Governance & Accountability Institute and Rutgers Business School Announce a Partnership to Educate Corporate Professionals on Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability

NEW YORK, March 1, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Rutgers Business School's Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) and Governance & Accountability Institute (G&A Institute) announced today a partnership to develop and offer a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Certificate Program with the purpose of providing a competitive advantage to CSR teams and corporate professionals expanding into this growing field.

The first two-day executive education program classes will take place on Wednesday, April 27th and Thursday April 28th at Rutgers Business School in Newark, NJ.  Both organizations will actively market the services over the next few months.  The program will focus on a deep dive into CSR and the related fields of philanthropy, sustainability, risk management, supply chain management, and ethics. 

“We are very happy to be partnering with a world renowned University like Rutgers on this important and very timely topic,” said Louis D. Coppola, co-founder and executive vice president of G&A Institute. “Over the past ten years, G&A Institute has been helping the corporate and investor sectors identify, measure, manage, and report on material ESG factors.  The subject has matured significantly over these last few years and research has shown time and time again that excellence in ESG issues management is key to managing and investing in the 21st century company.  The players, systems, models, standards, tools, and methodologies that are shaping this field are critical for any CSR professional to understand, and this certificate program will bring students up to speed through interactive courses taught by real world experts. ”

Executives and their management and functional teams need the skills, network, and increased philanthropic expertise to achieve community impact goals while delivering value to the organization. In this program, participants explore CSR models and best practices that successful companies are using to drive business and social value across the organization and the community.

Fundraising professionals will have the opportunity to understand how corporations’ varying approaches to philanthropy has changed over time.  There is also the opportunity to engage with CSR colleagues, leaders, and independent experts to confer on current views in CSR practice and to help build a valuable network of thought leaders and funding partners.

According to IEL Co-founder, James Abruzzo, “Americans’ faith in large institutions has faltered, and they now expect greater transparency, social responsibility and two-way communication far exceeding what was demanded in the past. The best ethical leaders believe that corporate responsibility goes beyond the shareholders to the greater good. When social responsibility is part of their companies’ cultures, both they and society benefit.”

Among the outstanding faculty participating in the program:  Tim McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation and Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility, American Express Company; Ellen Lambert, Director of Corporate Responsibility and President of the PSEG Foundation; and Peter Hansen, Senior Vice President of Development, New Jersey Performing Arts .

Participants will be able to directly relate to the content and material, allowing them to apply their learning to their current work place immediately.

Registration includes breakfast, lunch, dinner Wednesday evening, parking, and course materials. Upon completion of the program, participants will be awarded a certificate in executive leadership. The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on Wednesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 28, at the Rutgers University Business School in Newark, NJ.

For more information, call 973-353-1134, e-mail leadership@business.rutgers.edu, or visit http://www.business.rutgers.edu/iel/csr.    

About Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
Governance & Accountability Institute is a sustainability consulting firm headquartered in New York City, assisting corporations in executing winning strategies that maximize return on investment at every step of their sustainability journey. The G&A team helps corporate and investment community clients recognize, understand and address sustainability issues to address stakeholder and shareholder concerns. G&A Institute is the exclusive Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in the USA, UK and Ireland. A G&A team of six or more perform this pro bono work on behalf of GRI. In 2015, they analyzed more than 1,200 sustainability reports in this role and databased more than 100 important data points related to each report.

G&A’s sustainability-focused services and resources include: counseling & strategies for the corporate sustainability journey; sustainability reporting assistance; thorough materiality assessments; stakeholder engagement; benchmarking; enhancing investor relations; sustainability communications; manager coaching, team building and training; issues monitoring & customized research; advice on third party awards and recognitions.  Visit G&A at www.ga-institute.com

About the Institute for Ethical Leadership
The Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School works with business and government, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and within Rutgers University to provide leaders and future leaders with the education, training and critical-thinking tools needed to become more effective leaders and managers and make ethical decisions for real-world challenges.  For more information, visit www.business.rutgers.edu/iel. 

Contact
Louis D. Coppola
Executive Vice President
Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
Tel +1.646.430.8230 ext 14
Email lcoppola@ga-institute.com