The CEMS global alliance formalises important CSR strategy in presence of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus Rotterdam School of Management the venue for CSR-themed Annual Events, 2nd-4th December PARIS, FRANCE/ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 29th November – Muhammad Yunus appears as guest speaker for major symposium on Social Business, NGOs join the CEMS alliance and 400+ CEMS students take a global citizenship and responsible management graduation oath. CEMS Annual Events placed under the sign of Corporate Social Responsibility Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is this year hosting the 22nd CEMS Annual Events. The highlight of a rich programme sees the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus (the Bangladeshi economist and founder of Grameen Bank) appear as keynote speaker on Friday 3rd December for a series of debates with CEMS students, alumni, academics and corporate partners. The appearance of the such an active supporter of social business represents a major rubber-stamping of three new CSR initiatives within CEMS: the recent signing of the Principles for Responsible Management Education, the induction of CARE International and Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International as Social Partners and the implementation of a student-driven graduation oath committing graduates to uphold global citizenship and responsible management in working life. NGOs join the CEMS global alliance, a recent signee of the PRME declaration François Collin, CEMS Executive Director, is rightly proud of this conjunction of events: “to be able to engage the CEMS Community in a debate with such an inspiring figure as Professor Yunus whilst also welcoming NGOs on board is as strong a proof of our commitment to educating responsible international managers as we could wish for. We take the signing of the PRME declaration very seriously and here are the first tangible results of this major CSR drive within CEMS.” Dr. Robert Glasser, Secretary General of CARE International, is effusive about joining the CEMS global alliance: “CARE International is thrilled to be joining the CEMS alliance as a Social Partner. CEMS has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and its commitment to global values, in particular to professional responsibility and accountability in relation to society and the environment, are well aligned with CARE's global mission to end poverty and promote social justice.” George Yip, Dean of RSM, speaks of his pride at being host to such a series of celebrations and achievements: “RSM is delighted to welcome the CEMS community to the city of Rotterdam. Rotterdam today is a multicultural city, home to many multinational and local enterprises, and with a growing reputation as an international knowledge centre in multiple areas. As a CEMS academic member, we are committed to social responsibility ourselves and as such are very proud to host the CEMS Annual Events at this particular time of confirmation of the CEMS CSR strategy”. Press contacts: Kevin Titman, CEMS Communications Manager, Tel: +33 1 39 67 71 56 kevin.titman@cems.org Marianne Schouten, RSM Media & PR Manager, Tel. +31 10 4082877 mschouten@rsm.nl About CEMS Global Alliance Founded in 1988, CEMS is a strategic alliance of 27 member schools from 4 continents and over 60 corporate partners. The CEMS Master's in International Management (CEMS MIM) provides a unique blend of top-level education and professional experience for multilingual, multicultural postgraduate students. The Financial Times ranking rates the CEMS MIM amongst the very best Master’s in Management programmes in the world as well as n°1 for combined international results, enhancing the status of the programme as the first supra-national M.Sc. www.cems.org. About RSM Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is consistently ranked amongst the top 10 business schools in Europe. It is located in the international port city of Rotterdam where core Dutch values of openness, flexibility and acceptance of diversity have attracted businesses on a global scale. Our emphasis is on groundbreaking research and practices relevant to business; our primary focus is on developing business leaders who carry their innovative ideas into a sustainable future. Our portfolio includes a broad array of bachelor, master, doctoral, MBA and executive education programmes. www.rsm.nl
CEMS ACADEMIC MEMBERS Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China (Beijing) Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Japan Mexico Norway Poland Portugal Russia Singapore Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Turkey United Kingdom
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business Louvain School of Management Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo-FGV Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University University of Economics, Prague Copenhagen Business School Aalto University School of Economics HEC Paris University of Cologne Corvinus University of Budapest Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD Università Bocconi Keio University, Tokyo EGADE, Tec de Monterrey NHH, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration Warsaw School of Economics Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Nova, Lisbon Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University National University of Singapore Business School ESADE Business School Stockholm School of Economics University of St. Gallen Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Koç University Graduate School of Business LSE, London School of Economics & Political Science
CEMS SOCIAL PARTNERS CARE International*
Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International*
CEMS CORPORATE PARTNERS A.T. Kearney ABB Arçelik Arla Foods* AstraZeneca PLC Barilla* BNP Paribas Fortis BP Canal + CEZ CIB Bank Crédit Agricole S.A. Credit Suisse Daymon Worldwide Deloitte ToucheTohmatsu Deutsche Bank EADS EDP EF Education First* ENI International Fidelity Investment Managers GDF SUEZ Google*
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA HP HSBC* Indesit Company s.p.a. ING Group Itaú Unibanco Kikkoman Corporation* KONE Kowa Company Ltd.* Lawson, Inc.* L’Oréal LVMH McKinsey & Company Millennium bcp MOL Group Nestlé Nokia Corporation Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.* Novo Nordisk Oesterreiche Nationalbank OMV Aktiengesellschaft Pilsner Urquell* PricewaterhouseCoopers
* = pending ratification (December 2010)
Procter & Gamble Reckitt Benckiser Santander Sberbank Schindler Corporation Schneider Electric* Shell Siemens Mgmt Consulting Sistema Société-Générale Statkraft AS Statoil Swiss Re Thomson Reuters UBS Unibail-Rodamco UniCredit Group Vestas Wind Systems A/S Vodafone Whirlpool Wolseley Group Zurich Financial Services