Essec Business School

With Arijit Chatterjee and Hugues Bouthinon-Dumas and Bernard Leca

“A new management playbook in the light of social and environmental challenges needs to be written”.

-Foreword, Navigating the Ecological Transition: A Business School Perspective

We all have the responsibility to make our world a better place - and that includes business schools. In a new book, “Navigating the Ecological Transition: A Business School Perspective”, ESSEC professors Hugues Bouthinon-Dumas, Arijit Chatterjee and Bernard Leca gathered insights from a dozen of their fellow faculty members. Together, they provide a multifaceted and multidisciplinary look at how business schools can handle sustainability and stakeholder expectations, and share research-based solutions to contemporary challenges.

What led to this book? The ecological transition, or how to make our world more sustainable, is changing how we do business. This also means that business schools need to adapt accordingly, since students are a key voice in this transition. The next generation no longer wants to carry on “business as usual”: you only have to look at student activism in cases like Occupy Wall Street and countless student protests over the years to see their impact. Business schools, and indeed all institutes of higher learning, must listen to students to provide them with guidance and an education that suits their needs.

The editors take the long view to reflect on the origins of business schools, their role in society, and where they are going. They note the rise of the twin digital and green transitions impacting how we live and work. These are often intertwined, not least because new technologies like generative artificial intelligence often consume massive amounts of energy. Tomorrow’s business leaders need to be responsible and consider the environment in addition to the bottom line. At ESSEC, professors are exploring different ways to approach this transformation, from green finance to responsible innovation to gender equality in business. In this book, ESSEC professors bring together these insights, with 16 professors from six different departments (management, account and management control, economics, information systems, data analytics and operations, marketing, and public & private policy) contributing their expertise. They explore how we can make these transformations happen, how transparency is key to success, etc. Read on for key takeaways from each section.

A paradigm shift: changing hearts and minds at all levels of society

Governments and private companies alike have invested in policies and initiatives to support the environment - and public support can play a big role in their success. Factors like public awareness, economic and cultural conditions, social capital, trust in NGOs and private companies, and trust in science are key in how the public engages with eco-friendly practices. Boosting public support could take place via: stronger communications initiatives, considering public opinion and attitudes in policy-making, less corporate social responsibility marketing to avoid shifting responsibility onto the public, and strengthening public-private partnerships.

Public support also calls for public action and understanding - a paradigm shift. One example is moving away from the use of cars and toward more sustainable modes of transportation. In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has built bike lanes and introduced restrictions on cars - putting the infrastructure in place for a transition. Once those changes took place, the public had to take public transport, walk, or cycle more frequently. A driver with a massive SUV might be resistant to this change - but the city’s changes might make him more likely to talk to others who have made a change and bought electric cars, or now cycle everywhere. Together, all of these shifts can lead to a paradigm shift and collective change in behavior.

The transition also calls for responsible leadership - with the massive impact that companies have on global warming, we need leaders who will develop sustainable business models. Leaders should be accountable not only to their shareholders - but also to society and the planet. This requires companies to partner with one another toward sustainable operations, and understand how companies, individuals, and societies interact with one another. It also means expanding business goals beyond profit and including social and environmental objectives.

The leaders of today and tomorrow must learn to listen to stakeholders. At the same time, stakeholders need to understand how companies work, and what can be expected from firms when they are put under pressure. The book is a constructive initiative and ESSEC aims to build bridges between the business world and other worlds (e.g., public authorities, non-profits, and activists). 

Responsible leaders must be trained - which is where business schools come in. At ESSEC, this is a key priority in our pedagogy, with an emphasis on transdisciplinary education and understanding how to manage a world in transition.

Sustainability: the need for transparency and accountability

To track the progress of sustainability and reduce greenwashing, accounting (and accountability) must be part of the puzzle. Financial reports must include standard information on profits, losses and company assets, as well as indicators related to sustainability. The value-added statement is one possible solution, as it explains how the economic value is shared among stakeholders including employees, the State, the community, and the company itself.

Sustainability accounting can even be used as a catalyst for positive change. One example is the case of Australian live sheep export: researchers propose an Animal Welfare Account to shed insight into the supply chain and its cruelty by taking into account how the process impacts the sheep. This offers a comprehensive framework for evaluating the process, which could stir emotion in the public and lead to a call for change.

Accounting can also be used as a tool to fight greenwashing by forcing corporations to be more transparent. The European Union has implemented regulations to encourage sustainable investing and boost transparency, establishing a green finance taxonomy. This could help harmonize terminology and standards even beyond the EU and improve sustainable finance initiatives globally.

Responsible innovation

In light of these global challenges, we must call into question how we think about innovation. Responsible innovation has become essential for sustainable progress. This means considering environmental, political and human factors: is this innovation necessary, its direct consequences, and the indirect impacts. Not all innovations are positive - and shifting to responsible innovation can help positive progress and respect our planet.

One type of innovation with a complicated legacy is electric and electronic goods. While they are invaluable (and inevitable) in our modern world, we don’t hang on to them forever - and this “perceived obsolescence” generates massive waste. Many people will upgrade to a new phone model even though their old one is still functional, caused by factors like new technology, social comparison, and a desire for novelty. We can combat this by understanding consumer decision-making, offering transparent information to compare products and raising awareness on the cost of replacing our products.

