Who is 50+20?
Founding Partners
The project emerged from parallel projects that originated in different parts of the world:
- The World Business School Council of Sustainable Business (WBSCSB) initiated 50+20 as part of an initiative that was born in a supplementary event at the Academy of Management in Montreal in August 2010, when 35 leading sustainability scholars and a few business school deans from around the globe met to talk about “breaking the silos in business and management education”. Some of these deans gathered in a corner and decided it was about time that business schools engaged in the public debate on sustainable development and reflect on what contribution management education could make to create a better world.
- Meanwhile the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), a global partnership of leaders from companies and business schools had launched project SB21, working on a blueprint for the business school of the twenty-first century. The initial meetings of WBSCSB and GRLI sparked a great amount of passion, drive and enthusiasm – chemistry and synchronicity at its best.
- The Principles of Responsible Management Education (U.N. backed PRME)in New York was a natural third partner, given their ambition to sign up as many business schools and management-related academic institutions as possible and to inspire them to provide more responsible management education, research and thought leadership.
In January 2011, the three organizations signed a joined agreement of collaboration; projects SB21 and 50+20 were merged into one with the team members, complimenting another in terms of know-how, skills, global make-up and competences.
Official Sponsoring Partners and Co-authors
The following institutions generously provided financial assistance and will also be recognised as official co-authors of the 50+20 agenda:
- Business School Lausanne
- CENTRUM Católica
- Copenhagen Business School
- Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
- ESADE Law & Business School
- ESSEC Business School
- ICN Business School Nancy-Metz
- John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
- Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
- Queensland University of Technology
- Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management
- Swinburne University of Technology
- University of Pretoria: Albert Luthuli Center for Responsible Leadership &
Gordon Institute of Business Science - University of St Gallen
- Vienna University of Economics and Business
- Zermatt Summit
Participants, reviewers, writing contributors
- A large international group of stakeholders, societal roleplayers and thought leaders attended our retreats, offered reviews and submitted writing contributions. These will be acknowledged in the final product.
Steering Committee
Grandvaux, 2011 - Photo by Michelle Cooper
From left to right:
- Thomas Dyllick, Delegate for Responsibility & Sustainability, University of St Gallen, Co-founder WBSCSB
- Paul Shrivastava, Director, D. O’Brien Center for Sustainable Enterprise, Co-founder WBSCSB
- Katrin Muff, Dean Business School Lausanne, Co-founder WBSCSB
- Mark Drewell, Chief Executive, GRLI
- John North, Albert Luthuli Center for Responsible Leadership at University of Pretoria
Jonas Haertle, Head, Principles for Responsible Management Education secretariat @ UN Global Compact Office (shown to the right)
