Gather our collective energies to tackle the environmental challenges

EDHEC in Transition is a community of EDHEC students and graduates who are aware of the environmental crisis and wish to get involved in favour of an environmental and social transition that is fair. Faced with the major risks of climate change, the collapse of biodiversity and the pollution of our ecosystems, we are mobilising to respond and aim to support EDHEC to show that we are up to the task.

Goals: 

• Networking & mutual support: Encourage mutual support to anyone from EDHEC willing to engage in a transition in their own lives so their actions can reflect their values. Whether in the private sphere by questioning their habits and consumption, or in the professional sphere by giving meaning to their work or turning towards more meaningful organizations and professions.

• Awareness-raising: Speed up awareness-raising among EDHEC alumni and teaching & research staff about environmental and social challenges: present the complexity of these challenges, expose the inaccuracy of preconceived notions, question our organizational methods, discover new models (conferences, workshops, interviews, content-sharing, etc.).

• In the longer term - School in transition: Collaborate with EDHEC to reduce their environmental impact and develop the School’s curricula so they tackle environmental challenges in a profound and coherent way, training the future drivers of change.

To join us

Are you a student, alumnus, member of the board or Professor at EDHEC and would like to sign up or simply take part in the discussion? Join us on Slack to exchange with the whole community: https://edhecentransition.slack.com/signup#/

You can also follow the latest news of EDHEC in Transition on LinkedIn.

Our intentions

The world faces a combination of multiple crises on a scale never before witnessed. As scientists from the IPCC warn us about our climate trajectory, we are also facing the collapse of our ecosystems and the depletion of our natural resources. We are now living in the Anthropocene era, a new epoch marked by the significant impact of human activities on the Earth’s biosphere. The many, unforeseeable and global consequences of these activities are threatening the inhabitability of our planet. Some are already paying the price. At the same time, our democracies are becoming weaker, undermined by stark inequality, the rise of populism and conspiracy theories.  

The facts are dizzying. Yet many of our contemporaries continue to be convinced that technical solutions will herald a bountiful period of “green growth” in which we will retain our material comfort while protecting the environment. We believe this idea, as enticing as it is, is no more than a belief. One need simply read the scientific research that has concluded it is impossible to decouple GDP from CO2 emissions. On the contrary, we believe that an environmental transition is only possible if it achieves objectives of sobriety while strengthening solidarity. 
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And so we are calling for a profound transformation in our economic and organizational systems so they no longer contradict the limits of our planet. The challenge is colossal but it offers us a historic opportunity, that of inventing and experimenting with new ways of living, producing, feeding ourselves, working and travelling, in short new ways of inhabiting this world. An opportunity to give meaning to our actions, our work and our lives.

The world of higher education has now begun to respond and many of its students and alumni are already playing a role in rebuilding our environment, societies and democracies. As members of EDHEC, we hope to contribute to this collective dynamic and ensure that our motto “Make an Impact” can serve a new societal model. This is why we are creating the EDHEC in transition community. Our goal, through our combined energy, is to propose projects that will speed up the School’s transition and that of its students and alumni.

The values that unite us

Radical thinking

Faced with the gravity of these problems, we must profoundly rethink the way we live and produce, in particular by challenging the imperative of economic growth.

Critical mindset

We do not believe there are any easy solutions in this transition, which is why we are wary of promises that are too good to be true and companies’ attempts at greenwashing.

A just social transition

Today’s environmental challenges impose difficult societal choices on us. It is essential that these be made in the spirit of social fairness. The fight against inequality must be a priority so everyone can access essential goods and services without exceeding our planet’s limits.

Humility and benevolence

Faced with the complexity of natural phenomena, and the colossal challenge of rebuilding our environment and society, our position must be one of humility. We welcome differing opinions with benevolence and emphasise the importance of uniting around topics on which there is consensus.

Our website

https://www.edhec-en-transition.org/