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Together, the ESSEC's ecological and social transition

The COVID-19 crisis has confirmed the limits of the current functioning of our society and reinforced the imperative need to redefine our priorities, our economic models and our organizations. To provide responses that meet environmental and social challenges, ESSEC is launching Together, a strategic approach and roadmap for the school's social and environmental transition.

Built over the past 18 months in consultation with all stakeholders, and supported by our Dean and President, Vincenzo Vinzi, Together aims to deeply transform the school in all of its dimensions: teaching, research and campus life. The official internal launch took place on January 20 as part of an initial training day on the theme "Climate and Business," bringing together the entire ESSEC community -  the Executive Committee, directors, professors, staff, students, and alumni -in a unique setting.

A long tradition of commitment

Founded in 1907 to provide training in economics with a strong ethical component, ESSEC has regularly innovated by developing initiatives to serve the common good. The first chair in urban economics (1986), the first chair in social entrepreneurship (2001), the Centre Egalité des chances  (2003) and the Council on Business & Society (2011) are some of the notable initiatives of recent decades. Today, with Together, societal concerns are at the heart of the school’s strategy.

Together: a unique, in-depth transition

Together is a transitional approach that aims to be bold in its capacity to transform the school, holistic, to reach all of its trades and activities, co-constructed with all the stakeholders and finally reflexive since ESSEC will apply to itself what it promotes.

Many actions have already been initiated, in line with the pressing need to bend the global warming curve and not exceed + 2°C in 2100, and also to contribute to the development of more inclusive economies with less inequality and more respect of diversity.

To give meaning to the leadership of tomorrow, ESSEC’s commitments fall into three main categories:

• Environmental: to contribute to the protection of the planet;
• Social and territorial: to fight against social inequalities and in order to invent models of regional development that benefit the community;
• Societal: to be architects of the required transformations of the business school ecosystem and, more broadly, of our society.

Our ambition: to meet society's challenges

ESSEC Business School as a  whole is reinventing itself and responding to the expectations of students and other stakeholders by transforming its pedagogy, research, and life on its campuses.

Among the first 50 transformation projects:

• Training 100% of students in contemporary social and environmental issues. Thus, from the start of the 2020 academic year, all incoming students will have a compulsory education on climate issues.

• The development of knowledge and resources on the challenges of the transition thanks to a broad mobilization of the faculty. In September 2020, a new MOOC “Climate and Business” will be launched in partnership with the consulting firm Carbone4 and a “Sustainability Case Factory” will be created to produce and disseminate educational cases adapted to contemporary challenges.

• The implementation of an exemplary environmental management of campuses by committing in particular to reducing our carbon footprint by 25% in the next 3 years by offering more local and healthier food in our catering outlets and by increasing eco-citizenship workshops.

• Increasing the social diversity of our student body. Thus, we set ourselves the goal of reaching 27% of scholarship recipients among students of the Grande École (currently at  22%) to enrich the companies by training more diverse leaders.

• ESSEC, a business school loyal to its local communities,where new practices of diversity and inclusion will be tested. The Centre Egalité des chances will support twice as many schools by 2022, with the training of nearly 2,500 teachers, with an impact on 60,000 students in 400 middle and high schools.

• Supporting the transformation of our higher education ecosystem and our organizations by contributing, for example, to the FORTES project with the Campus de la Transition.

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