David Grayson
David Grayson

Prof David Grayson CBE joined Cranfield University as director of the new Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility in April 2007, after a thirty year career as a social entrepreneur and campaigner for responsible business, diversity, and small business development. David has Masters degrees from the universities of Cambridge, Newcastle and Brussels, and an honorary doctorate from London South Bank University. His books include: “Corporate Responsibility Coalitions: The Past, Present, and Future of Alliances for Sustainable Capitalism” co-authored with Jane Nelson from Harvard (Greenleaf Publishing and Stanford University Press: 2013); "Corporate Social Opportunity: Seven Steps to make Corporate Social Responsibility work for your business" (Greenleaf - 2004) and "Everybody's Business" (Dorling Kindersley / Financial Times 2001) - both co-authored with Adrian Hodges; and he co-edited “Cranfield on Corporate Sustainability” (Greenleaf 2012). His most recent book is “Social Intrapreneurism and all that Jazz” (Greenleaf 2014 co-authored with Melody McLaren and Heiko Spitzeck). David chairs the national charity Carers UK which works to end carer isolation. Guardian Sustainable Business identified him as one of ten top global tweeters on sustainability leadership. He tweets @DoughtyDavidG
Latest posts from David:
May 4, 2022
Comment: David Grayson, co-author of the Sustainable Business Handbook, explains why he’s on a mission to turn capitalism into a force for good
Dec 14, 2021
Over the past 20 years, David Grayson has seen the same companies forming the ESG mainstay, but now sees positive signs of awareness and commitments taking root in organisations
Nov 30, 2020
Comment: David Grayson of the Cranfield School of Management draws some wider lessons from what was described as 'one of the worst ESG scandals in modern UK history' during the recent House of Commons debate, in which Labour MP Liz Kendall criticised investors for failing to hold Boohoo to account
May 2, 2020
Comment: David Grayson of Cranfield School of Management says the coronavirus crisis has highlighted that to be truly sustainable, businesses must live their purpose
Jan 27, 2020
David Grayson of the Cranfield School of Management says the Davos Manifesto 2020 reflects a recognition by corporate leaders that business as usual is no longer an option
Oct 2, 2019
From paying a living wage to their fair share of tax, David Grayson of the Institute of Business Ethics outlines what Business Roundtable companies need to do to walk their talk
Mar 25, 2019
David Grayson, incoming chair of the Institute of Business Ethics, says looking at business through an ethical lens has never been more crucial
Jul 12, 2018
David Grayson of Cranfield University distils the lessons of his latest book on the future of business leadership, and explains why the SDGs should force companies to rethink their business models
Jul 17, 2017
David Grayson says smart employers understand the business case for helping the growing number of older employees with caring responsibilities
Jan 30, 2017
The Edelman Trust Barometer report shows that trust in companies is at crisis levels. David Grayson argues that we can repair the relationship with society by pushing for progressive policies