Overhead view of people working in a shoe factory, at sewing machines set out in rows split by an aisle, which someone is walking down in a blur

Centre for Business and Society (CBS)

The ARU Centre for Business and Society researches business in a social context to shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient futures of production, consumption, and work.

Welcome from our Co-Directors

The CBS combines expertise from across the social sciences and business disciplines, articulating and amplifying research to make business more responsible and resilient. Our research works towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and socially just future through world leading research across work and employment, consumption, marketing, operations, and supply chain analytics.

We understand how organisations create value and how that value shapes people, places, and the planet. We focus on practical problems that matter now: fair work; inclusive growth; productivity with purpose; decarbonisation; trust and transparency; and resilience in volatile markets.

Our work connects rigorous social science with applied methods and real-world evidence. We use qualitative insight, mixed methods, and data driven analysis to understand what drives change inside organisations and across value chains. We work with businesses and unions, government and communities, to co-produce knowledge, test solutions, and translate research into action.

The CBS is a visible, trusted partner for organisations seeking to improve performance while strengthening social and environmental outcomes. We support research, teaching, policy engagement, and partnership building with hubs in Cambridge and Chelmsford, working globally, from our base in the East of England.

We look forward to working with you.

Prof Manoj Dora and Prof Chris Land
Co-Directors, Centre for Business and Society

Our research themes

Pyramid diagram showing how each of the Centre for Business and Society's clusters aligns with at least two of sustainability, resilience, and human-centrism

Each of our five research themes are strongly aligned to at least two of our key focuses of sustainability, resilience, and human-centrism.

3D illustration summarising the circular economy: products going from a factory, to a home, to a recycling plant, to a new use that complements nature
Circular Economics
Illustration of faceless figures working - brainstorming ideas alone and together, meeting, and using a megaphone - against a backdrop of puzzle pieces and shrubs
Futures of Work
An array of grey ladders against a teal wall, one of which is taller than the others, lit up and ending in a target
Skills, Training and Pedagogic Practice
A busy harbour with a container ship in dock, vehicles travelling along a road, and lots of stacked containers
Supply Chain Analytics
View of four wood and glass dispensers full of seeds and nuts in a zero waste refill shop
Sustainable Consumption

Our projects

Operational Excellence and Data Analytics This Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Wealmoor Ltd will embed operational excellence and data analytics in a high variability, perishable operations environment.
Up-Skill: Up-Skilling for Industry 5.0 Roll-Out This project addresses the workforce implications of industry 5.0, with a particular focus on the relationship between automation choices and maintenance of skilled work.
Decolonising the Future of Work through Afro-Futurism This project examines how literary and cultural imaginaries, particularly science fiction traditions rooted outside Western managerial norms, influence how work, organisation and technology are conceptualised.
Intersecting Interests? Industrial action in public services 2022-23 This project examines the wave of industrial action across UK public services in 2022–23, which included strikes in sectors such as health, education and rail.
Help to Grow training programme for SMEs This management programme offers support for small and medium-sized enterprises across the East of England to develop strategic, people-centred and future-focused management capabilities.
Powering Inclusion in Offshore Wind This project examines equality, diversity and inclusion within a sector that is critical to the UK’s net zero ambitions but continues to face persistent workforce and skills challenges.
TAFSSA: Transforming Agri-Food Systems in South Asia This initiative will improve equitable access to sustainable healthy diets, improve farmers’ livelihoods and resilience, and conserve land, air, and water resources in South Asia.
The Future Higher Educator (Advance HE Collaborative Award) This project explores how higher education educators can navigate the growing role of AI in teaching and learning.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Our work maps to six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):