Climate change: a zero-waste school

Our commitments

Grenoble named European Green Capital 2022

The jury that decided which of Grenoble, Turin, Dijon or Tallinn would be the ambassador of transitions in 2022 named Grenoble the European Green Capital 2022.

As a school of ecological transition, Grenoble Ecole de Management has actively participated in Grenoble's candidacy through its initiatives around its commitments such as economic peace, the Inclusive sustainability Chair, its recent rankings on this theme and all its actions in terms of ecological transition.

This ambition goes far beyond a commitment to the environment, as our concept of “waste” covers a much broader spectrum:

Resources and Energy

Preserving and reducing the waste of water, gas, electricity and other natural resources, acting for the climate.

Material waste

Reduce food waste, paper, plastic and glass consumption; recycle electronic appliances and consumer goods.

Mobility and transport

Reduce commuting and work-related travel by our students and staff: promote soft and alternative forms of mobility, telecommuting, remote meetings and courses. 

This also includes urgent and equally important societal issues

Immaterial waste

Challenging economic, governance and management systems that use too many resources to increase the productivity of too few people, at a cost: lost time, talent, motivation, etc. Create sponsorship programs, internal training programs, research into well-being, economic peace, alternative forms of markets and organizations.

Social waste

Contribute to a well-functioning local economy. Preserve good jobs and measure self-sufficiency. Reduce precariousness and contribute to social reintegration. Take into account disability and difference, help migrants and refugees, create synergies with the local ecosystem, the sharing, social and solidarity economy.

Cultural waste

Encourage respect for different lifestyles and collaboration between cultures. Promote the values of responsibility, ethics, commitment and action. In our training, research and operations, we serve all our stakeholders, first and foremost society.

Social responsibility

For a better, sustainable world

For over 30 years, our School has been working to integrate social responsibility into its teaching, research and institutional behavior. Our mission is to train responsible and innovative managers who take into account human, social, environmental and economic consequences in their decision-making processes.

Training responsible managers

More than a discipline, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a skill that cuts across all managerial professions and functions. That's why ethics, responsible management and education in sustainable development are an integral part of all our degree courses.

In fact, some courses deal directly with these themes (Paix Economique, Economies Sociales et Solidaires, Agir en Développement Durable). More generally, since 2012, all degree programs have incorporated CSR learning objectives via the 'Assurance of Learning' assessment process.

To encourage our students to self-assess in this area, we are participating in the 'Sustainability Literacy Test' project.  Aimed at all higher education students worldwide, this online questionnaire assesses basic knowledge of sustainable development and both individual and organizational responsibility.

Students at the heart of awareness-raising

Solidarity and commitment are at the heart of the actions carried out by students within the School's associations, all of which are heavily involved in local (e.g. Impact) and international (e.g. SOS) communities. A fine example of how the awareness-raising provided by our training programs is bearing fruit.

Contribute to the development of knowledge

Because the very concepts of CSR and sustainable development are constantly evolving and under review, we want to play an active role in advancing knowledge in this field.
Here again, while all our research teams integrate these cross-disciplinary issues into their work, some are fully dedicated to them, such as the Alternative Forms of Markets and Organizations research team, or the UNESCO Chair for a Culture of Economic Peace.

Involve the whole company

A signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2007, GEM as an institution promotes the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). At the same time, the school is an active participant in the national “Skills for Sustainable Development” working group led by the Conférence des Grandes Ecole and the Conférence des Présidents d'Universités.

In concrete terms, we have embarked on a major CSR initiative on our campus, resulting in an initial Bilan Carbone® in 2014, participation in the creation of the Grenoble PDIE (promoting soft and sustainable mobility) and the implementation of a CSR charter in which we commit to:

• Respect the rights and dignity of every individual
• Promote both solidarity and diversity
• Oppose all forms of corruption and violence
• Reduce and control the environmental impact of our activities
• Contribute to making trade a vehicle for development, equity and peace.

At the same time, we are committed to raising awareness and involving our employees in these issues through in-house training courses such as “How to apply the sustainable reflex in your teaching? Awareness of disabilities, Stress and management, etc.”.

Our employees are also invited to get involved in skills sponsorship: each full-time employee has 5 days a year to share and develop his or her skills, and to get involved in a personal or professional sponsorship project.
The School has been working with Pro Bono Lab Rhône-Alpes since 2013.

All our actions are subject to a self-assessment, reporting and continuous improvement process in line with the Grenelle de l'Environnement 2007 and the guidelines of the Référentiel du Plan Vert drawn up by the CGE and CPU. Reporting is also required as part of EQUIS accreditation and the Business Impact process, with a view to obtaining the “Campus Développement Durable/RSE” label in the near future.