HEC Paris is stepping up its ecological transition strategy with the launch of its new Climate & Business Transition certificate and its first Climate Days conference.
Questions about the climate are pressing now more than ever, with the issue increasingly to the fore in the programs run by HEC Paris. The business school is launching its new Climate & Business Transition certificate this year, led by the Climate & Earth Center with the S&O support of the FII Institute chair. The course will be held from May 2 to June 2 and include 100 hours of lessons. Its key objective will be to help students understand the complex nature of climate action and decarbonization from an economic and societal perspective so they can assist companies on the road to low‐carbon strategies.
The courses, which are designed for all HEC Paris students (Pre-experience programs, MBA and EMBA), are delivered by high-level speakers from academia, business, financial institutions, governments and NGOs. The program includes a module on the Transition Campus, an assignment for the LVMH group, and individual and collective work.
On completing the certificate, students will be in a position to:
- Understand the challenges of the ecological transition at macro and microeconomic level;
- Analyze a company's greenhouse gas emissions and design short and long-term decarbonization strategies in a range of economic sectors;
- Understand the key financial aspects of the zero-carbon transition for businesses and financial institutions, including the risks and opportunities;
- Engage various stakeholders on subjects related to climate change and encourage other actors to contribute to the transition to a clean, climate-resilient economy.
The program is run under the joint academic supervision of Daniel Halbheer and Igor Shishlov, with Professor Halbheer believing that "What differentiates this certificate from competing offerings is the holistic approach -- it is not any of the bottom lines for organizations, society, and the environment in isolation, but all of them considered together that will lead to the solutions businesses and humanity need to ensure the survival of the planet.”
In parallel with the certificate, The Climate & Earth Center at the Society & Organizations (S&O) Institute is holding its first Climate Days meeting, a series of conferences and workshops dedicated to the entire HEC Paris ecosystem, which will take place on May 30 and 31 on the school campus.
At a time when fighting climate change and decarbonizing supply chains are major challenges for companies and policy-makers alike, HEC Paris’s Climate Days aim to show how a new way of thinking can deliver sustainable, creative solutions for businesses, society and the planet as a whole.
A wide range of speakers, including the former Minister for Development and MEP Pascal Canfin, will contribute to discussions on the energy transition, together with professors from HEC Paris and other academic institutions, the Business Schools for Climate Leadership (BS4CL) alliance, and experts from the world of business and NGOs.
François Collin, director of Ecological Transition and the Climate & Earth Center at HEC Paris, explains: "Our school is committed to an ambitious strategic plan on the subject of the transition. This draws on the research skills of professors and new chairs; developing existing courses and introducing new programs; mobilizing the entire student and alumni community; and transforming the campus".
These two new projects will build on other initiatives that have already been introduced by HEC Paris on the theme of the ecological transition, such as the course on Planetary Boundaries. Launched last September, the course – which is intended for all first-year students in the pre-experience program– tackles the development of economic models and corporate responsibility in the face of environmental and societal issues. Planetary Boundaries begins with testimonials from renowned scientists on the climate, biodiversity and natural resources. It follows on from a field course held in Chamonix prior to the start of the new academic year on climate, social and leadership issues, and a campus seminar on the meaning and purpose of businesses. HEC Paris introduced one program on the circular economy and another on biodiversity in January among the three-week academies offered to pre-experience program students.