The Centre for Climate Engagement (CCE) invites expressions of interest from academics and practitioners to serve as guest editors, or as teams of guest editors, for forthcoming themed issues of the Cambridge Forum on Corporate Climate Governance. The new Gold Access Journal is published by Cambridge University Press, with CCE providing strategic and editorial support.
The Journal is seeking proposals for themed issues that advance rigorous, policy-relevant scholarship on corporate climate governance and its implications for business, society and the environment. Guest editors will be responsible for shaping the intellectual focus of the themed issue, developing and issuing a call for papers, overseeing the peer-review process in line with Cambridge University Press standards, and working closely with the Journal’s editorial team to deliver a coherent and high-quality collection.
Proposals are particularly encouraged in the following four priority areas:
- Geopolitics
Geopolitics is reshaping climate strategies around the world. Trade tensions, regional blocs and different regulatory approaches are creating both opportunities and risks for decision-makers navigating an increasingly fragmented world. We are interested in what lessons can be drawn from instances where shifting international relations have impacted sustainability objectives? Understanding these dynamics is essential for corporate leaders and policymakers who face challenging questions in this ever-evolving landscape. Any proposed themed issue should aim to provide insight on how geopolitical realities have affected corporate climate action globally and identify pathways for meaningful progress on climate commitments.
- Just transition and human rights
The transition to a sustainable economy can create winners and losers. This creates profound implications for society as a whole, but most acutely on communities and vulnerable populations worldwide. Equity, human rights, livelihoods and dignity are fundamental elements that corporations and policymakers have to address in their climate strategies, as these have cascading impacts on people across diverse contexts and value chains. How can businesses engage stakeholders in developing equitable and inclusive outcomes? What are the social impacts that corporations need to prioritise? Any proposed themed issue should examine core questions on the social dimensions of climate strategy and explores practical approaches that advances both human and planetary imperatives.
- Nexus of climate, energy, water, nature
The relationships between climate, energy, water, and nature are all tightly interwoven and essential for the myriad of ecosystems that sustain us. As decisions made in one domain will have rippling effects across others, corporate climate strategies increasingly have to recognise these interdependencies. How should organisations assess trade-offs and opportunities that account for interconnections across environmental domains? What is the role of nature-based solutions and how can corporations ensure that interventions deliver genuine benefits to ecosystem health without inadvertently creating new problems? By exploring issues through a nexus perspective, any proposed themed issue should explore new frameworks that help businesses move beyond traditional siloed approaches and expanding governance practices towards a more integrated and systems-oriented thinking.
- Technology and A.I.
Recent technological advances have accelerated innovations across sectors, reshaping how corporations develop their business strategies. Emerging technologies have created fresh opportunities for industries to create new solutions, improve operational efficiencies, reduce emissions, while simultaneously introducing considerations such as resource use, energy demand, scalability and reliability of these new technologies, and unintended consequences. How should corporations evaluate technological innovations? What are the governance structures that support effective oversight of technology risks and opportunities at the board level? Any proposed themed issue should invite contributions that can help corporations navigate technological considerations in advancing their business and climate objectives.
Guest editors will be supported by the Editors-in-Chief throughout the process, including guidance on scope, timelines and dissemination.
Editors-in-Chief
- Lisa M. Fairfax, Penn Carey Law, University of Pennsylvania, USA
- Eldrid Herrington, Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall, and Honorary Fellow of Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK
- Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
- Jane Nelson, Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, USA
- Dan W. Puchniak, Centre for Commercial Law in Asia, Singapore Management University, Singapore
We warmly encourage individuals and collaborative teams, including early-career researchers, to apply. Please submit a proposal by 31 March 2026.