Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability
Ethics, Responsibility and
Sustainability at ESCP
Integration of ERS into ESCP’s mission, governance, strategy and current operations
Sustainability On Campuses
Education
ESCP is targeting to have all of its students trained on CSR and Sustainability. This goes through:
- Creation of two specialised masters (MSc International Sustainability Management and Sustainability Entrepreneurship and Innovation) as well as creation specialisations in the MIM Programme
- Implementation of mandatory courses Ethics, responsibility and sustainability in most of our diplomas
- Coordination of several dedicated seminars
Research
ESCP is promoting academic excellence in sustainability:
- See our events and research with the Chair for Circular Economy and sustainable business models
- Check out also the Sustainable business model blog!
Governance
The school is working to better integrate stakeholders in the school’s sustainability processes, including students.
- This process is led by our Associate Dean for Sustainability and the Sustainability Manager, who act as focal points for the school at the federal level and is supported by local representatives on all five campuses.
- Creation of the Sustainable advisory board in Berlin whose members include representatives from large companies, NGOs, ESCP professors and representatives of the school’s administration
Processes
All of our campuses have taken actions to reduce their environmental footprint through energy saving, waste reducing and recycling.
Barometer for Ecological Transition
Read ESCP’s answer to the Barometer for ecological transition.
The 40 questions document is an assessment tool of sustainability policies and actions. Thanks to the collaborative work of ESCP’s departments, spearheaded by the Sustainability Transition team, the School was able to provide a thorough description of internal actions promoting sustainability. The document is attached.
More information about this project can be found here:
Laetitia Langlois
Federal Sustainability Manager
& Paris Campus
llanglois@escp.eu
News
Integration of responsibility in
the School’s educational offerings
We have developed innovative educational content related to sustainability across all its programmes and campuses. For many years, a growing number of professors have been working on the subject, both through their teachings and research activities.
In 2021, the sustainability department was officially created and in October 2021 it counted 17 members.
Our vision
“Reinvent Business for an inclusive society and a sustainable world”
Our mission
- Develop and Share knowledge, practices and imaginaries for sustainable business.
- Create a learning ecosystem empowering change.
- Engage with or community and multiple stakeholders.
of our students
literate in sustainability
members
working in the department
(professors and doctoral students)
Prof teaching
sustainability
Courses about
ethics, sustainability and social innovation
Professors of
the department
Olivier DELBARD
Coordinator of the Sustainability Department
Frank
FIGGE
Aurélien
ACQUIER
Caroline
VERZAT
Ann-Charlotte
TEGLBORG
Ramon
FISAC
Nathalie
PRIME
Valentina
CARBONE
Rolf
BRÜLH
Sylvie
GEISENDORF
Florian
LÜDEKE-FREUND
Joe
MIEMCZYK
Julien
SCHMITT
Gorgi
KRLEV
Giulio
NARDELLA
Our Connectors
Management Control
Fabrizio GRANA
(Turin campus)
Entrepreneurship
Lola HERRERO
(Madrid campus)
Finance
Christophe THIBIERGE
(Paris campus)
FINANCIAL REPORTING AND AUDIT
Martin Schmitt
(Berlin campus)
FINANCIAL REPORTING AND AUDIT
Francesco VENUTI
(Turin campus)
INFORMATION AND OPERATION
MANAGEMENT
Fabienne FEL
(Paris campus)
INFORMATION AND OPERATION
MANAGEMENT
Yannick MEILLER
(Paris campus)
LAW ECONOMICS AND HUMANITIES
Wioletta NAWROT
(London campus)
MANAGEMENT
Anna GLASER
(Paris campus)
MARKETING
Robert WILKEN
(Berlin campus)
Programmes
with ERS
Generalist programmes
Master in Management (MIM)
23 Specialisations
23 specialisations touching on sustainability topics, ethics and social responsibility and 7 specifically dedicated to sustainability (Sustainable Finance, Sustainability Management, Energy Transitions and Sustainability, Sustainability : Rethinking Business Models and the Corporation for Social Innovation, The Green CFO - sustainable corporate finance, Marketing for sustainable development models and Financial and Sustainability reporting for the CFO).
