Seminar Series
Missing in (Climate) Action: Relationship-to-Carbon as a New Policy Route to Reach Overlooked Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with Speaker: Professor Laura Spence, King's College London
- Open to : PhD students, researchers, policymakers and analysts. No sign up needed
- Date: Wednesday 5th February 2025
- Time: 2.00-3.30pm
- Place: In person University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham Street, L69 7ZH – Seminar Room 1
Abstract:
While progress has been made on the regulation of carbon emissions by businesses as a means of attending to environmental sustainability and climate change, there remain significant gaps in reaching the majority of firms, notably small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
This talk will focus on this important deficit by asking the question: How can traditional and innovative policy instruments be deployed to support and enable hard-to-reach small and medium sized enterprises in achieving Net Zero carbon emissions? Original perspectives are offered in two ways. First, SMEs are re-categorised according to their relationship to the carbon economy, whether intrinsic, extrinsic or entrained, rather than the common approach of size, sector or location. Second, policy options and instruments are revisited, expanding the standard reliance on ‘carrots, sticks and sermons’ to include inspiration from feminist health care and foreign policy on ‘dialogue’. Laura will illustrate proposals through prior research on SME-dominated domestic construction in the United Kingdom, a sector often treated as homogenous, but which demonstrates the importance of nuanced policy approaches in order to accelerate a comprehensive and inclusive transition to a low carbon economy.
Biography:
Laura J. Spence is Professor of Business Ethics and Sustainability at King’s College London, UK. A Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, she is a member of the Centre for Sustainable Business at King’s Business School and is an expert on the social and ethical aspects of business in relation to global challenges such as social injustice, climate change and inequalities. Laura was appointed to the REF 2021 Business and Management sub-panel as a full assessor.
Much of her work includes the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises. She has published in journals such as Accounting Organizations and Society, British Journal of Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, Human Relations, Journal of Management, and Organization Studies. Laura serves as a Consulting Editor of the Journal of Business Ethics, and an editorial board member of Human Relations and Business Ethics Quarterly. She is co-author of the market-leading textbook Business Ethics (Oxford University Press).
Entrepreneurs Monthly Meet-up (EMM)
Based in Liverpool? Interested in entrepreneurship and networking with entrepreneurs? Join our FREE Entrepreneurs Monthly Meet-up!
What is the Entrepreneurs Monthly Meet-up?
The Entrepreneurs Monthly Meet-up is a University HEIF-funded initiative run by the Brett Centre for Entrepreneurship in collaboration with six colleges and universities within the Liverpool City Region (LRC):
- Hugh Baird College
- The City of Liverpool College
- Liverpool Hope University
- Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
- Liverpool John Moores University
- The City of Liverpool College
If you are interested in setting up your own business, don’t miss this opportunity to connect with the very best entrepreneurs and independent businesses in the Liverpool City Region.
Date: Thursday 27th February, 2025
Time: 4.30-6.30pm
Place: The Old Hall, Cotton Exchange, Edmund St, Liverpool, L3 9BS
For this month's sales-focused Meet-up, we have invited two local entrepreneurs from different sectors who will share their strategies for sales success.
Leon McCowan, founder of Your Business Mobile and Sales Director of The Sales Dojo has over 30 years experience and expertise in transformational sales growth in the mobile telecoms industry helping to recruit, train and develop thousands of telesales, direct sales and indirect sales people. In 2016 he started The Sales Dojo, a community for sales people and sales enthusiasts which helps equip the next generation of business owners, sales people, business development managers with the selling skills required to make their business a success. Leon is passionate about passing on his knowledge to others and in his talk he will be sharing his tips for how entrepreneurs with an amazing idea can sell their concept to others.
Following Leon's talk, Katherine Jones, Director of ThinK Wine Group, a provider of reduced-calorie, low-sugar and vegan wines will be talking about her entrepreneurial journey that stems from her love of wine that is both kind to her waist and the environment. She will also be discussing how she has leveraged both her Influencer Marketing background and the sales distribution channels to build her business.
The session will be followed by pitches from students at King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool who are looking to secure funding for their business ideas as part of the Enterprise Education in Secondary Schools programme that the Brett Centre for Entrepreneurship is running. The pupils are all pitching for a share of £1,000 in funding, ranging from £250 to £100, to help with their start-up venture.
After the presentations and interviews, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and enjoy lots of informal networking with FREE refreshments and food!
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