In addition to the many research theses and internship reports undertaken or prepared by the students in the field of sustainable development, Euromed Managemente also has several research units that focus on themes related to Sustainable Development:

Strategy and Environment

• Research concerning vast domains such as the economy and environmental policies, the market for emission permits, environment and international trade, sustainable development and competitiveness, political economics.
Contact: julien.hanoteau@euromed-management.com

• Research focusing on NGOs and on responsibility.
Contact : patrick.micheletti@euromed-management.com

Euro-Mediterranean Management Centre

• The Euro-Mediterranean Centre for the development of SMEs has led to the creation of PYTHEAS - a research unit based at Euromed Management Ecole de Management. This research programme aims at promoting the diversity of innovation and development methods of SMEs/SMIs around the Mediterranean basin. It also has for its objective identifying the social and economic levers necessary to create favourable conditions for sustainable development in countries of the Euro-Mediterranean zone, from Finland to the Sahara. Contact : bernard.paranque@euromed-management.com

• Euromed Management and KPMG have joined forces to create the Euro-Mediterranean programme for Risk Management. This programme adopts a transversal approach to Risk Management within the Mediterranean zone. The aims are to identify risks facing companies in the region, to assess the level of awareness of the managing teams, to identify the means of control, and to evaluate their relevance with respect to the recent incidents that have occurred in companies.
Contact : robert.ohanessian@euromed-management.com

• The Euro-Mediterranean HR programme "Agora" brings together 10 associations representing professionals and academics of the Human Resources domain, from 8 countries of the Western Mediterranean region. Euromed Management is the pilot of the INTERREG IIIC European programme. This programme aims to review the situation regarding the HR function in the different countries of the Mediterranean region and to determine the present and future stakes for HR, as well as the competences that will be required to face future challenges. The project also has for its objective to analyse the situation concerning social responsibility in these countries, both within companies and within organisations (public service, NGOs, multinationals, SMEs). As part of this work, Euromed Management will be holding on 31st August and 1st September 2006, the 24th Summer University on Social Audit, with the participation of European and African professional HR associations and the Algerian, Luxemburger, Moroccan and Tunisian Institutes of Social Audit. The theme will be "Social Audit: current and future offers and requirements".

A survey on Social Audit carried out by the IAS with professionals of the HR function, reveals that this process is still little known. Its objectives and methods are not always well understood. Created in the wake of the Social Review Analysis, Social Audit relies on year original analysis of human resource management practices. Over the past twenty years it has expanded its scope and now also applies to the Social Responsibility of the Company. It includes many different issues such as the Social Label, which is upstream of the HR processes. It is not so much the aspect of Social Label that is important, but rather that of the measures, norms, and indicators used throughout the production process. Consider for instance, the manufacturing of "Jeans", which is a complex process: at the start there are seeds pollinated in India by children's hands, cotton grown in the plains of Central Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in Egypt and in the south of the USA. It is subjected to a first industrial process (ginning and whitening) before being spun and woven, often in a different country. The transformation of the material into clothes corresponds to another trade: the clothing industry, also situated in different locations. The buyer controls the styling upstream then communicates the manufacturing specifications to the subcontractors, from cutting out different pieces to the final assembly and finishing touches. The jeans material is then ready to be sold. At this point consumers will require the presence of labels certifying the origin of the clothes. Throughout this complex process, it is necessary to audit the Human Resource Management at each stage, using the methodology employed in Social Auditing for HR, which is based on the labour rights and regulations enacted by the major international organisations (ILO, OECD, UNO). On these grounds it becomes possible to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the different ethical charters and social labels. New players, NGOs in particular, have started to alert consumers on the consequences of certain HR practices that are in violation of Human Rights in order to save on labour costs. What practices are available today to answer these new requirements? In this context, how will the social auditors adapt? What new domains does Social Auditing cover? Is Social Auditing relevant? What is its legitimacy in view of its capacity to explore these new fields? In our close environment, parity, mixed nature and diversity represent important stakes in the social world and in industry. Within a context of public deficit, are the modes of distribution of social financing appropriate and efficient? How can Social Auditing bring a different perspective, providing concrete elements to help managers and decision-makers assess the methods and the results of their policies? Adel.golli@euromed-management.com