Integration in existing specialisations
Development of a module on Art-Thinking for all students in the entrepreneurial track, centred on sustainability issues (Improbable Planète). 30-hour module on sustainability in the marketing major (Paris)
Core course
Sustainability: Business & Sustainability in the age of Anthropocene (16h, 800 students)
The main objectives of the course are to teach common basis and understanding of the key issues related to sustainability, to understand the relationship between sustainability and business, to boost critical thinking, and to articulate new corporate sustainability and new ways of doing business.
Examples of sustainability electives of the Master in Management
- Energy: Geopolitics, Climate & Business (30h)
- Design fiction for sustainable futures (30h)
- Marketing Transition to Sustainability (30h)
- MOOC for future entrepreneurs in Circular Economy (15h)
- Sustainability Management and Reporting (30h)
- Research and consulting for Social and Environmental Innovation (15h)
- Marketing for Sustainable Business Model (30h)
Bachelor in Management (BSc)
Undergraduate programme gathering high-profile international students who aspire to top international careers....
Berlin
London
Madrid
Paris
Turin
30-hour core course on CSR & Sustainability (B3 - Berlin)
Since 2018, together with ChangeNow, the students from the second year work in groups on a given topic to generate ideas in order to innovate companies and startups.
Executive MBA (EMBA)
Leverage your international management career and bridge the gap between your untapped potential and the world-class leader in you ...
Berlin
London
Madrid
Paris
Turin
Beirut
Elective portfolio on sustainability, circular economy, compliance and human rights.
The EMBA opens its gate with a one week introductory seminar on sustainability “Leadership for a sustainable world - transforming people and business” organised together with the chair of Circular Economy and Jean-Baptiste Say Institute.
MBA in International Management
The MBA in International Management provides young professionals with the business skills and mindset for a successful international career....
Berlin
London
Madrid
Paris
Turin
Warsaw
15-hour core course on Ethics & CSR
The module aims at enhancing candidates’ ability to identify ethical issues and be able to address them as they arise in day-to-day business situations. It will offer candidates an insight into the tools available to assists them in decision making including ethics and CSR as a main business objective.
Specialised programmes on Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability
Specialised Masters including content on Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability
Starting in
September 2019
“Designing Tomorrow: business and sustainability” is the first transversal seminar of Pre-Master's degree for students who join ESCP.
This seminar is based on two pillars:
- A training seminar. Objectives: Become aware of the major climate and current issues; Understand the link between these issues and management by reflecting both threats and opportunities in new markets ; Identify levers of action accessible to managers
- A field survey to be carried out in the first semester. Objective: Offer to students field investigation experience, in the light of major societal and climatic issues and their consideration by economic actors; the opportunity to formulate and disseminate proposals for action that can help address these major issues.
Pedagogical Innovation
Highlights
Re-Think
Since 2016, professors from various departments (humanities, management control, management, and supply chain & logistics) have joined forces to create a new specialisation called Re-Think: Social innovation, alternative business models and sustainability...
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This specialisation digs into major transformations of capitalism (ecological, technological, social and political) and management, and explores the development of alternative models.
Putting a strong emphasis on social sciences, this specialisation strives to balance reflection and action. The specialisation is organised around two central blocs.
The first block is devoted to developing critical thinking and reflexivity among the students through courses such as ‘critical perspectives on capitalism’ and ‘the dark side of sustainability’ (15 hours each).
The second block is centred on understanding and developing alternatives to mainstream management models through courses such as ‘circular economy’ (30 hours), alternative organisations (15 hours), tools & methods for social impact evaluation’ (30 hours) and ‘field-studies in alternative organisations’ (15 hours).
This 120-hour specialisation is offered to M2 students in the MiM on the Paris campus. In 2018-2019, 30 students are enrolled in the specialisation.
Entrepreneurship meets art…and sustainability: Improbable Planet
In 2011, Sylvain Bureau (ESCP Professor in Entrepreneurship) and Pierre Tectin (artist) created a new type of seminar, for entrepreneurs to produce art in order to grasp social transformations and connect them to their entrepreneurial project...
