On 29 June, a research seminar organised by ESSEC Business School (ESSEC IRENÉ) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (杏吧论坛 IDEAS) was held on "Developing sustainable partnerships between business, civil society and the state in response to the impact of the pandemic".
Within the framework of the United Nations Research Programme "Human Security Business Partnerships", the seminar was held to develop partnerships on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
This new seminar, coordinated by Linda Benraïs, Adjunct Professor at ESSEC and Director of Governance and Conflict Resolution Programmes at IRENE, was organized in partnership with ICC France and the Synopia think tank. It brought together over fifty participants, experts, researchers and partners committed to human security, CSR and sustainable partnerships in the context of the pandemic.
Among the issues addressed were shared responsibility, good practices in associative governance and inclusive dialogue, as well as recent CSR initiatives (labels and platforms) aimed at creating value in the company for the benefit of transformation and innovation, including the “Together” project led by ESSEC.
This research workshop was an opportunity to foster a tripartite dialogue in the context of the pandemic between senior specialists in these issues within the state, international organizations (Agence Française de Développement, UN, European Union, OECD, UNHCR and UNDP), companies and foundations (Véolia, Total, Schneider Electric, Alixio, Dentsu, Sustainable Factory, Fondation Merci, etc.) and civil society actors who are called upon to play a growing role on these decisive issues for the future.
"While the state has taken the initiative in managing the pandemic, companies are aware that their responsibility is also changing. The crisis has revealed the fragility of the existing economic model, its rigidity and its shortcomings in meeting society's needs. Good intentions are not enough, rather new models of partnership and action are needed to move forward together" - Michel Baroni, Dean of Professors, ESSEC.