Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), is continuing its course of action to become “the School of Ecological Transition”. This movement initiated in 2007 at GEM, invited its new students at the beginning of this school year to participate in the “Acts for Sustainability” challenge. This has highlighted the key trends among our students in moving towards adopting a “sustainable” lifestyle.
120 projects against climate change
On a voluntary basis, GEM students were invited to engage in a tangible initiative in response to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal was to encourage them to actively take part in the challenges of the ecological, economic and societal transition, that are among the key 5 engagements at GEM. 120 projects have been proposed, in particular for SDG 12 "Responsible Consumption and Production", and SDG 13 "Climate action". The new generation of students is already proactively involved in:
- Consumption: by favoring local products, with little or no packaging, more respectful of nature and humans.
- Waste: by reducing it, sorting it, recycling it.
- Transport: by favoring soft mobility
- Natural resources: by saving resources, in particular electricity and water.
5 key student trends in favor of the ecological transition
- Using technology wisely with apps that facilitate avoiding waste and carpooling, choosing alternative search engines, and optimizing usage.
- Giving a second life to all those objects that pile up in our cupboards, sharing food and knowledge.
- Moving from individual to collective actions by getting involved in an association or a citizen movement.
- Encouraging experiential understanding, through either more playful initiatives or by getting their hands dirty and helping to clean up natural sites.
- Aligning to a single initiative, as students prefer in-depth change.
Initiatives at GEM to raise awareness of the ecological transition among its new students
- An area dedicated to Sustainability@GEM in the virtual back to school Welcome Forum.
- The Student Sustainability Pathway, a dynamic platform that allows the students to discover how they can develop knowledge, skills and commitments within the school.
- A Sulitest session to measure Sustainable Development Knowledge through this online platform.
- The GEM Manifesto for a Sustainable Future to share the Schools engagements and values.
- Inspiring people and agents of change addressed a personal message to the students at GEM to encourage them to proactively participate in the Acts for Sustainability Challenge. Among them: Eric Piolle (Mayor of Grenoble), Gaspard Forest (Projet Rivière), Marie Pailler (PETZL), Aurélien BARRAU, (Université Grenoble Alpes), Franck Paillaret (Les Affranchis), Fiona Ottaviani (GEM), etc.
- A new school year challenge for our 700 first year Masters in Management (Grande Ecole Program) students on how to impact the world through one of the six grand environmental challenges at GEM: health, work, energy, food, education and the city.
- A new training certificate called « Responsible leadership and followership » to develop critical thought, and to become more responsible in the role of leaders and followers in the future.
In line with its environmental, societal and ecological commitments, and with the mission of the Refugee Committee, that GEM has been a member of since 2015; GEM contributes to the Colibri web site and resources to support welcoming and integration of people in exile. This website aims to provide useful information to people in exile; to communicate on the diverse initiatives engaged in by partner establishments, to share relevant news, to promote actions deployed to support this cause; and to help develop new collaborations between the actors in this field.
