-23
• Roloff, J., Guibert, L. (2017) Actionnaires : la fin du pouvoir absolu ?. Libération, 03/04/2017

Developing a resource reduction policy

Reducing water and electricity consumption

• We monitor the water and electricity consumption in the four buildings on our campus.
• In order to save water, push-button flushes have been installed in all the toilets.
• To reduce electricity consumption, we use low-energy and LED lighting and “Turn Me Off” stickers are placed next to the light switches in all toilets and classrooms.
• We use virtual servers and the automatic standby mode on our electronic devices to reduce energy consumption.
• Solar films were installed on the windows of building 1 in 2014 in order to reduce the use of air conditioning during the warmer months.

A responsible purchasing policy
Rennes SB respects a primarily responsible and local purchasing policy through the careful selection of its suppliers.

Developing an environmental preservation policy

Recycling paper, cardboard and biomass
Cardboard, glass, light bulbs, batteries and paper are recycled through the use of 350 paper collection boxes placed in the offices, auditoriums and printing areas of the School.  Selective recovery of ink cartridges from printers and photocopiers is carried out for analysis and reconditioning.

Newcy

We use reusable Newcy  “eco-cups” in all of our coffee machines.

The cafeteria service provider organises the collection of organic waste in accordance with the French Grenelle II law.

The sale of organic food baskets 
The Rennes SB student association Tern’Co specialises in sustainable development and eco-responsibility. For several years, the association has organised the sale of organic food baskets on campus, composed of local products.

Biodiversity

To help preserve biodiversity in urban areas, a hive installation project is being considered for our campus.

Phytosanitary products have not been used since 2014.

Employee care and ensuring the well-being of everyone on campus

An environment designed for work and study

Feel Good (Support – Listen – Act – Train – Advise – Inform) is a School initiative that aims to provide the tools, support and resources that each student needs to flourish and grow in their daily life. Feel Good is structured around three main pillars and several flagship actions:

Health and well-being: psychological support with an online health site (launched in November 2020), workshops and actions based on addiction prevention, sexual health education and tools for stress management.

Diversity and Inclusion: specific and individualised support systems to accompany students living with severe or chronic illnesses or disabilities, actions to raise awareness of different types of disability and the allocation of social grants.

Rennes School of Business was ranked 6th in France on the criterion of social diversity in the 2023 The POINT Management School ranking.

Ethics: fighting against all forms of harassment, hazing and discrimination through a combination of preventative actions and the launch of an anonymous online reporting platform.

We have therefore put in place a range of specific measures for welcoming and supporting students with disabilities.

Be active on campus

The campus has a gym, a music studio and an outdoor sports field. Employees benefit from various sports and well-being activities. Students have access to many association and sports activities (including Cheerleading Football; Fitness; Badminton; Horse riding; Volleyball; Boxing; Dance; Rugby; Climbing; Basketball; Swimming; Handball; Tennis; Judo; Running).

SD&CSR within student associations

All of the student associations de Rennes SB are aware of ecological transition and sustainable development. Every association appoints a CSR manager who is responsible for implementing and maintaining their association’s SD&CSR policy.

Association projects are an integral part of the student experience at Rennes SB. For example, we work with our associations to include staff members in projects for a more responsible campus (recycling) or local consumption (organic produce baskets). The associations also work on dematerialisation, waste-sorting and monitoring the well-being of its members.
Clubs with more specific projects are linked to an association. At the start of the 2020 academic year, new projects emerged such as HEFORSHE, EACH ONE, etc.

A collective garden will also be created within the campus.

VOICE

In 2018, Rennes School of Business launched VOICE (Valorise Organisational Intelligence, Collaboration & Empowerment), a collective project based on design thinking and aimed at improving the student experience.

Great Place to Work

In 2019, Rennes SB participated in “Great Place to Work” for the first time (with an employee and faculty participation rate of 81,8%). This label distinguishes the companies that are most invested in their employees’ quality of life at work. Following the initial survey, a workgroup was created with the aim of working collaboratively on the areas for improvement revealed by the results of the survey. Throughout the year, this group also monitors employee well-being. In 2020, the “Great Place to Live” initiative has led to the implementation of different actions on campus linked to Great Place to Work such as “Let’s Meet”, an event designed to strengthen internal communication and promote a peaceful and welcoming working environment.

Gender Equality Index

This index is made up of the following indicators:
– The pay gap between male and female employees: 92,5%
– The breakdown of individual salary increases distributed to male and female employees: 100%
– The breakdown of promotions distributed to male and female employees: 100%
– The gender distribution of the ten employees with the highest salaries: 50%
Rennes SB achieved a Gender Equality Index score of 91/100 points throughout the year in 2021.

Transport strategy

Rennes School of Business complies with regulations and reimburses its employees for 50% of their STAR travel card (metro and bus).

October 2020: the first edition of the 5 Pumas Challenge

650 students from the third year of our Programme Grande École, double degree and Masters of Science programmes took part in this back-to-school event focused on Design Thinking and CSR with Groupe Rocher.

September 2020: The Climate Fresco
First-year students from the Bachelor In Management began their academic year by participating in The Climate Fresco (La Fresque du Climat), an activity that raises individual and collective awareness regarding climate change.

The Climate Fresco provides a better understanding of the components of climate change and its systemic nature.

Ecological transition is a subject that is always present at our corporate forums (the “Corporate Days“), particularly through the conferences organised on this subject and the presence of committed companies. Round tables are also organised on the subject of the Social Economy. In 2019-2020, almost 650 people were able to attend these conferences.

March 2020: In honour of International Women’s Day 2021, the Rennes School of Business CSR Committee set up a series of actions throughout the week to encourage reflection and discussion about women’s place in society.

November 2022: Rennes School of Business ranked among the Top 15 business schools with a positive impact in terms of ecological and social transition by Les Echos Start.

News about the sustainable development week.

Read here.

News about Christophe-Alexandre Senizergues, French Red Cross volunteer during the first lockdown.

Read here.

News about the Miyawaki Forest Conference at Rennes School of Business

Read here.

If you have ideas and want to get involved in the development of a more eco-responsible and socially balanced campus, contact us at this address: sustainability@rennes-sb.com