Towards more responsive and responsible leadership

Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity is one of the three Erasmus Initiatives. It focuses on enabling as many people as possible to benefit from increasing prosperity, whilst minimising the negative consequences.

During the two-day conference in Rotterdam, the transition towards more responsive and responsible leadership will be explored. This type of leadership is aimed at long-term benefits and making sure future generations are able to enjoy prosperous lives.

Leading thinkers from the worlds of business, government, NGOs and academia are connected and will appear in front of an international audience, including representatives of the International Business Council, the European Round Table of Industrialists, and the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition.

Renowned speakers

The first day of the conference will offer key notes from several renowned speakers: Professor Rutger Engels (Rector Magnificus Erasmus University Rotterdam), Professor and former Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (Erasmus University), Frans van Houten (Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Royal Philips), Børge Brende (President World Economic Forum) and Lise Kingo (Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director UN Global Compact), and many more.

On the second day, the research agenda and scientific results will be the focus during the scientific conference. It includes presentations and discussions by Professor Martin de Jong (scientific director Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity), Professor Tim Bartley (Washington University, St. Louis) and several professors from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

How to measure progress

‘Business leaders nowadays – and we as well – are aware of the necessity of environmental and social entrepreneurship’, Professor Evert Stamhuis from Erasmus School of Law explains. ‘During this conference we will look at the next step: how to achieve this? How, precisely, can a company or industry measure progress, if environmental gain will be important next to profit? What will the future interaction be between the board, the stakeholders, the shareholders but also the environment: what if industries will take account of the nature around it and the people within?’

Another interesting question according to Stamhuis: how will the sponsors or the ‘money lenders’ of the big industries and the capital funds take their responsibility? ‘One of the solutions might lie in the difference between short-term and long-term measuring. How do we get to what can be indicated as ‘slow capital’ instead of fast profit, which was the leading way of industries in the nineties?’

Scientific director of ‘Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity’ Martin de Jong, Professor at Erasmus School of Law (ESL) and Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM): ‘We see at this moment that the differences in money, power, and knowledge are getting bigger. The gaps are increasing worldwide. Inequality is growing and this won’t mean more stability. The opposite is the case. In this multidisciplinary initiative we will try to find out how to contain inequality by looking at social-economic aspects and environmental aspects. We strive for an inclusive society and inclusive corporate responsibility. Not only to benefit people living now, but also to make sure future generations are able to enjoy prosperous lives.’

During the conference, particular attention will be given to the Compact for Responsive and Responsible Leadership, sponsored by the World Economic Forum International Business Council and launched at the Annual Meeting in 2017. The Compact aims at creating a corporate governance framework with a focus on the long-term sustainability of corporations and the long-term goals of society.