Prof. Adrian Zicari, ESSEC Business School, and Academic Director of the Council on Business & Society, with an Editorial to introduce the publication of the spring issue of Global Voice magazine #25.
Global Voice magazine #25: Mad, bad, fabulous or fable?
Reasons for anxiety abound, and there is no need in to enumerate them again in this editorial. Each time History has had its challenges, concerns and difficulties and our times are no exception.
However, we can still ask ourselves: can we remain hopeful? Moreover, can we allow ourselves to keep hope today? Indeed, shouldn’t we be bound to hope, as hope is a basic human need? In Global Voice magazine, we always try to maintain a positive view, in every situation, every time. Not because we ignore the obvious difficulties of our times, but because we still believe that humankind has the capacity, the inventiveness, and the ingenuity to find a way. This has been the case in the past – and it should also be the case in our times.
In this sense, in our field of higher education, we see positive signals and reasons for hope. All over the world, increasing numbers of faculty, particularly in our CoBS member schools, are focusing their research on those global issues that matter to society. Many of them have their research regularly featured in this magazine. Younger generations of students are increasingly active and involved in social and environmental issues. And in the CoBS member schools, the increasing involvement of students in our annual CSR competition is a testimony of that growing interest among younger generations. Finally, one may see many promising initiatives gaining momentum – for instance, programmes for green investments and guidelines for clearer, more robust sustainability reporting.
In line with this positive viewpoint, this 25th issue of Global Voice features insightful, inspiring ideas coming from academics and practitioners involved in our alliance. We can (indeed, we should) dare to be hopeful. Welcome to this spring 2023 Global Voice!

Useful links:
- Check out our previous, winter issue of Global Voice magazine
- Visit our website downloads page to view and download the full library of Global Voice magazine issues, practical learning capsules, online masterclasses, and books
- Discover the recently published book in the Routledge-CoBS series: Responsible Finance & Accounting: Performance and profit for better business, society, and planet.
Learn more about the Council on Business & Society
The Council on Business & Society (The CoBS), visionary in its conception and purpose, was created in 2011, and is dedicated to promoting responsible leadership and tackling issues at the crossroads of business and society including sustainability, diversity, ethical leadership and the place responsible business has to play in contributing to the common good.
Member schools are all “Triple Crown” accredited AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA and leaders in their respective countries.
- ESSEC Business School, France-Singapore-Morocco
- FGV-EAESP, Brazil
- School of Management Fudan University, China
- IE Business School, Spain
- Keio Business School, Japan
- Smith School of Business, Canada
- Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa
- Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Warwick Business School, United Kingdom.
