RESEARCH & COMMUNICATIONS

Since 1990, Melody McLaren has worked in a number of roles spanning the broad field of business responsibility and sustainability including copywriting, account management, learning and development, website and social media management and academic research. 

 

She spent ten years working at Business in the Community (BITC) in the communications, membership, information technology and human resources teams. In 2009 she became a Research & Marketing/Social Media Management Associate with the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management, co-authoring publications on the topics of social intrapreneurism, knowledge management and sustainable enterprises. 

 

A selection of publications is listed below.

 

David Grayson and Melody McLaren, This Much We Know:  A history of Business in the Community 1982 - 2022.  Published June 2022.

 

 

United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN PRME) Communication on progress 2019-2020  Cranfield School of Management, 2021.

 

United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN PRME) Communication on progress 2017-2018.  Cranfield School of Management, 2019.

 

David Grayson and Melody McLaren, Sparking action on smart energy at work, Smart Energy GB, July 2018.

 

Corporate responsibility research publications with Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Cranfield University School of Management

 

David Grayson, Melody McLaren, Muhammad Roomi, How sustainable enterprises develop (April 2017).

 

David Grayson, Melody McLaren, Heiko Spitzeck, Social Intrapreneurism and All That Jazz (March 2014).  Sheffield:  Greenleaf Publishing. 

 

David Grayson, Heiko Spitzeck, Elisa Alt, Melody McLaren, Creating sustainable businesses through social intrapreneurism (April 2013).

 

David Grayson, Melody McLaren, Heiko Spitzeck, Social intrapreneurs – an extra force for sustainability innovation (January 2011).

 

Melody McLaren with JC Spender, Supporting corporate responsibility performance through effective knowledge management (January 2011).

 

 

Articles and essays

 

David Grayson, Melody McLaren and Heiko Spitzeck. “Creating a tipping point for social

Intrapreneurism”, Ethical Corporation, 11 February 2014.

http://www.ethicalcorp.com/business-strategy/essay-creating-tipping-point-social-intrapreneurism.

 

Melody McLaren and Lionel Bodin. “Social intrapreneurship and all that jazz”. The Guardian, 11 November 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/social-intrapreneurs-jazz.

 

Melody McLaren & Lionel Bodin. “Social Intrapreneurism - A Dialogue”.  Business Fights Poverty, 14 October 2013.  https://businessfightspoverty.org/articles/social-intrapreneurism-a-dialogue/

 

David Grayson with Melody McLaren, “Re-booting capitalism: the action agenda for

Business”, Ethical Corporation, 5 March 2012.  http://www.ethicalcorp.com/business-strategy/essay-re-booting-capitalism-action-agenda-business

 

Case study presentations for Business Disability International

 

Dining With a Difference:  a menu of experiences for senior leaders to help them gain business confidence about disability.

 

PurpleSpace:  the world’s only networking and professional development hub for disabled employees, network and resource group leaders and allies from all sectors and trades.

 

 

Business Action on Health (Workwell campaign) publications for employers

 

Working Joints and Muscles Toolkit (November 2009)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_working_joints_and_muscles.pdf

 

Skills, Health and Wellbeing Toolkit (May 2009)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_skills_health_well_being.pdf

 

Emotional Resilience Toolkit (May 2009)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_emotional_resilience.pdf

 

Physical Activity Toolkit  (May 2009)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_physical_activity.pdf

 

Healthy People = Healthy Profits (March 2009)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_healthy_people_healthy_profits.pdf

 

Nurture Your Staff & Grow Your Business (October 2008)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/Nurture&Grow.pdf

 

Healthy Eating Toolkit (July 2008)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_healthy_eating_toolkit.pdf

 

Wealth from Health campaign launch report (October 2007)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_wealth_from_health.pdf

 

People:  our greatest asset?  A BITC account manager’s guide (July 2007)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_account_managers_guide.pdf

 

 

Business Action on Skills

 

Learn to release your hidden assets:  Discover how cafe culture can transform your company (October 2009)

www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_learn_to_release_hidden_assets.pdf

 

Corporate Responsibility and Annual Reports

 

Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility – Annual Report 2011-12

http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/media/Research/Research%20Centres/Doughty%20Centre%20for%20Corporate%20Responsibility/Doughty%20Centre%20Report%202012.pdf

 

Lafarge Sustainability Report 2006:  https://www.holcim.com/sites/holcim/files/atoms/files/05032007_lafarge_sustainability_report_2006-en.pdf

 

Unilever Sustainable Development Report 2006: 

https://www.unilever.com/Images/es_sustainable-development-report-2006_tcm13-387392_tcm244-409744_en.pdf

 

Web content

 

Ways2Work: a business led, business informed initiative to increase business efficiency through better ways of working and travelling (November 2010)

(This campaign is now on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ways2work)

 

Work Inclusion Best Practice Guide (2010)

mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_work_inclusion_guide.pdf

 

In 2006 I produced website content for BITC Workplace campaign teams:

http://www.bitc.org.uk/take_action/in_the_workplace/index.html

 

In 2000 I created and produced what became BITC's Responsible Business News Roundup (formerly Newsflash).

 

BITC print publications

 

These print publications and speeches can be downloaded as PDF files from our server:

 

Engaging SMEs in community and social issues - a 2002 report for the DTI: http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_dti_engaging_smes.pdf

 

A quality job:  the US community relations profession - a 1995 piece for Community Affairs (now Corporate Citizenship) Briefing:

http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/ca_briefing_cr_prof_article_1995.pdf

 

Winter 1993 edition of the BITC Bulletin (produced during 1991-3 with Pagemaker DTP software):

http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_newsletter_winter_93.pdf

 

Seeing is Believing 1992 report: http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_seeing_is_believing_1992.pdf

 

Employee Volunteering:  Lessons from America http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_emp_vol_lessons_america_1992.pdf

 

Sparking Action:  Marketing community involvement to medium-sized businesses - this is the six-page summary (http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_sparking_action.pdf) and this is the full report (http://mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_sparking_action_report.pdf)

 

Directions for the Nineties - a BITC strategy paper:

http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_directions_for_the_nineties.pdf

 

Reporting Community Involvement:  Guidelines for Companies http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_per_cent_club_guidelines.pdf

 

BITC Corporate Reviews.  The 1990 edition (http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_corporate_review_1990.pdf) won an award and the 1992 10^th anniversary edition featured retrospective commentaries bylined by BITC Chief Executive Stephen O’Brien and HRH The Prince of Wales http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_10th_anniversary_retrospective.pdf

 

 

Ghostwritten articles and speeches

 

Robert Evans (Chairman, British Gas; Chairman, BITC) in The Observer: http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_robert_evans_observer_article.pdf

 

Neil Shaw (Chairman, Tate & Lyle; Chairman, BITC) in the London Evening Standard: http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_eve_std_business_charter_article.pdf

 

During 1990-3, speech drafts produced for HRH The Prince of Wales included this example (for the annual Per Cent Club meeting in 1991): http://www.mclarenpartners.net/melody/portfolio/bitc_hrh_speech_draft_per_cent_club_agm_1991.pdf