Making Sense of Climate Change: How to Avoid the Next Big Flood -- Management Lessons for the 21st Century


On Friday 1 April 2011 Gail Whiteman presented her inaugural address entitled ‘Making Sense of Climate Change: How to Avoid the Next Big Flood -- Management Lessons for the 21st Century’.

An insight into behind-the-scenes efforts that made the appointment of RSM's first ECORYS NEI Professor of Sustainability and Climate Change a truly sustainable event was given by drs Ingrid de Vries, EUR's 25,000 Acts of Green campaigner:

The colourful gerbera flowers that decorated the steps to the oratie stage were reclaimed. These flowers were destined for the compost-heap as they were below-standard according to commercial florists.

Each flower was tagged with a message about the 25,000 Acts of Green and were handed out to the guests. There was only one flower left in the Aula after the event, said Ingrid.

Collected litter was made into artworks later in the afternoon by students, under the guidance of artist Marga de Waard.

And of course, Gail's gown and bookmark were made ofsustainably-sourced fibres, making it the first eco-toga for Erasmus University!

About Gail Whiteman

Gail Whiteman is NEI ECORYS Professor of Sustainability and Climate Change at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. She has a PhD from Queen’s School of Business in Canada. Whiteman is co-founder and the Director of the Centre for Corporate Eco-Transformation.

Her research on sustainability has been published in leading management and ecology journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Nature, Ecology & Society, Organisation Studies, Business Strategy & The Environment, among others. Media coverage includes The Wall Street Journal (European Edition), Business Week, Yahoo Finance, European Management Journal, Greenbiz, Climatebiz, Reuters.co.uk, BBC Radio Scotland, Ode Magazine, AD Rotterdam, TV Rijnmond, BBC Radio World Service and the Financial Times.

Abstract the Inaugural Address

Over the last two decades, management studies on sustainability have grown considerably, including a recent surge of research on climate change. However, environmental problems have not been resolved, and most of the top management journals remain focused on the firm, not the system. This presents both a paradox and an opportunity.

The year 2010 was the hottest year on record, making it the warmest decade since 1880. In certain places (like Australia and the Arctic), the impacts of climate change are already apparent. In the future, as CO2 continues to rise, we can expect more extreme events like floods, droughts, fires, and melting ice caps. This has profound implications for the way we manage and organize our societies.

Before we can manage something, we have to make sense of the situation. In a complex environment, people need to pay attention to subtle cues, overcome barriers, and collectively develop ‘sensemaking’ across organizations. If people do not pay sufficient attention, they will encounter a ‘predictable surprise’ – a crisis situation that could be avoided but isn’t because of existing social and economic structures.

The focus of this lecture was how to make better sense of climate change. Professor Whiteman argued that it is essential for managers and academics to take a more systemic approach and collaborate with the natural sciences and local people. She ended with management lessons for the 21st Century.

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Full text of the inaugural address

Photos of the inaugural address