World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership (WSSL 2023)

There are numerous definitions of the term sustainable leadership in the literature. These differ in their definitions of leadership and sustainability. Furthermore, there is a difference whether it is about the characteristics and skills of the decision-makers or the logic of management theory. In any case, sustainable leadership or responsible leadership has the task of shaping the interplay of forces between conventional and sustainability-related decision-making premises, emphasising the need for a greater emphasis on considerations to sustainable development as part of decision-making processes. This applies to both, public and private organisations. 

Even though leadership is a key component in the implementation of sustainability at organisations, there is a paucity of events where a special focus on this aspect is given. In order to fill in this gap, the World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership is being organised by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), the University of São Paulo (Brazil), in cooperation with the Manchester Metropolitan University (UK),Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme, European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), and German-Brazilian Science and Technology Network – GERBRAS SCIENCENET (Germany).

This Symposium is aimed at those working in, or concerned with, leadership in a sustainable development context. It provides an opportunity to showcase projects, approaches and activities that investigate or utilise leadership principles and methods as a means to guide the world of organisations. The Symposium aims to facilitate networking and the development of partnerships and promote collaborative efforts for those using leadership as a tool to overcome the challenges associated with sustainable development.

Presenters and delegates attending the World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership will come from a wide range of sectors, including, but not restricted to: 

1. people working in universities, colleges and training organisations (tertiary education); 
2. representatives from companies (SMEs) and large enterprises;
3. members of NGOs working with sustainability;
4. governmental institutions including representatives from ministries and local government organisations and departments;
6. intergovernmental agencies;
7. sustainability consultants;
8. other interested parties.
 

• a) to provide interested actors from across the world with an opportunity to present their work in the field of leadership on sustainable development;
• b) to provide a platform for the exchange of information, ideas and experiences from projects and initiatives (whether completed, ongoing or emerging) focusing on sustainability leadership - an opportunity to share lessons learnt, successful initiatives and good practice from across the world;
• c) to discuss approaches and experiences used at enterprises, which explore the role of leadership is putting sustainability concepts into practice.
   

Participants who wish to submit a paper will be invited to contribute towards an edited volume entitled “Implementing Sustainability Leadership in Public and Private Organisations”. This book will be aimed at a wide readership, notably those on the front line of sustainability efforts at universities and companies, along with policymakers, researchers, and students. The book will be a further volume of the award-winning “World Sustainability Series” published by Springer, which since its creation in 2008 has become the world’s leading book series on sustainable development. The decision of the editors as to which papers may be selected and undergo peer review for the book is final.

Some of the papers may also be submitted for peer-review in the  Journal “Discover Sustainability” published by Springer Nature.
 

The Symposium will explore a variety of major themes, such as: 

1)    Sustainability and Leadership in the Private Sector (e.g. companies, enterprises)
2)    Sustainability and Leadership in the Public Sector (e.g. universities, government offices, NGOs, etc)

Interconnected Sub-themes which cut across both themes include:
a)    Enabling sustainability leadership;
b)    Stakeholders´ involvement in sustainability;
c)    Innovation in leadership;
d)    The role of partnerships in promoting leadership on sustainable development;
e)    Change management for corporate sustainability;
f)    The role of responsible leadership in the promotion of corporate social responsibility or creating sustainable business models;
g)    The role of leadership in driving communities towards sustainable development;
h)    Leadership for sustainable development and social innovation;
i)    The role of leadership in implementing the SDGs in higher education institutions;
j)    Conceptual aspects of sustainability leadership and responsible leadership;

Other themes may also be considered. Please contact the organising committee if you have any ideas.

Professor Walter Leal 
Professor Walter Leal holds the Chairs of Climate Change Management at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and Environment and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK). He directs the Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainability Development and Climate Change Management”. His main research interests are in the fields of sustainable development and climate change, also including aspects of climate change and health.

Professor Adriana Caldana
Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana is an associate professor at the University of Sao Paulo. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of São Paulo. Her research focuses on human resources management, organisational sustainability, executive education for sustainability, and stakeholders’ management.

Professor Flavio Hourneaux
Flávio Horneaux has a BSc, MSc and a PhD from the University of São Paulo (USP). Professor of the Business Administration Department of the School of Economics, Business Administration, and Accounting of the University of São Paulo (FEA-USP) since 2013. Former. Editor-in-chief of RAUSP - Management Journal (Emerald Publishing). Current Chair of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Chapter Brazil.

