The Pentland Centre is holding a seminar on Safer Ocean Industries: Defining social sustainability expectations by Dr Mahmoud Gad, Dr Ophelia Chidgey and Dr Hesham Yousef.

The Corporations for Safer Ocean Industries project is a research project (funded by the Lloyds Register Foundation) that focuses on social sustainability in the blue economy. For an introduction to the project, see here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/activities/hubs/people-and-the-ocean/c4safe/. This seminar is designed to introduce the details of the project to anyone who is interested in it and in ocean stewardship. The session will involve a series of presentations from members of the research team focusing on: (1) why transparency matters, (2) why focusing on cohorts of corporations is valuable, (3) how we can establish the responsibilities of corporate actors, and (4) what other elements are required to create safer ocean industries. Scholars from any discipline will be welcome, as will companies and their partners who are interested in understanding how social sustainability can be enabled. Jan Bebbington will host the seminar with other project team members providing specialised insights during the seminar. There will also be opportunities for discussion during the seminar. 

NB: The seminar runs from 14:00-15:30 on Teams. 

Please register below - registrations close Sat 17 October 2026. Please contact pentlandcentre@lancaster.ac.uk for queries re booking after that date.

Photo at top of page by Christopher Boswell at Adobestock.

Mahmoud Gad is Associate Professor of Accounting at Lancaster University Management School and a member of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business. His research covers corporate transparency, modern slavery disclosure and the use of AI in corporate reporting, combining accounting research with computational text analysis. He has worked with the Financial Reporting Council on several corporate reporting projects and has given evidence to House of Commons Select Committees.

Dr Ophelia Chidgey is a Researcher in Stakeholder Engagement on the C4SAFE Safer Ocean Industries project. Her research focuses on social sustainability, human rights and stakeholder engagement, with particular interests in how industries affect workers and communities. She holds a PhD in Management Science from Lancaster University, where her research examined gender inequality and the experiences of women workers in global garment supply chains.

Dr Hesham Yousef is a Senior Research Associate at the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, Lancaster University. His research examines corporate sustainability, accountability and governance, with particular interest in how corporate reporting and management control shape organisational behaviour and sustainability outcomes. His published work addresses corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance practices, environmental performance, climate governance, biodiversity disclosure, and the adoption of management accounting innovations. His work has appeared in international journals including Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, and Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change. He is currently part of the Corporations for Safer Ocean Industries (C4SAFE) research team, examining corporate governance, reporting and accountability for social sustainability across ocean industries, with particular attention to worker protection, community impacts and supply-chain due diligence.

Health & Safety and access information:

-  In order to safeguard everyone's health, if you test positive for Covid-19 before the event, or are feeling unwell in any way, please don't attend (and please let us know).

-  The room is on the first floor, lift accessible, wheelchair accessible and has an induction loop. There is a wheelchair accessible toilet nearby.

-  Accessible parking - there is accessible parking on South Drive.

Find out more about the Pentland Centre on our website