The Centre for Sustainable Business

Reimagining Business: collectively, urgently, responsibly.

In 2021, Professor Jo Meehan, academic and Knowledge Exchange (KE) teams collaborated with businesses and students to align the University’s sustainability research with real-world needs, identifying key expertise to help organisations urgently pivot towards sustainability and address systemic issues.

This led to the creation of the Centre for Sustainable Business (CSB) in 2022, to tackle the urgent need for organisations to shift towards sustainability and address systemic socio-ecological challenges. Rooted in collaborative KE, CSB brings together academics, businesses, policymakers, civil society, and students to co-create solutions that go beyond conventional approaches.

Emerging from early research with businesses and professional bodies, CSB identified significant blind spots in sustainable futures and futures literacy. These insights directly informed regional policy, such as the Liverpool City Region’s social value strategy, and inspired the launch of the Shaping Sustainable Futures executive education programme in 2023. The course equips participants to imagine alternative futures, address today’s critical uncertainties, and translate research into practice.

CSB’s distinctiveness lies in its business-not-as-usual approach. Instead of relying on traditional consultancy models, it uses participatory workshops, innovative methods such as arts and music, and plain-language policy briefs to engage organisations often fatigued by conventional sustainability messaging. Guided by a diverse advisory board—including social enterprises, B Corps, and global sustainability leaders—CSB challenges organisations to act radically, inclusively, and systemically.

In just two years, CSB has built a community of over 250 organisations across sectors, from micro-organisations to multinationals, embedded sustainability into events and executive education, and strengthened regional cooperation. From shaping innovative and impactful funding bids to embedding sustainability into policy, CSB demonstrates how universities can catalyse net positive impact and restore global socio-ecological systems through radical collaboration and futures thinking.

Read more about the Centre and how it can work for you.

Listen to Professor Meehan’s interview on Sustainable Business as part of the University’s Original Ideas podcast.