ChangeNOW 2025 Recap

From bold ideas to impactful action, this year’s ChangeNOW 2025 summit once again proved to be a key milestone for climate-driven innovation, and HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute was proud to be at the heart of it. This year’s edition, hosted at the Grand Palais in Paris, brought together an impressive ecosystem: over 40,000 participants, 1,000 solutions, 1,200 investors, and attendees from more than 140 countries.

But ChangeNOW is more than just an event, it’s an experience to be lived. It’s a deep dive into a more sustainable world, a vibrant space to learn, be inspired, and be moved. It's an unforgettable gathering where all those committed to building a better future come together. No matter their origin or path in life: entrepreneurs, investors, employees, executives, policymakers, journalists, artists, athletes, activists, students, job seekers, and families alike.

Pitching for the Planet: 5 Startups, 1 Mission

As part of our participation, five impact-driven startups from across our ecosystem took center stage in a live pitch competition, showcasing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Representing programs such as Incubateur HEC Paris (through the International Acceleration program with The Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO), X-HEC Entrepreneurs, WE4G (with the Women's Forum for the Economy & Society), and HEC Challenge+, the selected ventures reflected the diversity, depth, and drive of our community of changemakers.

The finalists were:

• Aquaphys – tackling water pollution through bioremediation (Grégoire Profit)
• SOLREED – innovating in solar panel recycling (Luc Federzoni & Matthieu Verdon)
• PEEL Lab – transforming fruit waste into sustainable materials (Jim Huang)
• Toore – building digital tools for ethical advertising (Mathieu Seris)
• Revolty – creating clean and circular energy storage solutions (Mathilde Janicot & Valentin Heuzé)

And the Winner Is…

Revolty walked away with top honors, impressing the jury with its circular energy solution that merges performance and sustainability. Their pitch stood out not only for its innovation, but also for the clarity of their impact model and go-to-market strategy.

Founded in June 2024, the Revolty adventure truly began on the benches of HEC Paris. Mathilde Janicot, an HEC graduate with professional experience at ENGIE and humanitarian work in Benin, met Valentin during the Master X-HEC Entrepreneur program. Their complementarity - Mathilde on the business side, and Valentin with prior experience in second-life batteries - as well as their shared interest in solar energy, quickly led to the idea of partnering.

The Revolty project was incubated as part of the HEC Paris Startup Launchpad program. They are currently part of the HEC Paris Incubator.

A Powerful Jury & Strong Partnerships

At the heart of this pitch contest was not only the drive of the entrepreneurs, but also the strength of the ecosystem surrounding them. To ensure a robust, insightful, and forward-looking evaluation of the startups, the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute curated a jury composed of committed experts from strategic partner organizations. Their diversity of perspectives reflected our ambition to shape a more inclusive, sustainable, and tech-enabled future.
 

The startups had the opportunity to pitch in front of an exceptional jury, including:

• Anita de Voisins (Venture Partner, daphni & Time4)

Anita brought the perspective of venture capital for good. Through Time4, a new investment initiative created by daphni, HEC Paris, Les Déterminés, and Live for Good. She advocates for investing in entrepreneurs who emerge from non-traditional paths and are often underrepresented in mainstream startup circuits.
 

• Vincent Rapp (Executive Director, Hi! PARIS Center)

A joint initiative between HEC Paris and Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Hi! PARIS serves as a center of excellence in data and AI for science, business, and society. With a strong focus on ethical and responsible AI, Hi! PARIS contributed deep knowledge of how cutting-edge technology can (and must) be used to drive sustainable development and benefit the broader public good.
 

• Emma France (Associate Director Impact Entrepreneurship Programs, HEC Paris).

Emma France provided valuable insights into how startups can align social purpose with scalable business models. Her role emphasized the academic and pedagogical dimension of HEC Paris's mission to equip the next generation of entrepreneurs to build meaningful ventures for society.
 

• Aurélie Lustenberger (Vice-Présidente Global Sustainability, Capgemini Invent)

With deep roots in sustainability and innovation, Capgemini brought to the table its longstanding commitment to responsible business transformation. Their participation reaffirmed the central role large corporations play in fostering and scaling impact-driven startups.

Their thoughtful feedback and questions elevated the conversation around what it takes to scale climate innovation. 

Climate Innovation Is a Collective Effort

Our participation at ChangeNOW 2025 extended well beyond the pitch contest. HEC Paris was present at multiple key moments throughout the event, reflecting our deep and multifaceted engagement with climate leadership:

François Gemenne, Professor at HEC Paris and Academic Director of the Master in Sustainability and Social Innovation (SASI), spoke at a high-level panel titled: "Lessons from the Past: Shaping the Future of International Climate Action", bringing academic insight into global environmental policymaking.

HEC Paris joined the “LEARN. LEAD. TRANSFORM.” session alongside the eight founding members of the BS4CL (Business Schools for Climate Leadership) network: HEC, IE, IESE, INSEAD, IMD, LBS, Cambridge Judge, and Oxford Saïd — a powerful alliance driving climate action in management education.

A VIP networking lunch hosted at the Balcon d’Honneur gathered HEC alumni, BS4CL representatives, and HEC teams to foster dialogue and collaboration on the future of sustainable business and innovation.

Tackling the world’s most pressing challenges requires more than individual brilliance, it demands ecosystem leadership. That means bringing together startups, corporates, researchers, students, and institutions around a shared mission: building a more sustainable future.