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26 March 2024

Responsibility Project: 900 students from the EM Normandie Business School Programme challenged on the UN's 17 SDGs

SD & CSR

Responsible Project: 900 Master in Management (Programme Grande École) students worked for 3 months to draw up a diagnosis and recommendations on the integration of the SDGs within organisations committed to Sustainable Development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

To encourage students to get involved, EM Normandie Business School and its Foundation are challenging them for the second year running with the "Responsible Project" on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the 193 Member States of the United Nations and brought together in the Agenda 2030. 900 third-year  Master in Management students from the Caen, Le Havre, Paris, Dublin and Oxford campuses have just spent 3 months working in teams of 4 to draw up a diagnosis and recommendations for integrating the SDGs into organisations committed to Sustainable Development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The two winning teams have just been announced.

Mobilised and motivated students

This challenge, devised by EM Normandie Business School and its Foundation, aims to involve students collectively by getting them to work for 3 months on the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), established by the 193 Member States of the United Nations and brought together in the Agenda 2030. The targets, common to all the countries involved, meet the following general objectives: eradicate poverty, protect the planet and guarantee prosperity for all.

At the beginning of February, the 900 third-year Master in Management students from the 5 EM Normandie Business School campuses were divided into teams of 4. With the support of their professors and access to all the resources of the Learning Centre, they set about analysing the process of integrating the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN into 17 companies already committed or wishing to commit to sustainable development and social responsibility.

This challenge is based on two complementary questions:

  • How have companies/organisations integrated the SDOs into their SD CSR policy? (state of play, levers, obstacles) and, if they have not yet integrated the SD, what are their expectations in terms of SD CSR?
  • What recommendations for action can be put forward to better integrate or complete the integration of these SDGs?

Supervised by 16 coaches, the students were put into a professionalisation context based on real company cases. An initial panel of judges then assessed their analytical skills, creativity and proposals, focusing on the real issues facing companies. Following this, 18 finalist teams were selected to defend their projects before a second jury made up of representatives of the EM Normandie Business School Foundation and partner companies (Société Générale, La Poste, U.N.ADERE, ACSEA, Attitude Manche, CFA Sport Animation Tourisme, Clemajob, Ecomiam, Klee, Partelios, Pommier, Réseau Entreprendre, Samsic, SASP, Soudry, The Roof Le Havre).

This challenge is totally in line with EM Normandie Business School's "School for life, School for good" philosophy. We want to develop our students' skills so that they can take part in the major contemporary issues and help change the world for the better! The Responsible Project is a way of making them aware of the concrete levers of action they can suggest to companies to bring about real change in favour of sustainable development and CSR.

explains Elian Pilvin, Dean of EM Normandie Business School.

 

The winners

First prize: awarded by the EM Normandie Business School Foundation to Noémie Couasnon, Danish Goulamhouss, Baptiste Maisonneu and Maxime Roger (Paris campuses), who were working for Groupe Partelios, a developer of housing in Normandy (social landlord, project manager and developer). Some of their proposals included drawing up a travel plan, using 3D printing with aerated concrete to construct more economical and environmentally-friendly buildings, installing digital boilers and "radiator-computers", and developing a project for socially responsible beehives for the company. They were awarded €750, which they chose to donate to the Action leucémies association.

Coup de cœur prize: Baptiste Delaeter, Pierre Desplanques, Pablo Diaz and Nicolas Dufrene (Caen campuses) won this prize for the quality of their action plan for Ecomiam, a food distribution network for frozen products made with 100% French produce. They recommended greening sales areas, working towards passive energy buildings and installing appropriate equipment to use CO2 for the company's freezers. Their €250 prize will also be donated to an association.