King's College London

At the Centre for Sustainable Business (CSB), we're proud to celebrate our first anniversary with the publication of our inaugural annual report.

Founded on the principles of connectivity, community, and engagement, the Centre is committed to bridging academia and industry to create actionable solutions for global sustainability challenges.

Through rigorous research and an interdisciplinary approach across King’s College London and beyond, we’ve dedicated our first year to driving business transformation that is ethical, inclusive, and future-focused.

Below, we reflect on our journey since the Centre launched in March 2024.

Key achievements: A year in review

Between January 2024-25, the Centre has:

• Launched 27 research projects and funded eight seed projects, driving innovation in sustainable consumption, finance, leadership, and business systems.
• Expanded our online community by 1,100%, reaching nearly 3,000 LinkedIn followers.
• Built a thriving CSB Members’ Network of 114 academics, practitioners, and industry leaders.
• Collaborated with a €5 billion European retailer to overhaul its sustainability strategy, ensuring environmental and social responsibility is embedded in its operations.

Research highlights

• Professor Jonatan Pinkse, Centre Research Director, published research that explored how governments can encourage large firms to adopt sustainable technologies.
• Dr Hannah Schupfer, Centre Research Associate, published an award-winning paper on how businesses can drive green innovation by reshaping their organisational purpose.
• Professor Laura J Spence, Professor of Business Ethics and Sustainability, started a new project to explore how SMEs can transition to net zero.
• Dr Siavash Alimadadi, Centre Research Associate, started a new project on why market transformation remains limited, despite increasing corporate commitment.

Collaborating with industry partners

Connectivity is at the heart of our mission, and this year we:

• Transformed a retail giant’s sustainability strategy.
• Addressed gender inequality in finance and presented evidence to the UK Treasury.
• Explored equitable partnerships in the cultural sector.

Empowering sustainable business through events and engagement

Engagement is the key to translating research into impact. Over the past year, we:

• Hosted and co-hosted 16 major events across the UK and internationally, engaging 592 attendees (both in-person and online).
• Led the Inclusive Sustainability 2025 campaign, amplifying voices of marginalised groups in business and featuring research that was picked up by Forbes and Stylist magazine.
• Partnered with ESCP Business School for the STARbowl event on AI and digital sustainability, bringing together academics, industry leaders, and policymakers to explore how technology can drive sustainable change.
• Published thought leadership articles in leading titles such as The Financial Times, Forbes Middle East, and The Conversation.

Looking ahead

As we reflect on our first year, one thing is clear: the need for sustainable business transformation has never been more urgent.

The challenges ahead - climate change, resource scarcity, and social inequality - demand bold action, strategic collaboration, and data-driven solutions.

At the Centre for Sustainable Business, we aim to drive innovation across sustainable finance, consumption, leadership, and business systems, ensuring that research translates into measurable industry and policy impact.

We invite academics, policymakers, industry leaders, and sustainability champions to join us in this mission. Whether through collaborative research, knowledge-sharing, or direct industry engagement, together we can create a business landscape that is not only profitable but truly sustainable and just.

Follow us on LinkedIn and sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest news and collaboration opportunities.

The Centre for Sustainable Business Annual Report

You can download the annual report here.

Please note, we have made every effort to ensure this document is as accessible as possible and welcome your feedback on how to improve: sustainablebusiness@kcl.ac.uk