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Since its creation, this seminar, called "Improbable", has attracted more than a thousand entrepreneurs and executives (Orange, La Redoute, Sacem, BPCE, Galeries Lafayette, Canon, etc.). The rules of the game: create a work of art in three days, working in small groups. The objective: to shake up entrepreneurial habits through the experience of artistic creation.
In 2018, Sylvain Bureau focused this seminar on environmental issues, for entrepreneurs to reflect on current business models, environmental challenges, and the bright and dark sides of technological innovation regarding these issues. In 2018 alone, more than 150 students produced works of art on different School campuses.
Change Now
“Building a Sustainable World” is a twofold process created by Anne-charlotte Teglborg in collaboration with ChangeNow.
View more
A topic is chosen each year and the students are invited to identify the major issues related to the topic and the challenges posed by it, highlighting the controversies underlying the issues by confronting the various discussions on the subject. Then, the students are invited to analyse the ecosystem and to draw up a map of the forces and actors involved in this theme. At the end, five innovations addressing the problems identified during the first step will be chosen and they will be presented at the ChangeNow Summit the following year. The process is articulated in two phases:
- The one-day seminar starts with a 3-hour workshop on climate collage aiming at understanding the causes and consequences of climate change, in order to raise awareness, understanding, and motivation to act from students
- The pedagogical project aims to enable students to contribute to the reflection on solutions to major contemporary issues, while allowing them to become familiar with the rich and evolving ecosystem created by ChangeNow.
Research on Ethics, Responsibility,
and Sustainability
Ethics, responsibility, and sustainability represent a significant part of ESCP research output. Since 2015, there has been a significant rise in both the total number of articles published by faculty on these topics, accounting for more than 20% of the publications in 2018 (as of 15th of October).
After April 2021 our research initiatives converged under the same department (see education) and this led to a more organic and comprehensive activity. Today, both within and outside the department we can count more the 40 professors writing on sustainability.
A dedicated research centre
In 2013, the School created a dedicated research centre, SustBusy (Business & Society - Towards a sustainable world) led by the Berlin campus, to work on sustainable development. The research team is made up of 16 ESCP Permanent Professors from the Berlin, Madrid, Paris and Turin campuses, as well as doctoral students from our PhD programmes.
The School also holds a regular research seminar in Paris on Business & Society, which has hosted 20 external researchers since it was created in 2014
Circular economy: from pedagogical innovation to research
Since 2015
Since 2015, Valentina Carbone (Professor of Supply Chain & Logistics) & Aurélien Acquier (Professor of Sustainability Management) have developed a new 30-hour course devoted to the circular economy. Courses are designed through real-life collaborations including both professional partners (start-ups or established companies), public/institutional partners (eco-organisms or public authorities), the School’s professors and students. Students are offered the opportunity to work on real-life management questions for start-ups, companies or institutional partners.Courses are part of the Master in International Sustainability programme, as well as the Re-Think specialisation. It is also being offered as a standalone elective in some programmes (MiM and executive MBA), reaching about 90 students every year. These pedagogical innovations have led to different research projects both on pedagogy and business model innovation related to the circular economy.
Since 2017
Since 2017, within the framework of the Horizon 2020 project, the SustBusy research centre has received €216K in funding from the European Union as part of a European research project entitled “the route to circular economy”. From ESCP, the project is coordinated by Sylvie Geisendorf (Berlin Campus) and involves professors from various campuses (Berlin, London, Paris).
Since 2018
In October 2018, ESCP founded a Research Chair on Circular Economy supported by Deloitte for three years and led by Aurélien Acquier & Valentina Carbone.
In 2018, eight publications had already been accepted in different academic journals: a special issue on the circular economy in California Management Review (guest edited by Terence Tse,London Campus), Organisation & Environment (Florian Lüdeke-Freund, Berlin), Thunderbird Business Review (Sylvie Geisendorf, Berlin; Francesco Rattalino, Turin), Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of Planning and Control (Joe Miemczyk, London Campus).
In view of the current development of research and teaching activities related to ERS, future orientations include creating a dedicated research cluster on sustainability and increasing resources and visibility on these topics.
Working with
Stakeholders
We want to position ourselves as a pioneer on ERS issues, which is why we bring together students, alumni and professors on social innovation, sustainability and much more.