João Eustachio, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and University of São Paulo (Brazil)
SDG-Publications (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de

Yana Medeiros, Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil)
yanamguimaraes (at) gmail (dot) com

Cintia Nunes, Hamburg University of Applied Science (Germany)
Cintia.Nunes (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de

Kamila Frizzo, Federal University of Santa Maria (Brazil)
kamila.frizzo (at) gmail (dot) com

• Hamburg University of Applied Sciences – HAW Hamburg (Germany)
• School of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting at Ribeirão Preto - FEARP/USP (Brazil)
• School of Economics, Business Administration, and Accounting of the University of São Paulo - FEA/USP (Brazil)
• University of São Paulo – USP (Brazil)

• Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
• Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme – IUSDRP (Germany)
• European School of Sustainability Science and Research – ESSSR (Germany)
• German-Brazilian Science and Technology Network – GERBRAS SCIENCENET (Germany)

The Symposium will be organised in two main strands: 

Strand 1: presentations 
Presentations will be a combination of plenary and parallel sessions, organised thematically.

Strand 2: posters 
Participants will have the opportunity to exhibit posters describing their work and to distribute information to other participants. 
 

Submissions:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30th October 2022
Deadline for submission of papers: 30th January 2023

These deadlines are important, so that the book can be produced as soon as possible following the event.

Registration:
Deadline for early bird registrations: 30th November 2022
Deadline for late registrations: 30th January 2023

REGISTER NOW!

This event is part of  of the Continuing Professional Development Programme on Sustainable Development, undertaken by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) and Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP). An official certificate of participation, useful for professional development purposes and to be shown to employers, will be issued to participants, with the equivalent of 20 hours, including attendance to the event and preparation time. The issuing of the Certificate is included in the registration fees.

The early-bird registration fee is € 150 (deadline: 30th November 2022), and the normal registration fee is € 200 for all professionals, for registrations after  30th November 2022. This fee includes lunches and coffee breaks on 4th and 5th May 2023. A limited number of places at a discounted fee of € 90 will be available for students on a first-come-first-served basis. The discounted fee will also include lunches and coffee breaks during the event. 

Additionally, there will be an optional conference dinner with guest speakers on the evening of 3rd May 2023. Conference dinner tickets are available at € 50 per person.

This is a self-funded event, and the organisers are unable to pay any travel or accommodation costs of any kind. They are however happy to issue letters of invitation to support delegates to request funding for their participation.

The Symposium will provide participants with an outstanding opportunity to interact and network with delegates from around the world, and with a very broad range of experience and insights.
 

All questions related to academic inputs and strategic partnerships, as well as the book, should be sent to:

Professor Walter Leal Filho
iusdrp (at) ls.haw-hamburg (dot) de

Professor Adriana Caldana
caldana (at) usp (dot) br 

Professor Flávio Hourneaux Junior
flaviohjr (at) usp (dot) br 

Mr. Joao Eustachio:
SDG-Publications (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de

All questions related to registrations and accommodation should be sent to:

Mr. João Eustachio
SDG-Publications (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de 

Ms. Yana Medeiros Guimarães
yanamguimaraes (at) gmail (dot) com

An abstract should be up to 200 words, it should describe the rationale and aims of the paper, and some of its results. General descriptions of broad contexts should be avoided. The full contact details about the author(s) need to be provided. Abstracts should be written in the third person and not in the first or second one (e.g. I, me, or my paper). Please see below a sample abstract. Authors whose abstracts have been accepted, will receive further details about how to submit their full papers, and further logistical information. Please send your abstract to:
SDG-Publications Team
SDG-Publications (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de 

SAMPLE ABSTRACT
Promoting Sustainability Leadership at Universities: needs to be met
Walter Leal (BSc, PhD, DSc, DPhil, DEd, DLitt, FSB, FRGS, FLS) 
School of Science and the Environment 
Manchester Metropolitan University 
Chester Street 
Manchester, M1 5GD 
United Kingdom 
E-mail: info@iccip.net 

Abstract 
The many pressures faced by universities to implement sustainable development means that new approaches are needed, in order to move it forward. Among other factors, the undertaking of certain strategies is made difficult by the general lack of leadership or a sound leadership framework. This paper presents an analysis about the misconceptions related to the implementation of leadership and universties, and describes the most widespread ones, as well as their implications. A special emphasis is given to the problems and barriers caused by misinformation, which – in turn – prevent the potential of leadership from being realised. Finally, some concrete steps which may be taken in order to break the misconceptions and foster a more systematic view of leadership strategies in higher education, are outlined.