The Centre for Social and Environmental Research (CSEAR) is an international membership-based network that aims to mobilise accounting scholarship to enable a more sustainable society.
CSEAR is overseen by an Executive Council (currently Co-Chaired by Jan Bebbington, Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, Lancaster University and Matias Laine, University of Tampere, Finland) and managed on a day-to-day basis by its Directors (Professor John Ferguson and Dr Shona Russell, University of St Andrews).
Our mission is to encourage and facilitate high quality, relevant research, teaching and external engagement with practice and policy through developing knowledge, expertise, resources and a supportive network for mentoring and career development.
CSEAR aims to be a world-recognized, global community of scholars who engage with students, activists, practitioners, policy makers and other interested groups in order to generate and disseminate knowledge on social and environmental accounting and accountability.
By John Ferguson, CSEAR Co-Director
The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR) was established in 1991 by the late Prof. Rob Gray. Rob’s seminal research, along with his passion for challenging environmental degradation and social injustice, laid the foundations for the field of social and environmental accounting (SEA) research and practice.
CSEAR was formed in 1991 by Professor Rob Gray at the University of Dundee. In 2000 the Centre moved to the University of Glasgow and in 2006 CSEAR was re-established at its current location at the University of St Andrews.
CSEAR’s journal, Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, is published by Routledge. The journal was first published in 1993, replacing the Social Accounting Monitor, which was formed by James Guthrie and Reg Mathews 1982. Learn more about the Social and Environmental Accountability Journal here.
CSEAR currently has over 250 members from 35 different countries, with partner offices in Canada, France and Italy and international associates presenting 14 countries.
CSEAR conferences are held around the world with an International Congress held in St Andrews, Scotland alongside conferences in Australasia, France, Italy, Spain, South America, Portugal, China and Hong Kong. To find out more about forthcoming conferences and other events, click here.
The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR) is run by the democratically elected CSEAR Council which is chaired by Professor Ian Thomson (University of Birmingham), and which in turn is supported by the Committee of International Associates. CSEAR’s journal, Social and Environmental Accountability Journal is supported by the SEAJ Editorial Board.
CSEAR is managed on a day-to-day basis by Co-Directors (Professor John Ferguson and Dr Shona Russell) and an administrator (Louise Henderson). It is supported by the School of Management at the University of St Andrews, and in particular by the Accounting, Governance and Organisations thematic group.
CSEAR welcomes interests to establish partnerships and satellite offices around the world to energise social and environmental accounting and accountability work in their respective countries.
CSEAR offices are located in Canada, France, Italy and South America.
