World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership (WSSL 2025)

There are numerous definitions of the term sustainable leadership in the literature. These differ in their definitions of leadership and sustainability. Furthermore, there is a difference between the characteristics and skills of the decision-makers and the logic of management theory. In any case, sustainable leadership or responsible leadership has the task of shaping the interplay of forces between conventional and sustainability-related decision-making premises, emphasising the need for a greater emphasis on considerations of sustainable development as part of decision-making processes. This applies to both public and private organisations.

Even though leadership is a key component in the implementation of sustainability at organisations, there is a paucity of events where a special focus on this aspect is given. In order to fill in this gap, the World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership is being organised by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), the University of Salamanca (Spain), in cooperation with the Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme, and the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR).

This Symposium is aimed at those working in or concerned with leadership in a sustainable development context. It provides an opportunity to showcase projects, approaches, and activities that investigate or utilise leadership principles and methods as a means of guiding the world of organisations. The Symposium aims to facilitate networking and the development of partnerships and promote collaborative efforts for those using leadership as a tool to overcome the challenges associated with sustainable development.

Presenters and delegates attending the World Symposium on Sustainability Leadership will come from a wide range of sectors, including, but not restricted to:

1. people working in universities, colleges and training organisations (tertiary education).
2. representatives from companies (SMEs) and large enterprises.
3. members of NGOs working with sustainability.
4. governmental institutions, including representatives from ministries and local government organisations and departments.
5. intergovernmental agencies.
6. sustainability consultants.
7. other interested parties.

• To provide interested actors from across the world with an opportunity to present their work in the field of leadership on sustainable development.
• To provide a platform for the exchange of information, ideas, and experiences from projects and initiatives (whether completed, ongoing, or emerging) focusing on sustainability leadership – an opportunity to share lessons learned, successful initiatives, and good practices from across the world.
• To discuss approaches and experiences used at enterprises, which explore the role of leadership in putting sustainability concepts into practice.

Participants who wish to submit a paper will be invited to contribute towards an edited volume entitled “Implementing Sustainability Leadership in Public and Private Organisations”. This book will be aimed at a wide readership, notably those on the front line of sustainability efforts at universities and companies, along with policymakers, researchers, and students. The book will be a further volume of the award-winning “World Sustainability Series” published by Springer, which, since its creation in 2008, has become the world’s leading book series on sustainable development. The decision of the editors as to which papers may be selected and undergo peer review for the book is final.

Some of the papers may also be submitted for peer-review in the  Journal “Discover Sustainability” published by Springer Nature: The open access fees to be charged are not included in the Symposium fees. Delegates who want to submit their papers to the journal need to pay them in separate.

The Symposium will explore a variety of major themes, such as:
1. Sustainability and Leadership in the Private Sector (e.g. companies, enterprises)
2. Sustainability and Leadership in the Public Sector (e.g. universities, government offices, NGOs, etc)
3. Education of leaders for sustainable development: Lifelong learning, competence development and microcredentials for enhancing sustainability leadership
4. Leadership for Promoting Partnerships for the SDGs

Interconnected Sub-themes which cut across both themes include:
a)    Enabling sustainability leadership;
b)    Stakeholders´ involvement in sustainability;
c)    Innovation in leadership;
d)    The role of partnerships in promoting leadership on sustainable development;
e)    Change management for corporate sustainability;
f)    The role of responsible leadership in the promotion of corporate social responsibility or creating sustainable business models;
g)    The role of leadership in driving communities towards sustainable development;
h)    Leadership for sustainable development and social innovation;
i)    The role of leadership in implementing the SDGs in higher education institutions;
j)    Conceptual aspects of sustainability leadership and responsible leadership;

Other themes may also be considered. Please contact the organising committee if you have any ideas.

Professor Dr. Walter Leal 
Professor Walter Leal holds the Chairs of Climate Change Management at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and Environment and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK). He directs the Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainability Development and Climate Change Management”. His main research interests are in the fields of sustainable development and climate change, also including aspects of climate change and health.

Dr. Javier Sierra
Javier Sierra holds a Ph.D. in Development Economics. He is the representative of the University of Salamanca in the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) and in the European Alliance for Sustainability Research (EASR). He is a member of the Research Group on Economics and Public Policy (GREPP) and the Research Group on Interaction and e-Learning (GRIAL). His research focuses on global studies, development economics, financial inclusion, sustainability, public policy evaluation and educational innovation.

