In this interview, Karen Degouve (H.94) explains her pivotal role in coordinating sustainable finance efforts within French banking groups, which face challenges in developing profitable yet planet-conscious businesses. Degouve offers valuable guidance for graduates entering the business world and investors seeking to align their financial decisions with sustainability goals. She also took the time to share her opinion on research findings on ESG and impact investment conducted by the HEC Paris faculty.
At HEC Paris, the integration of research, teaching, and action is a fundamental philosophy that we embody. In today's dynamic landscape, where environmental and social challenges are increasingly prominent, HEC serves as a beacon of innovation and responsibility. As Europe's leading business school, we acknowledge our responsibility to guide future leaders in navigating the complexities of a world in flux.
For a long time, addressing sustainability problems has been regarded as a technological challenge. Today, supporting the transition to a more sustainable world has transcended this technological status and emerged as a quintessential management, economic, and behavioral challenge. Within this realm, research in social sciences and management assumes a pivotal role, offering insights across various crucial dimensions of the transition.
HEC Paris undergoes a transformative shift in its curriculum. Building on its legacy of sustainability initiatives, the institution now prioritizes planetary boundaries and societal impact. The updated curriculum emphasizes sustainability integration and student empowerment for real-world impact. This reflects HEC's dedication to nurturing leaders prepared to address modern challenges.
The Mazars “Purposeful Governance” Chair is the new chair of the S&O Institute’s Purpose Center. Thanks to the engagement of researchers and professionals, Mazars, an international leader in consulting and audit, aims to redefine legal, strategic, financial, accounting, and governance decisions to face ecological and social challenges. Luc Paugam, Associate Professor in Accounting and Management Control, holds the chair and collaborates with Mazars to advance transformative business models. We interviewed Luc Paugam and Maximilien Rouer, Partner Sustainability leader at Mazars, to gain insight into their joint projects and collaborative efforts.
A company that produces submarine electric cables and installs them between countries to electrify the world is under close scrutiny in a context of rising energy demand and the need to preserve natural resources. Yet, Nexans has emerged as a pure player in low-carbon electrification. In this interview, CEO Christopher Guérin discusses how his audacious approach saved the company and shares the essence of Nexans’ partnership with HEC Paris, with the Orchestrating Sustainable Business Transformation Chair, directed by Sebastian Becker, Associate Professor of Accounting and Management Control, under the S&O Climate & Earth Center.
Founder and director of the financial-analysis and short-selling firm Iceberg Research, HEC alumni Arnaud Vagner (H.01) is known for having exposed fraudulent accounting at his former employer, commodities trader Noble Group. Iceberg Research is, like all activist short-sellers, an investigative firm that exposes listed companies that have fraudulent or misleading representations. It is also a traditional long/short fund. Short-selling activists are rare critical voices in capital markets.
Companies are increasingly encouraged, or obliged, to report on their sustainability efforts. However, there is little harmonization across the many sustainability standard-setting organizations. In their latest study, Accounting Professors Hervé Stolowy and Luc Paugam of HEC Paris set out to create a picture of the status of sustainability reporting standards today, and what they really mean. Three key findings: Lack of standards harmonization: A significant lack of harmonization in sustainability reporting standards pose challenges for consistent communication of companies' sustainability efforts. Diverse objectives: Standard-setting organizations have diverse objectives, complicating efforts to establish a globally standardized approach to sustainability reporting. Carbon emissions disclosure: One exception may be carbon emissions disclosure, with convergence in the greenhouse gas emission protocol being adopted by most organizations.
By Hervé Stolowy , Luc Paugam
As many as 83% of clinical trial results do not reach the public domain within one year of their trial end date (Anderson et al, 2015). Many never even make it at all. Why do so many pharmaceutical companies hesitate to disclose their (valuable) results? Could the behavior of their peers and competitors have something to do with it? To address these questions, a study on firms sponsoring clinical trials was carried out by Professor Vedran Capkun of HEC Paris, and his co-authors Yun Lou, Clemens A. Otto, and Yin Wang, all from Singapore Management University.
By Vedran Capkun , Yin Wang
How to improve and digitalize carbon accounting at the service of a decarbonization strategy? A new business case on carbon accounting by Associate Professor of Accounting and Management Control Hélène Löning and graduate Floriane Desbordes of HEC Paris, co-authored by Jean-Pierre Francisco from Colas company, has been published on the Case Centre platform. This two-part business case intends to stimulate a discussion on the forthcoming regulation on carbon reporting, and discusses the carbon accounting practices of Colas, builder of large infrastructure projects.
