U of G Hosts Corporate Social Responsibility Conference
October 29, 2008 - News Release
Corporate social responsibility is the focus of an upcoming conference running Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Guelph's Arboretum Centre.
The aim of the conference is to bring together representatives from business, government and financial and investment institutions as well as faculty and students from Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo universities to discuss where research needs to go when it comes to corporate social responsibility, said Prof. Nonita Yap, who helped organize the event.
"Corporate social responsibility is the latest challenge facing companies, with issues such as worker health and safety, employee morale and global warming now becoming a part of core business," said Nap, a faculty member in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. "Despite this growing trend, there hasn't been much research done in this area. We are hoping this conference will encourage students to pursue studies and research in corporate social responsibility."
Funded by the Faculty of Environmental Sciences under the Environmental Sciences Research Initiative and organized by the Ontario Agricultural College and the College of Management and Economics, the conference is free and open to the public.
The event consists of two panel discussions followed by question-and-answer periods.
Panellists are:
-Roger Eacock, vice-president of Global Supply Chain and Sustainability of SunOpta Inc.
-U of G business professors Elizabeth Kurucz and Rumina Dhalla.
-Michelle McCulloch, director of corporate development for Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
-Scott Richardson, vice-president of operations at McNeil Consumer Healthcare.
-Barbara McIntyre, director of sustainability and corporate citizenship with The Co-operators Group.
In addition to the panel discussions, Prof. David Anderson, director of the Guelph Institute for the Environment and a former federal environment minister, will speak during lunch.
To register contact Angus Grant at agrant03@uoguelph.ca
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338/l.hunt@exec.uoguelph.ca, or Deirdre Healey, Ext. 56982/d.healey@exec.uoguelph.ca.