Internal
Student Societies
Our students are actively involved in extra-curricular student activities related to ERS: several student societies are focused on social and environmental issues, and have developed professional activities in this context:
the NOISE ESCP New Observatory for Social & Environmental Innovation), member of the NOISE network located in nine schools and universities around France, is developing content, rethinking education, sharing information and developing social innovation projects, and trying to empower students as change makers.
Fleur de Bitume offers consulting activities for free to help charities on their professional projects.
Wintegreat (now a company renamed each One) has developed innovative programmes to empower qualified refugees and facilitate their professional integration. Such projects involve students, administrative staff and professors as coaches, tutors and mentors of refugees.
Star Trekk' is a sports association. It organises an eco-friendly trek each year and promotes sustainable development.
Solidarité France-Népal, in partnership with HEC students, helps disadvantaged populations in Nepal by organising two-month missions every summer to promote education and improve sanitary conditions.
Creation of an oikos chapter at ESCP after successful application to this international student initiative on sustainability. Organisation of many events for students.
GEA Sustainability is committed to empowering the next generation to build a more sustainable future. Its mission is to educate future leaders through events and awareness campaigns, based on three pillars: EDUCATE the next generation of leaders, INITIATE collaboration with partners to make an impact today because now is the time to act, and NETWORK among students, graduates, and companies who want to create a sustainable future.
Lighthouse - Corporate Sustainability is a non-profit association with the mission to raise awareness about corporate sustainability practices in the academic and business community. Based in Madrid, Lighthouse also offers consulting services to SMEs, proposing new ways to respond to the challenges of a changing planet.
ESCP Alumni
Incubators
Several social innovation incubators in Paris have been started by ESCP alumni:
Discover more:
Directory
ESCP alumni have been active in creating companies centred on sustainability challenges. You will find several examples in the Blue Factory Directory here.
ESCP Alumni
ESCP Alumni also have a group on sustainability aiming at sharing knowledge and experiences.
External
Dissemination of academic knowledge
Dissemination of academic knowledge to professional communities is also managed through various mechanisms:
Professional Conferences
The School hosts or organises various professional conferences (such as ASLOG – a professional logistics association, Lab RSE, Comité 21)
Circular Economy Morning-sessions
As part of the activities of the Circular Economy research chair, ESCP will organise “circular economy morning-sessions” (starting on April 2019) targeting professionals of the circular economy, journalists, consulting experts and academics, to be held every two months on topics about the circular economy.
Publications
As a contribution to public and managerial debates, professors regularly publish articles in theconversation and also produce video materials (through Xerfi) to disseminate knowledge.
SDG-oriented Career Week and conference
SDG-oriented Career Week and conference for the MiM on the Berlin campus (January 10th-11th / Allianz Forum & ESCP Berlin).
Participation in studies on higher education and integration of energy issues (e.g. Shift Project on higher education and carbon transition).
Membership
Club Circul'R
Club Circul’R brings 40 startups together to share the best practices and to collaborate. For many years we have been working together on the circular economy chair and we are glad we are part of their club “Gathering Pioneers".
PRME
We are now part of PRME (Principle for Responsible Management Education). With PRME, we are in the process of writing our report and have been attending BENELUX’s chapter meetings since 2020.
HOCH-N Network
Our Berlin Campus represents one of the first business schools to join the HOCH-N, a German joint project that was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the goal to promote the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a network of higher education institutions.
Conférence des Grandes Ecoles – R2D2
The school has joined the French conférence des grandes écoles dedicated network : «Rendez-vous des responsables du Développement durable » to exchange good practices with other higher education institution and create synergies on the subject.
Other partnerships
Les Echos PLANETE
In 2021, the school worked together with Les Echos Planete, on a conference cycle called “Dix ans pour tout changer”, where a guest, interviewed by a journalist, recollected their journey to sustainability and their motivations behind this transition. Amongst past guests: Jean Jouzel, ex-head of the IPCC scientific board, Isabelle Autissier, navigatrice et présidente d’honneur du WWF France, Elsa Grangier CEO of Ashoka France and Santiago Lefebvre founder and CEO of ChangeNow
Jean JOUZEL
Isabelle AUTISSIER
Elsa GRANGIER
Santiago LEFEBVRE
AXA Climate
Starting from this year, the school will also be partnering with Axa Climate, an insurance company with the aim to help the planet Earth to become a real stakeholder in all companies. ESCP students from the Master of Science (MSc) programmes will have unlimited access to AXA Climate School's online training sessions, an experience, made of 150+ microlearning chapters, 100% customizable, to engage and upskill in the sustainable transition.
