Projects

Integral Ecology and Sustainable Business

Ove Jakobsen & Laszlo Zsolnai (Eds.): Integral Ecology and Sustainable Business. Emerald, 2017. (This book may be available at Emerald) This collection addresses the relationship between business, the natural environment, ethics, and spirituality. While traditional economic theory generally assumed firms maximize profits, it has long been acknowledged that other factors may be important to understanding firm activities. The role of ethics and spirituality in society is clearly significant, yet economists have traditionally had little to… Read More »Integral Ecology and Sustainable Business

Progressive Business Models: Creating Sustainable and Pro-social Enterprise

Eleanor O’Higgins & Laszlo Zsolnai (Eds.): Progressive Business Models: Creating Sustainable and Pro-social Enterprise. Palgrave-Macmillan, London, 2017. (This book may be available at Palgrave) The book collects and analyzes 11 exemplary cases of progressive business. Progressive business is understood as ecologically sustainable, future respecting and pro-social enterprise. The collected cases aim to show the best to be expected from business in the 21st century. The purpose of each case chapter is to delineate the business… Read More »Progressive Business Models: Creating Sustainable and Pro-social Enterprise

Integral Ecology, Earth Spirituality, and Economics

The Center for Ecological Economics and Ethics of the Bodo Graduate School of Business, University of Nordland organizes the 2016 Annual European SPES Conference in May 27-29, 2016, in Bodo, Norway. The topic of the conference is „Integral Ecology, Earth Spirituality and Economics”. Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato si’ (Praised Be: On the Care of Our Common Home) is an excellent opportunity for building a conversation between science and spirituality on ecology and sustainable development. Integral Ecology proposed by… Read More »Integral Ecology, Earth Spirituality, and Economics

Finance Norway

Laszlo Zsolnai gave a presentation on the Future Earth’s Finance and Economics Knowledge-Action Network at a roundtable meeting organized by Finance Norway and Future Earth Norway on May 30, 2016 in Oslo, Norway. He presented the main propositions and value-basis of the Future Earth Finance and Economics program and emphasized the importance of reinventing business models for serving the commonwealth of life on Earth. (See link) Finance Norway

Socio-Economic & Biophysical Dynamics of the Humanity-Nature Nexus: The Role of Business

Future Earth Germany organized a Foresight Workshop entitled “Science needs in the context of tough choices in implementing the new SDG framework” in Lake Como, Italy in April 18-21, 2016. Laszlo Zsolnai gave a talk on “Socio-Economic & Biophysical Dynamics of the Humanity-Nature Nexus: The Role of Business” in which he emphasized that to transform business into a progressive social institution we should address both the mindset, the behavior and the organizational structure of today’s… Read More »Socio-Economic & Biophysical Dynamics of the Humanity-Nature Nexus: The Role of Business

Spirituality in the VUCA World

The European SPES Institute organized its annual conference in 3-5 July 2015 in Breukelen, The Netherlands. The title of the conference is “Management in the VUCA World: The Role of Spirituality“. The conference discussed the concept of spirituality and how spirituality helps managers to navigate the VUCA World of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Spirituality in the VUCA World

The Spiritual Dimension of Business Ethics and Sustainability Management

Laszlo Zsolnai (Ed.): The Spiritual Dimension of Business Ethics and Sustainability Management. Springer, 2015. (This book may be available at Springer) This book discloses the spiritual dimension in business ethics and sustainability management. Spirituality is understood as a multiform search for meaning which connects people with all living beings and God or Ultimate Reality. In this sense, spirituality is a vital source in social and economic life. The volume examines the spiritual orientations to nature… Read More »The Spiritual Dimension of Business Ethics and Sustainability Management

Business for Peace

The 10th Anniversary Conference of the European SPES Forum was held in in April 10-12, 2014 in Ieper, Flanders Fields, Belgium. The conference entitled “Business for Peace – Strategies for Hope” was dedicated to the memory of the centennial anniversary of the first World War (1914-1918) The opening lecture was given by Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council under the title “Europe as a Peace Project”. Participants launched The Ypres Manifesto on Business… Read More »Business for Peace

Spirituality and Sustainability Management

Laszlo Zsolnai edited the “Spirituality and Sustainability Management” Special Issue of World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 2014 Vol 10. No.1. This special issue is a product of the Spirituality and Sustainability: A New Path for Entrepreneurship Conference held on 21–23 September 2012 in Visegrad, Hungary. The conference was organised by the Business Ethics Center of the Corvinus University of Budapest in cooperation with the European SPES Forum and the ERENET – Entrepreneurship… Read More »Spirituality and Sustainability Management

Responsible Economics: E.F. Schumacher and His Legacy for the 21st Century

Hendrik Opdebeeck (ed.) Responsible Economics: E.F. Schumacher and His Legacy for the 21st Century. Peter Lang Academic Publishers, Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, 2013. (This book may be available at: Peter Lang) The centenary of E.F. Schumacher’s birth (1911-1977) offered an urgent opportunity to revisit his work and life. Against the background of the crisis at the beginning of this century, reconsidering Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful or frugality paradigm makes clear that advances in responsible… Read More »Responsible Economics: E.F. Schumacher and His Legacy for the 21st Century