The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business ("Center") launched a publication series to help academics influence the way that business is conducted today. Written with the needs of busy practitioners in mind, Sustainable Business Insights: Research Briefs for Practitioners distills high-level research into an “easy-to-read” format.
By highlighting key takeaways, these briefs provide practitioners with an opportunity to understand quickly an academic article’s primary findings and assess how information may relate to their business interests. Beril Toktay, Faculty Director of the Center, says, “Over time, we’re looking to develop an audience of people who come to expect the briefs, who keep their eye on them, and who strengthen their relationship with Scheller College due to these documents.”
The first briefs published in the series highlight thought leadership of Center-affiliated faculty. Briefs will be categorized in two themes—circular economy and social performance. The first social performance brief summarizes a paper on how markets respond to preventable human disasters such as the Rana Plaza collapse, which killed more than 1,200 garment workers and injured another 2,400 in Bangladesh. The first circular economy brief highlights research on operational strategies to help Medical Surplus Recovery Organizations (MSROs) match donated medical equipment and supplies with humanitarian needs. Moving forward, the Center will publish one brief per month.
The Center envisions the creation of an archive of briefs that readers can scan and search to find core research on these two topics both from Scheller College as well as other institutions. The archive provides a centralized location for practitioners to discover cutting-edge circular economy and social performance insights from sustainable business researchers worldwide.
Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business launched in 2013 thanks to the generosity of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and the Kendeda Fund. The Center was created as a catalyst, connector, and enabler, bringing together students, research faculty, companies, entrepreneurs, and other organizations in environments where business-driven solutions can take shape and thrive.