Exploring austerity and planning reforms: insight from UK stakeholders

This paper explores the extent to which UK planning system reforms introduced during austerity affected the expectations, purposes and outcomes for and of planning. The perspectives of UK-wide planning system stakeholders were sought and collected through an extensive questionnaire. The findings indicate that though most reforms were welcomed in principle, the anticipated benefits had not been delivered. Instead, a loss of experienced staff and capacity, and the favouring of a neoliberal ideology that inadvertently constrained the purposes and delivery of the reforms, affecting in turn, planning's evolving raison d'être, occurred. With frequent mentioning of austerity as a needed tool for financial management, given the current national economic conditions e.g., in the UK (living cost crisis, post covid need for economic growth, public funding of facilities), the relevance of this paper is in warning about the risks towards planning reforms, that must now be more precautionary, and more evidence driven, during austerity. © 2023 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.

B Corps and listed companies: empirical analysis on corporate social responsibility and innovation activity

Purpose The purpose of this article is to investigate whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation activity of Certified B Corps (R) is comparable to listed companies in the Italian fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach The study includes a systematic literature review performed on Scopus (R) and combining keywords related to CSR and the fashion industry. Moreover, the literature review involves empirical analyses performed using a mixed-methods approach. First, a text-based content analysis was carried out on the companies' sustainability reports using the keyword scoring approach. The innovation index was then calculated, and multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions were performed. Findings Based on the data available, it has emerged that Certified B Corps (R) who pursue a more significant number of SDGs are more likely to implement circular economy principles. Moreover, Certified B Corps (R) that have higher transparency standards and assume social responsibility practices also have higher innovation activity;in contrast, companies who used CSR only as a marketing tool have lower activity. Research limitations/implications The analyses were influenced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing weaker relationships between the variables, as the analyses involved 2020 data. Furthermore, although the analysis considers the entire population of Certified B Corps (R) and listed companies in the Italian fashion industry, the size of the sample analyzed influenced the results and insights. Therefore, the analysis does not allow for generalizability. Finally, the study was conducted on a single country whose economic and social contexts have influenced some variables. Practical implications The paper highlights some managerial implications. Managers should consider CSR to be an investment and an opportunity to survive the post-COVID-19 pandemic by applying the triple bottom line (TBL) approach in formulating strategies and increasing investments to develop sustainable innovations. Originality/value The article explores B Corps, which has received minimal attention in the literature, to propose a deeper understanding of the topic.

Corrigendum to “Before and after the outbreak of Covid-19: Linking fashion companies' corporate social responsibility approach to consumers’ demand for sustainable products” [J. Clean. Prod. 321, 25 October 2021, 128945](S0959652621031383)(10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128945)

The authors regret <The published paper says Cegarro-Navarro when it should say Cegarra-Navarro>. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in multiple sclerosis patients treated with disease modifying therapies

Introduction: In patients with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) disease- modifying therapies (DMTs) are known to affect immune response to antigens and possibly to SARS-CoV2 vaccine. Therefore, post-vaccination serological assessments are needed to evaluate the effect of the vaccine on SARS-CoV-2 antibody response. Objectives and aims: We designed a prospective multicenter cohort study enrolling pwMS who were scheduled for SARSCov- 2 vaccination with mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2, Pfizer/ BioNTech, Inc or mRNA-1273, Moderna Tx, Inc) to evaluate their effect on SARS-CoV-2 antibody response. Methods: A blood collection for the measure of SARS-CoV-2 antibody before the first vaccine dose and 4 weeks after the second dose was planned, with a centralized and blinded serological assessment (electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, ECLIA, Roche Diagnostics). Results: Preliminary data were collected on 780 pwMS (76% BNT162b2 and 24% mRNA-1273) who had pre- and 4-week post-vaccination blood assessments. 87 (11.2%) were untreated, 154 (19.7%) on ocrelizumab, 25 (3.2%) on rituximab, 85 (10.9%) on fingolimod, 25 (3.2%) on cladribine and 404 (51.7%) on other DMTs. 677 patients (86.8%) had detectable post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. At multivariate analysis, the antibody levels of patients on ocrelizumab (178-fold decrease, p<0.001), fingolimod (26-fold decrease, p<0.001) and rituximab (17-fold decrease, p<0.001) were significantly reduced as compared to untreated patients. Vaccination with mRNA-1273 resulted in a systematically 3.5-fold higher antibody level than with the BNT162b2 vaccine (p<0.001). Interpretation: In pwMS, anti-CD20 treatment and fingolimod led to a reduced humoral response to mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. As mRNA-1273 elicits 3.5-higher antibody levels than BNT162b2, this vaccine may be preferentially considered for patients under anti-CD20 treatment or fingolimod. Combining our data with those that will be produced by studying the cellular immune response to vaccines, and including clinical follow-up, will contribute to better define the most appropriate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine strategies in the context of DMTs and MS. At the time of the ECTRIMS presentation data on the full sample (about 2000 subjects) will be presented.