Dr. Joao Eustachio
Dr. João Eustachio is an economist, researcher, and project manager based at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, where he leverages his expertise in sustainability research, sustainability leadership, education for sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability policy. He is the executive director of the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the GERBRAS-SCIENCENET.

Dr. Amanda Lange Salvia
Dr. Amanda Lange Salvia is a Project Manager and Researcher the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She is a Deputy Editor of the Encyclopedia of the Sustainable Development Goals and of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Her background is in Environmental Engineering and her work focuses on the role of universities towards sustainability, the impacts of climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Ángela Suárez-Collado
Dr. Ángela Suárez Collado is a Political Scientist who holds a MA in International Mediterranean Studies and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies. She is the Academic Director of the MA Program in Global and International Studies at the University of Salamanca. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg-Centre for Global Cooperation Research (Germany). She has been a visiting researcher at Georgetown University, Oxford University, the College of Europe in Brugge and the Centre Jacques Berque pour le Développement des Sciences Humaines et Sociales au Maroc. Her research focuses on social movements, local politics and sustainability in North Africa, and Moroccan migration in Europe.

Dr. Carlos Dionisio Pérez-Blanco
Carlos Dionisio Pérez-Blanco is an Associate Professor at Universidad de Salamanca and Research Associate at the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici. He is also the Principal Investigator of the TRANSCEND, TALANOA-WATER and IRENE projects. He was the coordinator of Water Future’s Economic Instruments of Water Security Working Group, an international network of 25 renowned scientists codeveloping the pioneering Global Water Assessment.

Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme – IUSDRP (Germany)
European School of Sustainability Science and Research – ESSSR (Germany)

The Symposium will be organised in two main strands:

Strand 1: presentations 
Presentations will be a combination of plenary and parallel sessions, organised thematically.

Strand 2: posters 
Participants will have the opportunity to exhibit posters describing their work and to distribute information to other participants.

Submissions:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31st January 2025
Deadline for submission of papers: 30th April 2025

These deadlines are important, so that the book can be produced as soon as possible following the event.

Registration:
Deadline for early bird registrations: 28th February 2025
Deadline for late registrations: 3oth April 2025

This event is part of the Continuing Professional Development Programme on Sustainable Development, undertaken by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) and Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP). An official certificate of participation, useful for professional development purposes and to be shown to employers, will be issued to participants, with the equivalent of 20 hours, including attendance to the event and preparation time. The issuing of the Certificate is included in the registration fees.

The event is self-funded, and to offset the costs of staff time, organisation, and book preparation, an early-bird registration fee of Euro 280 (plus taxes) will be charged per delegate. The fee also includes coffee breaks and lunches during the symposium’s days.
Late registrations: Euro 350 (plus taxes) will be charged per delegate.

The Symposium will provide participants with an outstanding opportunity to interact and network with delegates from around the world and with a very broad range of experience and insights.

All questions related to academic inputs and strategic partnerships, as well as the book, should be sent to:
Professor Walter Leal Filho
esssr (at) ls.haw-hamburg (dot) de

All questions related to registrations and accommodation should be sent to:
Dr. João Eustachio
esssr (at) ls.haw-hamburg (dot) de

An abstract should be up to 200 words, it should describe the rationale and aims of the paper, and some of its results. General descriptions of broad contexts should be avoided. The full contact details about the author(s) need to be provided. Abstracts should be written in the third person and not in the first or second one (e.g. I, me, or my paper). Please see below a sample abstract.

Authors whose abstracts have been accepted, will receive further details about how to submit their full papers, and further logistical information. Please send your abstract to:
SDG-Publications Team
esssr (at) ls.haw-hamburg (dot) de

Sample Abstract
Promoting Sustainability Leadership at Universities: needs to be met
Walter Leal (BSc, PhD, DSc, DPhil, DEd, DLitt, FSB, FRGS, FLS)
School of Science and the Environment
Manchester Metropolitan University
Chester Street
Manchester, M1 5GD
United Kingdom
E-mail: info( at )iccip.net

Abstract 
The many pressures faced by universities to implement sustainable development means that new approaches are needed, in order to move it forward. Among other factors, the undertaking of certain strategies is made difficult by the general lack of leadership or a sound leadership framework. This paper presents an analysis about the misconceptions related to the implementation of leadership and universties, and describes the most widespread ones, as well as their implications. A special emphasis is given to the problems and barriers caused by misinformation, which – in turn – prevent the potential of leadership from being realised. Finally, some concrete steps which may be taken in order to break the misconceptions and foster a more systematic view of leadership strategies in higher education, are outlined.