The past six years have seen an exponential leap in student engagement well beyond the classroom. Arguably, this came to public attention in 2018 when HEC Paris students joined representatives from France's most prestigious schools and universities in calling for radical change, called the "Manifeste étudiant pour un réveil écologique" (student manifesto for an ecological awakening). So far, it has been signed by over 34,000 students. Then there was Anne-Fleur Goll's June 2022 commencement speech that concluded with a plea to tackle climate change from within the system. This drew a standing ovation and created quite a media stir. Valentine Japiot (H.23) and Max Pernaton (H.25), two members of HEC Transition, the alumni club dedicated to the ecological transition, rang similar alarm bells, calling for a radical transformation of the system at HEC's Climate Day 2023. Quentin Oulie (H.25), currently interning at “Fermes d'avenir”, which coordinates sustainable farms, co-organized a 3-week course on agro-ecology at HEC for students to think about the challenges facing the agricultural world. The list could go on and on. Those engaged are making their demands heard, and they are ready to take on responsibilities to make things happen. We met four students from different HEC programs, engaged or not in the transition.
How will the world look in ten or twenty years? How can we chart new paths to create value while preserving or even enhancing the balance of the Earth and human life conditions? What role can businesses play in shaping desirable futures? Established in 2009 as a pioneering entity within HEC Paris, the Sustainability & Organizations (S&O) Institute is an interdisciplinary institute fostering a community of researchers, business leaders, organizations, and individuals deeply committed to serving human and planetary well-being. Thoughtful reflection, innovative experimentation, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and evolving pedagogy are at the core of our approach.
Ever since he published “Strategic Management”, Edward Freeman has been at the forefront of a theory that stakeholders are interconnected. For his collective body of work, the economist from Darden School, Virginia, received an Honorary Doctorate from HEC Paris, adding his name to the 48 illustrious scholars on the HEC Honoris Causa list. The March 4 ceremony was followed by several thousand spectators, both live and online. Freeman’s visit to the Jouy-en-Josas campus was the occasion to discuss his stakeholder vision with a prism of the 21st century. Extracts from the exceptional Breakthroughs podcast, recorded for Knowledge@HEC.
As the world grapples with sustainability issues, industries renowned for their environmental impact, such as fashion, face increasing scrutiny. A recent research thesis has shed light on alternatives to environmentally detrimental linear models prevalent in the fashion industry. This article, authored by SASI Master's student Andrea Murguia under the guidance of Professor Sam Aflaki, summarizes the thesis, “Sustainable Business Models in the Fashion Industry”, and delves into these findings, revealing innovative ways to navigate towards sustainability.
The business case “Preparing future leaders at Ateme” by Valérie Gauthier, Associate Professor of Languages and Cultures at HEC Paris, has been published on The Case Centre. Based on the Professor’s experience and expertise in relational leadership built over 30 years of research and practice, the case explores how and why a growing tech company prepares today’s talents to face tomorrow’s leadership challenges.
Livestock contributes to nearly 15% of GHG emissions, which 60% are due to enteric fermentation, a natural digestive process that releases methane through burps. Methane has a warming potential 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period. To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the IPCC shows that deep cuts in methane emissions are needed. Recently, a miracle solution has been claimed: feeding cows with a seaweed can cut their methane emissions significantly. But let’s not forget holistic implications of such production for the environment and its feasibility on a large scale. In this article, Clarisse Pierre cautions about the of use of seaweed, based on her MSc "Sustainability and Social Innovation" thesis supervised by Professor Sam Aflaki.
“Montrennoble: Flourishing sustainable city in France” case, written by HEC Paris Professor Bertrand V. Quélin, Bouygues Chair Professor in Smart City and the Common Good and HEC graduate Isaure Fraissinet, has just been released on the Case Centre platform. The case's objective is to help participants analyze the needs of a sustainable and smart city in an encompassing manner, meeting the city’s energy and mobility needs today as well as anticipating the future.
At present, companies understand the urgency to act in favor of the protection of the planet by reducing their carbon footprint but do not often see the business case underlying social impact. Yet businesses that fail to act on social and economic inclusion will find it harder and harder to operate. This is why it is crucial to teach new ways of building strategies to reduce inequalities and fight against poverty. Education Track, Associate Professor Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot of HEC Paris’ Society & Organizations (S&O) Institute explains how this emerging subject is taught at all levels at HEC Paris in order to change organizational cultures from within.
Because of Europe’s strong social welfare tradition, the social dimension of business has an additional legitimacy and urgency here. Top-quality research and teaching have an essential role to play in understanding growing inequalities which hinder the urgently needed ecological transition, in interrogating the environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, their interplay and their promise and limitations, in leveraging theory and the most ambitious empirical methods. As a leading business school and research center in France and Europe, HEC Paris’ faculty has a responsibility in providing science-based evidence and practical tools to reinvent the business of tomorrow.
Camille Putois is the CEO of Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG), a coalition of more than 40 global businesses, representing 4.4 million employees and a combined revenue of over 1 trillion USD. She discusses how this coalition strives for more inclusive practices and navigates the pros and cons of the different methods to measure progress on this crucial topic. For this, she worked with Leandro Nardi and Marieke Huysentruyt, researchers at the Inclusive Economy Center at HEC Paris.