CeBaS are tackling 7 major challenges. Each challenge (detailed below) has a dedicated Research Team with each member utilisng their specific expertise to work together in providing possible solutions to each challenge.

Mitigating Climate Change

We need to maintain global temperatures at less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, prevent catastrophic climate change and transition to a low-carbon economy. Our work in environmental sustainability includes sustainable innovation; accounting and finance; management information systems; marketing and consumption; supply chains and logistics; environmental psychology; and business engagement with key frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Andreas Hoepner, Geertje Schuitema, Marius Claudy 

Team Researchers: Andy Prothero (marketing and consumption), Bill Rose (logistics), Donna Marshall (bioeconomy supply chains), Gianluca Miscione (technology and sustainability), Julie Byrne (finance), Mark Pagell (sustainable supply chains), Séamas Kelly (Information systems and impact).

Defending Fair Work

Sustainable, secure and dignified work is a significant societal and economic challenge. Our work in this area addresses social entrepreneurship, workers’ rights, industrial relations, human resources, social entrepreneurship, the future of work and the search for sustainable models of business and employment.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Colm McLaughlin

Team Researchers:  Mary Parkinson (worker safety); Allen Higgins (sustainable sourcing), Donna Marshall (working conditions and human rights in supply chains), Donncha Kavanagh (myths of work), Enrico Secchi (service work design), John Geary (industrial relations), Maeve Houlihan (realities of work), Mark Pagell (worker safety and sustainable supply chains), Mary Parkinson (worker safety), Séamas Kelly (technology and work), Suzanne Carthy (equality at work), Virginia Stewart (work team dynamics).

Ensuring Global Health

Healthcare is often seen as an arena where commercial and social interests need to be particularly closely aligned. Yet, healthy people, communities and society are incontestable social goals that face many complex challenges. CeBaS research in this area includes issues of healthcare market design, global health equality, patient involvement in pharmaceutical innovation and distribution, value measurement in health care (measurement of costs and health outcomes, measurement of population and organisational health literacy), process improvement and digital health (including chronic disease and childhood obesity) and the role of tax policy in addressing the global social and economic challenges of health issues.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Gerardine Doyle & Susi Geiger

Team Researcher: Marius Claudy (retailer and consumer behaviour towards sugar)

Tackling Inequality

Growing inequality in relation to a number of issues of wealth, gender, race, sexuality and disability is a key societal challenge and area of concern within CeBaS. Issues of diversity, discrimination and inclusion are a key focus.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Andy Prothero & Colm McLaughlin

Team Researchers: Donna Marshall (gender equality in supply chains), Gerardine Doyle (health literacy and inequality), Suzanne Carthy (gender equality at work).

Promoting Responsible Production and Consumption

In our current systems consumption and production are usually regarded as separate and linear where production leads to consumption generating waste.  Responsible production and consumption regards these systems are circular and promotes thinking that reduces harmful impacts from production and consumption and encourages producers and consumers to think in benefits they can provide. Our research explores different aspects of responsible production and consumption including links between production and consumption, health and safety in production and for consumers, behavioural responses to environmental issues and innovations, environmental impacts of producers and consumers, human rights and working conditions in production systems, bottom-of-the-pyramid environmental and working conditions, sustainable logistics and supply chain reporting and disclosure.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Donna Marshall & Mary Parkinson 

Team Researchers: Andy Prothero (responsible consumer behaviour); Bill Rose (sustainable logistics), Enrico Secchi (sustainable services), Geertje Schuitema (environmental and consumer psychology), Marius Claudy (sustainable innovations for consumers), Mark Pagell (sustainable supply chains).

Championing Sustainable Development

Achieving sustainable development is a widely-held public policy goal at local, national and international levels, and now involves all actors – businesses, communities, governments, NGOs and others. CeBaS work analyses initiatives dedicated to this goal, focusing on the conceptualisation and implementation of the relationship between business and sustainable development at ‘glocal’ and transnational levels, and how the relationship between markets, people and the natural environment is articulated through policy, governance and regulation. Specific strands focus on Africa; the conceptualisation of the ‘developing world’ as a global market actor and the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Jamie O’Neill & Penelope Muzanenhamo

Team Researchers: Gianluca Miscione (sustainable development); Siobhán Airey (Financing the SDGs).

Encouraging Transparency

Transparent and accountable institutions are fundamental to a well-functioning, egalitarian society. CeBaS’s work on this challenge includes tax avoidance; corporate, supply chain and country-specific disclosure; and governance and regulatory environments.

Meet the Team

Challenge Champions: Donna Marshall & Jamie O’Neill

Team Researchers: Aideen O’Dochartaigh (accounting transparency), Charles Garavan (taxation and transparency), Gerardine Doyle (tax in society), Gianluca Miscione (blockchain and technology tranparency); Mary Canning (accounting transparency), Rebecca Maughan (accounting transparency).

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