Sustainability: the role of education and engagement

All of these actions require raising awareness in the public and a shared sense of responsibility - this is where business schools come in once again. We can incorporate sustainability into our curricula, to help students think about the energy transition through a multidisciplinary lens. Students should be encouraged to listen, read, ask questions, share their experiences and knowledge, and think critically, to then consider what their contribution will look like. Professors should also share their experience, be open to learning from students’ expertise, and work with their students to encourage dialogue.

Schools aren’t the only entity that can contribute - hospitals also play an important role. This can be challenging, since hospital ecosystems have complex administrative procedures and require the coordination of highly specialized professionals. This calls for “boundary work”, meaning an individual or collective work to influence the boundaries and distinctions of an organization. In France, public hospitals have become more green through the collaboration and mobilization of hospital directors, sustainable development managers, and different departments. Sustainable development managers play an important role, since they influence policy and lay the groundwork for green initiatives to thrive.

Companies and organizations that are “walking the walk” on sustainability should also “talk the talk” and communicate about their work. When companies have a clear strategy, action plan, and specified capital expenditures, they also tend to have stronger actions and a stronger commitment to sustainability. This transparency and communication also helps them gain shareholder support and has benefits for their reputation. In France, the PACTE law requires companies to consider social and environmental challenges in their raison d’être - making it crucial for companies to be sustainable and to show it. 

The energy transition: a focus on Asia and Africa

 A global perspective is necessary to navigating sustainability, since we are all in this together. Countries like China have an enormous impact, and while China has seen an economic boom in recent years, this progress has come at a terrible cost for the environment, with their greenhouse gas emissions rising. Their government now plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, using nuclear, renewable energy sources. This will require cooperation with other countries - and their sustainability initiatives will have geopolitical consequences.

Closer to home (and indeed, home to ESSEC Africa in Rabat), Morocco is emerging as a leader of Africa’s energy transition. They have a strong renewable energy policy that could be a model for the African continent - stemming from public policy and commitment at the highest level of the state. However, this policy has come at a price, and so the country must now consider other challenges like water stress and inclusive development.

No country will be untouched by global warming - meaning that all countries must commit to sustainable development and collaboration in the name of a greener planet.

Business schools: shaping responsible progress

January 2025 was the hottest January on record, a trend that will likely continue. This means that business as usual cannot continue - and as this book shows, a multidisciplinary perspective is needed. Business schools play an important role, as a centre for academic research, a safe place for discussion and challenging the status quo, and shaping tomorrow’s leaders. We can rethink business models and how we teach and assess them, transitioning to a more sustainable way of doing business. We must also equip students with the mindset and tools for managing today’s “grand challenges” and collaborating with diverse stakeholders to handle these challenges in a holistic way. ESSEC has long been committed to this goal, and indeed, sustainability and social change are a key component of our 2024-2028 Transcend strategy. The urgency of the climate crisis demands bold action, and business schools must continue to evolve, inspiring innovation and responsibility in the next generation of decision-makers. The book calls for deeper reflection on the responsibilities of business schools.

This book featured contributions from:

Part 1: From sinners to saints? How companies, mindsets, and paradigms can contribute to sustainability transition?

Shaping citizens’ attitudes to engage in climate action in the global south and global north

Vincenzo Esposito Vinzi, Estefania Santacreu-Vasut, Radu Vranceanu, Cristina Davino

Responsible leadership and sustainable business practices

Stefan Gröschl

Wishing for a shift: a paradigm perspective on ecological transition

Fabrice Cavarretta

Part 2: Sustainability: the need for transparency and accountability

In search of a compass for navigating the ecological transition

Adrian Zicari

Animal welfare: how sustainability accounting can trigger awareness and positive change?

Mark Christensen and Geoffrey Lamberton

From anti-greenwashing toolbox to EU leadership’s sword

Geneviève Helleringer

Part III: From products and profit to responsible innovation

Responsible innovation as a driving force for ecological transition

Xavier Pavie

Replacing old with new: perceived product obsolescence—its impact on consumer behaviour and the planet

Emmanuelle Le Nagard

Part IV: Sustainability: the role of education and engagement

A pragmatic way to teach energy transition stakes in a business school

Laurence De Carlo

When French public hospitals go green? Reworking the boundaries of hospital practices

Marie-Léandre Gomez and Marion Ligonie

How environmental shareholder activism spurs large corporations to communicate on their environmental commitment?

Viviane de Beaufort

Part V: The energy transition: a focus on Asia and Africa

Geopolitical perspectives on China’s sustainability initiatives

Cédomir Nestorovic

Why and how Morocco is pioneering Africa’s energy transition?

Hugues Bouthinon-Dumas and Hamid Bouchikhi

Copyediting by Tom Gamble, Council Coordinator, the Council on Business & Society 

Further reading

 Bouthinon-Dumas, H., Chatterjee, A., & Leca, B. (Eds.). (2024). Navigating the Ecological Transition: A Business School Perspective (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003522355