Joris-Johann Lenssen (Senior Fellow)
Table of contents
Vita
Joris-Johann Lenssen is Managing Director of the sustainability consultancy Scholz & Friends Reputation. He studied political science at the Philipps University of Marburg (Dipl.) and later completed an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) at the Vlerick Business School in Brussels as well as the General Management Program at CEDEP/INSEAD in Fontainebleau.
As Managing Director of ABIS - The Academy of Business in Society in Brussels, he managed a global network of over 120 companies and universities on the topics of business ethics, CSR and corporate sustainability. In this role, he was also responsible for large-scale, EU-funded research projects on these topics. At the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft in Berlin, he headed the "Companies for Society" program before moving to Scholz & Friends Reputation in 2023, where he took over as Managing Director in 2025.
His work focuses on the development and implementation of future-proof sustainability strategies for global corporations and medium-sized companies. This also includes the design of corresponding governance structures and reporting processes. Another focus of his work is at the interface between business, politics and civil society, where he deals intensively with issues of social and political corporate engagement.
Main areas of work
- Sustainability strategy and materiality
- Social and political commitment of companies
- Sustainability governance and reporting
Important publications
Kaesemann, J. & Lenssen, J.-J. (2023). Unternehmensengagement und die Ukrainekrise. Berlin: Phineo & Stifterverband.
Lenssen, J.-J., Gerber, L. S., Kononykhina, O. & Geyik, M. (2022). Monitor Unternehmensengagement 2022. Essen: Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
Benning, L., Lenssen, J.-J. & Röders, N. (2022). Strategisches Corporate Volunteering - Mit Skillpreneurs hin zu echten Partnerschaften! Essen: Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
Labigne, A., Benning, L., Kononykhina, O., Röders, N., Lenssen, J.-J., Hollmann, D., Schilcher, C. & Riess, B. (2021). Corona und das gesellschaftliche Engagement der Wirtschaft. Essen: Stifterverband.
Lenssen, J.-J. & Dobler, E. (2021). Werden Unternehmen politischer? Wie sich Unternehmen gesellschaftspolitisch positionieren. Essen: Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
Lenssen, J.-J., Labigne, A. & Schmidt, M. (2021). Unternehmerische Verantwortung und Unternehmensengagement vor dem Hintergrund der Corona-Pandemie. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Lenssen, G. G. & Lenssen, J.-J. (2019). Introduction, Justification and Outline. In: Lenssen, G. G. & Smith, N. C. (eds.). Managing Sustainable Business: An Executive Education Case and Textbook. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. xli-xlv.
Begley, P., Arden, Z. & Lenssen, J.-J. (2017). Building leaders for long-term business performance. Cambridge: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Lenssen, J.-J., Dentchev, N. A. & Roger, L. (2014). Sustainability, risk management and governance: towards an integrative approach. Corporate Governance, 14(3), pp. 395-406.
Lenssen, G., Van Wassenhove, L., Pickard, S. & Lenssen, J.-J. (eds.). (2012). A new era of development: the changing role and responsibility of business in developing countries. Corporate Governance, 12(4).
Lenssen, J.-J. & Van Wassenhove, L. N. (2012). A new era of development: the changing role and responsibility of business in developing countries. Corporate Governance, 12(4), pp. 403-413.
Van den Berghe, L., Levrau, A., Chambers, N. & Lenssen, J.-J. (2011). Future of Corporate Governance.