Spring 2021 will mark an important milestone for ESCP’s transition, with the creation of several new fundamental courses and electives in the Master in Management, focused on sustainability. Each course will, in their own way, support the sustainable transition of the school and build awareness among its students.
A new fundamental course on Business & Sustainability in the age of Anthropocene (16h)
For the first time in its history, the Master in Management will have a fundamental course on sustainability. In addition to the Designing Tomorrow seminar in the Premaster and existing specializations across campuses, this fundamental course will guarantee that 100% of MiM students share a common and precise understanding of the grand challenges of sustainability (global warming, biodiversity, resource scarcity, social challenges and North / South debates, etc.) and their impact on societies and businesses, as well as their impact on students’ future careers.
3 New 30h sustainability Electives in Paris on Energy, Design Fiction and Marketing
“Energy: Geopolitics, Climate & Business” elective
While energy plays a vital role in modern civilization and economic systems, the energy sector is facing unprecedented issues related to climate change and the need to decarbonize energy and challenges related to access and availability. These issues involve major shifts that are likely to reshape profoundly all businesses, sectors and individual ways of living. While fundamental, these questions are largely neglected within classic business curricula.
This course is built in partnership with Carbone 4, a consulting firm specializing in the energy transition.
Contact coordinating Professor: aacquier@escp.eu
“Design fiction for sustainable futures”
“Prospective design” is an approach that helps to understand and shaping multiple possible futures in order to design tomorrow's products, services and business models in a constantly changing world. Among different prospective oriented approaches, Design fiction is increasingly used by organizations to apprehend, model and test their possible futures. By imagining the world's evolutions in 15 or 20 years and materializing them into fiction related artefacts (videos, newspapers, short novels…).
In this 30- hour elective, students will work in contact with futurists and designers. This will allow each participant to imagine what could happen tomorrow in order to generate debates today that will lead to better decision-making for a sustainable future. The course will be delivered in partnership with a company already engaged in a prospective approach to shape future sustainable business models.
This course is built in partnership with OnePoint and Making Tomorrow
Contact with coordinating Professors: vcarbone@escp.eu, aacquier@escp.eu
“Marketing Transition to Sustainability”
In the last decades, economic development worldwide has been accompanied by intensive use of natural resources and fossil energy, the generation of huge pollution and waste, and the dangerous rise of social inequalities. Within this context, marketing represents a key factor of success to this convergence. As a boundary role function, especially relevant in transition periods, it has the ability to influence consumer demand and purchasing habits towards more sustainable choices, while being accountable to consumers in voicing their expectations and constraints.
The objectives of this elective are to identify and understand consumer attitudes and behaviours in favour or against sustainable offerings; address the need to enlarge sustainable offerings from niche LOHAS segment (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) / few organization to mass markets / majority of organizations and brands, and grow a “win-win / and-and” instead of the conventional “win-lose / or-or” mindset required for managers to become a positive change agent through ethical reasoning in marketing management
Contact with coordinating Professors: jschmitt@escp.eu
A MOOC for future entrepreneurs in Circular Economy (15 hours)
Last but not least, a new MOOC co-designed with the Circular Economy Chair has been converted into an elective for MiM Students. The idea behind this course is to teach entrepreneurship through the lens of circular economy. The participants will learn that it can also act as a lever for innovation and create economic value, through two pillars: Waste prevention and if need be, recycling. This course will also introduce many other aspects of the circular economy: Institutional definitions challenges where the circular economy can be of help, opportunities and perspectives, offered from an economic and entrepreneurship point of view. Through interviews of well-renowned start-ups entrepreneurs in the field (Phenix, Clean Cup, Gobilab, Agence MU, Back Market, Murfy, Hesus, Etnisi) and experts (Phenix, ESCP, ADEME, Circul’R), the participants will discover cutting-edge business models and circular economy entrepreneurship experience.
This 15 hour elective is in French.