WWF
Since 2020 we have been partnering with WWF ESCP with the aim to collaborate in several fields of sustainable business and to evaluate the possibilities for a joint Center for Sustainability Transformation. One purpose of the partnership is the implementation of community & networking events as well as further formats such as an SDG conference, New Business Model Conference and job fairs.
Halte à l'obsolescence programmée
In November 2020, with the support of the school's Circular Economy Chair, the HOP association organised the "Programmed Sustainability Summit". Participants were able to discover initiatives by companies, associations, institutions and student projects committed to the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) in France and Europe
CEC impact
The “Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat” works with the aim of bringing together 150 companies to answer fundamental questions regarding the impact of companies on the environment.
Mairie Onze Paris
Since 2021, our Paris campus has become more involved with local government and has had many exchanges with the 11th District’s city counsel. So far, ESCP has participated in the project “Zero Waste Territories” trajectory as a jury for a call for projects and as a mentor for a students’ consulting team, helping the District further implement its project. It also connected student’s societies with various local primary school in the hopes of raising awareness of young children regarding sustainability.
Citta'Di Torina
The municipality of Turin, Politecnico, University of Turin and ESCP have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on the energy transition of Turin. Turin is one of the 100 "Mission Cities" chosen by the European Commission to reduce its carbon footprint. By developing innovative and shared methodologies and tools and collaborating, each in the context of their mission, this will guide the urban energy transition process. Read more
Camden
ESCP London Campus is supporting the Camden Climate Action Plan by joining others across the Camden Borough to work together towards to lower their emission by 2030 through signing the Camden Climate Pledge. The Pledge provides an opportunity to show publicly the organisation's support, receive recognition and access support through the Camden Climate Change Alliance. The School chose to pledge these 5 themes: Energy Efficiency and Renewables, Waste Prevention, Business Travel and Commuting, Staff Engagement, Encouraging Biodiversity.
It is not the first time that the London campus and the Camden Borough have worked together, as alongside Veolia, the waste management company for a few awareness raising sessions regarding waste for professors and students.
ESCP Transition Network (ETN)Faculty, Alumni, Students
ESCP transition Network (ETN)
ESCP transition Network (ETN) is a collective of faculty, students and alumni. Composed of a 100 members of the ESCP Community, they work together to bridge the gap between organizations and sustainable transformation.
Extra
curricular events
The School regularly organises extra curricular events related to ERS. For example, on the 18th November, 2018, ESCP and the NOISE ESCP co-organised a special conference with Mr. Muhammad Yunus.
Process
of integration
Social Diversity programmes: students enrolled at ESCP as part of the Talent Spring Programme
Grants
- Compliance with Ethics in different processes: research, recruitment
- Berlin campus: Creation of a Sustainability Advisory Board that meets once or twice a year with members from businesses and NGOs in Berlin
- Green Campus Initiative in Berlin / campus management initiatives launched across campuses
Formal commitments to ethics, responsibility and sustainability (e.g. UN PRME)
ESCP uses the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to make sense of sustainability issues in its educational content and interactions with stakeholders. In 2018, the School concluded an exclusive partnership with the UN to participate in UN publications through professors’ contributions concerning these goals. Likewise, ESCP took part in the 2018 ABIS Knowledge Into Action Forum in response to the call from the business community to academia to help develop competitive and innovative business models for the UN SDGs through research and knowledge development.
As a member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), we are committed to its ERS frameworks.
As a founding member of the French “Conférence des Grandes Ecoles”, ESCP participates in the working group on sustainability and social responsibility, in tandem with other French schools and universities, and has used the “référentiel CGE” self-assessment tool in its approach to sustainability. The School is also a Member of “Comité 21”, a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together business, NGOs and academia in France on sustainability issues.
