SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCE 2020: TOKYO, JAPANTHEME: “EMBEDDING THE U.N. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS(SDGS): THE ROLE OF BUSINESS, GOVERNMENTS, ORGANISATIONSAND THE ACADEME”
Graduate School of Business Administration, Meiji University,
Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
20 – 22 November, 2020

Following the four successful Sustainability Conferences inaugurated and convened atMassey Business School, Massey University, Auckland Campus, New Zealand, we are hosting
the fifth conference in Tokyo to continue the conversation for another stimulating‘boundary-spanning’ debate.

PurposeThe UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been in existence for 4 years, and just acouple of months prior to our conference, the SDGs will be 5 years old. Therefore, it isimperative at this juncture to start a critical and frank review of the ways in which business,governments, NGOs, academics and academic institutions, along with other organisations

are embedding the SDGs into their strategies and policies. Thus, this conference is timelyand fundamental to both sustainability and SDGs debates.
While we are witnessing increasing economic growth and technological progress,
environmental problems and social issues such as widening inequality are becoming moreprominent globally. The formation of SDGs, also known as the Global Goals or Agenda 2030,
has reenergized the focus to find lasting solutions to resolve the ‘grand challenges’ and‘wicked problems’ facing the world. The SDGs have been touted as a global roadmap toresolve economic, social and environmental challenges, and yet progress in many areas ofthe SDGs is relatively slow, given the aim to reach the targets by 2030. This begs thequestion: what are the catalysts and barriers to achieving the SDGs?
The aim of this conference, “Embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals: The role ofbusiness, governments, organisations, and the academe” is to provide a forum for academics,practitioners, entrepreneurs, policy makers and the NGOs to come together and debate newideas, research and critical issues in sustainability. The purpose is to advance sustainability
research and discussion by mapping where sustainability theory and practice is heading, witha thorough grounding in what has come before. Further, this conference will provide a forumto share and present experiences and news ideas that would help to better deliver the SDGs.

Call for Papers
Empirical and conceptual papers are invited from academics, practitioners, NGOs and policy
makers for the conference. We invite our participants to explore, but not be limited to, thefollowing themes:
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All areas of the SDGs
The SDGs in the Business Sector
Education, Sustainability and the SDGs
Academics/Academic Institutions and the SDGs
Communicating Sustainability and the SDGs
The SDGs, Sustainability, IT & AI
Global Initiatives and the SDGs
Sustainability, SDGs and SMEs
The role of Government and NGOs in the SDGs debate
Sustainability, the SDSs and The Circular Economy

Submissions
Interested presenters should initially submit an abstract of no longer than 500 words. Itshould include reference to relevant theory/practice, research methodology whereappropriate, findings, conclusions and any recommendations for future action/research.
Abstracts can be sent as a Word attachment in English or Japanese to Professor Koichi

OKADA: okada@meiji.ac.nz by Tuesday, 30th June 2020. All submissions will be subject to aformal double blind peer review and notification of acceptance will be provided by 24th July
2020. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings. On yourproposal please indicate the title of the paper, authors and contact details. Full papers may
also be submitted for peer review if required by your funding institution. Full papers (of nomore than 20 pages) should be sent by 16th October 2020 to be eligible for selection for a
special issue.
Note that 20th of November will be dedicated to the PhD colloquium. We strongly encourage
submissions on different areas of sustainability disciplines from PhD students for inclusion inthe colloquium.
Offers to run symposia, workshops and panel discussions are also welcome.
Further deliverables from the Conference
Selected papers presented at the Conference will be published in a special issue ofCorporate Governance – An International Journal of Business in Society (Emerald publisher).

Early Bird Registration - on or before 31 October 2020
All participants including delegates, speakers and guests should register online withpayment of the registration fee.

Registration Entitlements include:•

Doctoral Workshop, Meiji University, Suragadai Campus, Tokyo 20 November•Welcome Reception, 20 November•

Sustainability Conference, Meiji University, Suragadai Campus, Tokyo 21 & 22November•

Conference Dinner, 21 NovemberRegistration Fee
Full Registration, before 31 October － US$390
Full Registration, after 31 October– US$450

Student Registration, before 31 October －US$180
Student Registration, after 31 October– US$240

Key Dates
Call for Papers - Now OpenRegistration - Now Open
Deadline for Submission of Papers – 30 June, 2020
Notification of Accepted Papers – 24 July, 2020
Early Bird Registration Closes – 31 October, 2020
Deadline for Presenters to Register - 5 November, 2020

VenuesDoctoral Workshop
Date Friday 20 November 2020
Meiji University, Surugadai Campus, Tokyo
Time 14:30 – 17:30

Sustainability Conference
Date Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 November, 2020
Time 10.00am- 5.00pm Saturday / 10.00am - 5.00pm Sunday
Meiji University, Surugadai Campus, Tokyo

Welcome Reception
Date Friday 20 November 2020
Meiji University, Surugadai Campus, Tokyo
Shikon-Kan 6FTime 18.00

Conference Dinner
Date Saturday 21 November 2020
Meiji University, Surugadai Campus, Tokyo
Salon San Liberty tower 23F
Time 18:00

Accommodation
Tokyo is a very attractive, culture and cool city and benefits from plentiful accommodation.
Hotel recommendations will be advised nearer the time.

Contact Us
For all enquiries regarding registration or submission of papers, please contact Professor
Koichi Okada (okada@meiji.ac.jp).
On behalf of the Sustainability Conference 2020 Organizing Committee:☆ Professor Koichi Okada (Meiji University) (Co-Chair)☆ Associate Professor Gabriel Eweje (Massey University) (Co-Chair)
Professor Kenichi Suzuki (Meiji University, Japan)
Associate Professor Shima NAGANO (Meiji University, Japan)
Associate Professor Margaret Brunton (Massey University, New Zealand)
Dr Masahiro Hosoda (Ibaraki University, Japan)
Hitomi Toyosaki (Meiji University)
Maiko Kodama (Meiji University)