Inaugural Theodore Papalexopoulos Sustainability Dialogue
The inaugural event in the Theodore Papalexopoulos Sustainability Dialogues marks the beginning of a new series designed to bring together practitioners and academics to address pressing issues in sustainability and business transformation. This series of dialogues aim to bridge the gap between management knowledge and action.
Amid growing culture wars in the United States, Europe, and beyond, the urgency of addressing environmental and social sustainability challenges has never been greater. Climate risks, biodiversity loss, inequality, and other global challenges increasingly jeopardize not only our physical environment but also our societies. Yet, despite the scale and immediacy of these challenges, public discourse is often derailed by misinformation amplified through social media. This has led to a troubling decoupling: too much talking, too little walking.
The Theodore Papalexopoulos Sustainability Dialogues aspire to counter this trend by focusing on evidence-based discussions and rigorous scientific insights. Our primary focus is on engaging the Greek business community—a key driver of the country’s economic, environmental and social progress—with leading global academics in sustainability. We hope to empower decision-makers to adopt more informed sustainable practices in their organizations. Grounded in science, this series seeks to encourage businesses to become active participants in shaping a more sustainable future, going over and above regulation and internalizing its externalities – which is most of the times good business too.
Our keynote speaker, Professor Christopher Wickert, will be sharing his insights on the following topic: “What is needed to take CSR into the 21st century: A business case for ethics, or an ethics case for business?”
Agenda
10:00 - 10:15 | Welcome and Introduction
10:15 - 11:00 | Keynote Address: What is needed to take CSR into the 21st century: A business case for ethics, or an ethics case for business?
11:00 - 11:45 | Discussion
12:00 - 13:00 | Light Lunch
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Wickert, is a Full Professor and Chair of Corporate Social Responsibility at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), where he also serves as the Director of the VU Business & Society Knowledge Hub and Research Director of the Department of Management & Organization. His research focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate sustainability, and the broader relationship between business and society, all underpinned by rigorous organization and management theory. With a PhD in Management from the University of Lausanne, Professor Wickert has established himself as a leading scholar in the field, offering cutting-edge insights into how businesses can bridge the gap between corporate purpose and sustainable transformation. He is a General Editor at the Journal of Management Studies (JMS) an elite, multidisciplinary journal with a long-established history of excellence in management research, listed in the Financial Times’ Top 50 academic journals list.
ABOUT THE THEODORE PAPALEXOPOULOS ENDOWED CHAIR IN SUSTAINABILITY
Theodore Papalexopoulos, a founding member of Alba, was a pioneer leader in sustainability and had envisioned early on the establishment of a Business School of international standards in the country. The endowed Chair contributes both to the development and dissemination of knowledge on sustainability. At the same time, it supports Alba in emerging as a hub of knowledge creation and dissemination on sustainability and further facilitating T. Papalexopoulos vision and legacy. The chair is established with a donation from the TITAN Group and the Papalexopoulos & Canellopoulos family.
The first Chairholder is Professor Pavlos A. Vlachos. He is a Professor of Marketing at Alba Graduate Business School (tenured) and Associate Dean of Research and Innovation at the School of Business & Economics. He serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Business Research (section: CSR/Ethics). Among others his work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations (2022; 2023), Journal of Organizational Behavior (2014; 2017), Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Tourism Management, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Business Research, among others.
http://gr.linkedin.com/in/pavlosvlachos
SUSTAINABILITY AT ACG
ACG embraces a holistic 360° sustainability approach, integrating US best practices to gradually develop and implement sustainability practices across all aspects of campus life—from academic programs and research to daily operations—building a resilient, deeply-rooted sustainability culture on campus and beyond.
In recognition of these efforts, ACG achieved the prestigious STARS® Gold Rating for the second time in 2023 for its fourth sustainability report and assessment, excelling in Academics, Engagement, Operations, Planning & Administration, and Innovation & Leadership. The College is the only academic institution in Greece to have received a distinction from the US Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and has been systematically recognized as one of the Greenest Colleges by Princeton Review Magazine since 2018. Through its membership in the UN Global Compact, the UN Academic Impact and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), ACG strongly supports the UN SDGs— most notably, Goal No 4: Quality Education.
At the heart of ACG’s mission is nurturing tomorrow’s changemakers and leaders. The College equips students with the knowledge, values, and experiences essential for thriving in a rapidly evolving global landscape and acting as responsible citizens and professionals to help create a more sustainable world.