Global Responsibility - An EFMD Initiative Towards Sustainable Societal and Business Management Development (2003)

The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) produced this 2003 position paper outlining its strategic commitment to advancing global responsibility in management education and business practice. Developed by the EFMD Presidents Task Force in response to the Bangkok Global Forum, the document establishes EFMD's vision for embedding sustainable development principles across its member institutions and corporate partners.

The paper argues that trust between stakeholders is fundamental to long-term socio-economic and environmental sustainability, and that management education is essential to cultivating globally responsible leadership. It emphasizes that while businesses operate within their sphere of influence, corporate leaders must integrate responsibility into organizational culture and decision-making processes. Rather than viewing global responsibility as separate from local concerns, the document frames it as a matter of scale applicable to organizations of all sizes.

EFMD outlines five key objectives: generating and sharing knowledge on global responsibility, developing new capabilities in schools and companies, mainstreaming the issue in management curricula, contributing to global governance, and respecting cultural diversity. The initiative positions EFMD's unique bridge between academia and business as crucial to transforming global responsibility from rhetoric into corporate practice.