Stephanie Bertels

Research Centre Director, Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability

Associate Professor, Technology and Operations Management

Ph.D. (Calgary); M.Sc.1999(Stanford); B.Sc.1997( Queen's)

Segal Room: SGL 4850
Segal Phone: 778.782.5163

Email Address: stephanie_bertels@sfu.ca

Biography

Stephanie is the Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability and an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business. She studies how organizations make the transition towards sustainability by undertaking practitioner informed research on sustainable operations, embedding sustainability and sustainable innovation.

Stephanie founded and leads the Embedding Project (www.embeddingproject.org), a collaborative initiative between researchers and practitioners working to embed sustainability. She brings together companies from across industries and around the world, helping them learn from one another and to understand their own sustainability journeys. To date, Stephanie has worked with over two dozen global firms. She has developed an online knowledge portal featuring a curated selection of the most relevant tools and resources – including practical guides and worksheets developed through her own research – to help practitioners everywhere more effectively embed sustainability into their organizations.

Stephanie teaches courses in managing innovation and change; sustainable operations; and managing for sustainability in both the undergraduate and MBA programs. Stephanie has a BSc in Geological Environmental Engineering, a MSc in Petroleum Engineering and a PhD in Strategy and Global Management and Sustainable Development. She has also worked in industry as an environmental engineering consultant with Golder Associates.

Research Interests

Embedding sustainability into organizational culture, sustainable innovation, strategic change towards sustainability, resilience and reliability

Selected Publications

Articles and Reports

Bertels, S., & Brandon, T. (2018). Next Generation Governance: Developing Position Statements on Sustainability Issues – A Guidebook for Supporting your Board. Vancouver, Canada: Embedding Project.

Hamann, R., & Bertels, S. (2018). The institutional work of exploitation: Employers' work to create and perpetuate inequality. Journal of Management Studies, 55(3), 394-423. http://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12325

Dobson, R. S., & Bertels, S. (2017). The road to context: Contextualising your strategy and goals: A guide. Vancouver, Canada: Embedding Project.

Dobson, R. S., & Bertels, S. (2017). The road to context: Contextualising your strategy and goals: A casebook. Vancouver, Canada: Embedding Project.

Bertels, S., Schulschenk, J., Ferry, A., Otto-Mentz, V., & Speck, E. (2016). Supporting your CEO and their decision-making around sustainability. London, Canada: Network for Business Sustainability.

Bertels, S., Schulschenk, J., Ferry, A., Otto-Mentz, V., & Speck, E. (2016). Being an effective change agent. London, Canada: Network for Business Sustainability.

Bertels, S., Howard-Grenville, J., & Pek, S. M. (2016). Cultural molding, shielding and shoring at Oilco: The role of culture in the integration of routines. Organization Science, 27(3), 573-593. http://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2016.1052

Bertels, S., & Lawrence, T. B. (2016). Organizational responses to institutional complexity stemming from emerging logics: The role of individuals. Strategic Organization, 1-37. http://doi.org/10.1177/1476127016641726

Bertels, S., Hoffman, A., & DeJordy, R. (2014). The varied work of challenger movements: Identifying challenger roles in the US environmental movement. Organization Studies, 35(8), 1171-1210. http://doi.org/10.1177/0170840613517601

Bertels, S., Cody, M., & Pek, S. M. (2014). A responsive approach to organizational misconduct: Rehabilitation, reintegration, and the reduction of reoffence. Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(3), 343-370. http://doi.org/10.5840/beq20147212

Maguire, S., & Bertels, S. (2012, ). Chemistry and business that are benign by design: Leveraging the Canadian chemistry industry's leadership on sustainability. Catalyst: The Magazine of Canada's Chemistry Industry, Winter 2012, 19-20.

Bansal, P., Bertels, S., Ewart, T., MacConnachie, P., & O'Brien, J. (2012). Bridging the research practice gap. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(1), 73-92. http://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2011.0140

Robinson, M., Kleffner, A., & Bertels, S. (2011). Signaling sustainability leadership: Empirical evidence of the value of DJSI membership. Journal of Business Ethics, 101(3), 493-505. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0735-y

Bertels, S., van der Byl, C., Dillabough, J., & Bowen, F. (2011). Lessons for environmental regulatory compliance: Suncor's creative sentence - The Firebag case. Calgary, Canada: Haskayne School of Business - University of Calgary.

Miller, K., Bertels, S., Graves, S. A., & Purkis, J. (2011). Embedding sustainability into the culture of municipal government. Ottawa, Canada: The Natural Step.

Bertels, S., Papania, L., & Papania, D. (2010). Embedding sustainability in organizational culture: A systematic review of the body of knowledge. London, Canada: Network for Business Sustainability. http://nbs.net/wp-content/uploads/dec6_embedding_sustainability.pdf

Herremans, I. M., Herschovis, S., & Bertels, S. (2009). Leaders and laggards: The influence of competing logics on corporate environmental action. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(3), 449-472. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-0010-z

Graham, R., & Bertels, S. (2009). Achieving sustainable value: Sustainability portfolio assessment. Greener Management International, 54, 57-67.

Bertels, S., & Peloza, J. (2008). Running to stand still: Managing CSR reputation in an era of rising expectations. Corporate Reputation Review, 11(1), 56-72.

Bertels, S., & Vredenburg, H. (2004). Broadening the notion of governance from the organization to the domain. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 15(Autumn), 33-47.

Books, Book Chapters and Monographs

Howard-Grenville, J., Bertels, S., & Lahneman, B. (2014). Sustainability: How it shapes organizational culture and climate. In Schneider, B., & Barbera, K. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate (pp. 257-275). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199860715.013.0014

Howard-Grenville, J., & Bertels, S. (2011). Organizational culture and environmental action. In Bansal, P., Hoffman, A., & Hoffman, A. J. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook on Business and the Natural Environment (pp. 194-210). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199584451.003.0011

Bertels, S., & Hoffman, A. (2010). Who is part of the environmental movement? Assessing network linkages between NGOs and corporations. In Lyon, T. P. (Eds.), Good Cop Bad Cop: Environmental NGOs and Their Strategies Toward Business (pp. 48-69). Washington, United States: Resources for the Future Press.

Graham, R., & Bertels, S. (2009). Achieving sustainable value: Sustainability portfolio assessment. In Galea, C. (Eds.), Consulting for Business Sustainability. Sheffield, United Kingdom: Greenleaf Publishing.

Teaching Related Material

Bertels, S., van der Byl, C., & Bowen, F. (2013). Environmental compliance at Suncor Energy's Firebag facility. Toronto, Canada: Ivey Management Services.