Earth Day: A green travel voucher for students

This scheme is intended to reward emlyon students who adopt an environmentally-friendly attitude by providing a financial incentive for students using green modes of transport (bus, train, car-pooling etc.) when they go abroad on an academic exchange. They will receive financial compensation proportional to the distance traveled to help cover some of the costs of their journey.

The scheme will come into force on September 2024. Its purpose is to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions as part of the School's climate plan.
In parallel, a stricter travel policy will be adopted for all emlyon business school teams: Rail travel must be chosen as a priority for all journeys under six hours.

Encouraging the emergence of new narratives

To make a success of this transition, the school is keen to suggest desirable future scenarios and share inspiring and motivating stories. emlyon is the exclusive partner of a documentary created by three of its students entitled "WAY, le voyage responsable et conscient" which describes their eco-friendly journey using only green modes of transport during their academic exchange year following a wake-up call about the state of the planet (due for release in September 2024).

The School's courses have all been adapted and now systematically address environmental transition, social sustainability and ethics. The School's research professors have developed a methodological approach called “SDGs Inside” for the integration of key CSR skills as well as the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The creation of a mandatory course “Acting to think, thinking to act in the Anthropocene”

This module is delivered to all first-year students via three classes:

1. Acting for the Planet (headed by Prof. Xavier Blot) to gain a better understanding of the complexity of climate-energy-society issues and how to take action by analyzing real-life situations and producing recommendations.
2. Responsible Engagement (headed by Prof. Christine Di Domenico) to contribute to a public-interest mission in line with the SDGs through 50 hours of volunteer work on a project in a non-profit, followed by a course on the synergy between the theory of change and civic engagement.
3. Sustainable Futures (headed by Prof. Thomas Gauthier, the first Associate Dean of Anthropocene pedagogy) to experience never-before-imagined futures to transform the vision of the world as seen by corporate leaders in order to rethink organizational strategy, and in doing so, help to design "habitable" environments”.

Signature of a CSR charter by all emlyon's student associations

emlyon business school is the first management school to co-develop a CSR charter with its students. This ambitious action plan defines a joint framework to govern the environmental and social transition of the School's associations which have undertaken to measure their impact.

Each association will be required to:

• Obtain the Ecolab label awarded by NOISE, the emlyon social and environmental association, for at least one of their major events;
• Train their entire team by organizing 2tonnes workshops;
• Assess their carbon footprint and adopt a roadmap to reduce greenhouse gases by 5% a year for the five biggest events.

Mandatory “Understanding and tackling climate change” training for all administrative staff and Faculty

Training on climate issues is also delivered to staff in the form of a series of compulsory learning modules. The teams will have an opportunity to try out the 2 tonnes workshop and discover training modules on history of the earth, the climate system, the collapse of biodiversity, the depletion of natural resources, impacts on human societies and inequality.

The future emlyon campus boasts exemplary environmental performance

emlyon will be putting its environmental commitments into practice on its new campus located in the heart of Lyon, which will be welcoming the next intake of students at the start of the 2024 academic year.

The campus meets the highest modern sustainable building standards and is already HQE (Haute Qualité Environnementale) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certified and will be the embodiment of the School's biodiversity, energy management and green travel strategy.

Isabelle Huault, Executive President and Dean, emlyon business school: “To mark World Earth Day on April 22, 2024 we are proud to reaffirm our environmental pledge. At emlyon, environmental issues are not just included in our teaching and research but underpin many initiatives which are integral to school life. Earth Day is, of course, the perfect opportunity to put them in the spotlight. But the stakes are much higher: Lyon is one of the cities that has been the hardest hit by climate change and the City of Lyon has decided to become a “Climate-neutral city by 2030.” We play a key role in the local ecosystem and can make a significant contribution - but it is essential to think ahead and ensure we can offer future generations a world fit to live in.”

About emlyon business school:

Founded in 1872 by the Lyon Chamber of Trade and Industry, emlyon business school has a student population of 9,050 representing 125 different nationalities studying on five campuses across the globe (Lyon, Shanghai, Paris, Bhubaneswar and Mumbai). The School boasts a Faculty of 166 international professors and research professors as well as a global network of 200 academic partners allowing emlyon to offer learning paths of the highest standard with a truly international dimension. The School has a 41,700-strong alumni community across 130 countries. emlyon has been a benefit corporation since July 2021 and has defined its purpose as: “Providing lifelong training and support to enlightened people who effectively change organizations to build a society that is fairer, shows solidarity for others and respects the planet.” Its “makers” teaching bonds action and thinking. It places the hybridization of skills and social responsibility at the center of its training programs in order to draw together the best of the socio-economic and academic worlds. Its “Resonances 2028” strategic plan underlines the importance of the “maker mindset” with which its students are imbued and which has been part of the school's DNA since its creation. The plan is built around five qualities which emlyon students - the makers - are expected to demonstrate in order to become the entrepreneurs of change: academic excellence; entrepreneurial spirit, engagement, hybrid knowledge and resonance with society.
www.em-lyon.com

Press contacts:  

KBZ Corporate for emlyon :

Laurence Martin - lmartin@kbzcorporate.com - 06 47 69 85 99