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IÉSEG and B Lab France sign a strategic partnership to contribute to the evolution of organizations towards more sustainable and responsible models

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

11/25/2022

Whether through its Vision (Empowering changemakers for a better society) or its new strategic plan “Inspire – Connect – Transform”, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development play a major role in IÉSEG‘s teaching, programs (including the launch of the Master in Management for Sustainability in September 2022), research, student associations, campus life, etc.

For its part, B Lab France, the French branch of the international NGO B Lab, aims to create common standards, policies, tools and programs that will help change the behavior, culture and structure of today’s economy. B Lab contributes to the influence and development of the B Corp movement in France. B Corp is a French and international community of impact companies, offering a free impact measurement and monitoring tool accessible to all (the B Impact Assessment) as well as a label that certifies companies that respect high social and environmental standards. To date, more than 6,000 companies of all sizes and in all sectors (more than 260 companies in France) have received the B Corp label in 77 countries.

With their shared and aligned visions and missions, IÉSEG and B Lab France have chosen to converge their approach by establishing a strategic partnership, and thus contribute to the transformation of business models towards sustainable and responsible development. 

A win-win partnership

Signature partenariat B Lab - 2Through this partnership, IÉSEG and B Lab France are combining their networks, resources and advice to achieve their ambitious goals.

IÉSEG will have access to the network of companies in the B Corp movement to provide its professor-researchers with data and contacts for their teaching and research work, to enable its students to be connected to these companies to develop their professional network, to establish the School’s strategy around sustainability and ethical issues, and finally to use B Lab’s reputation to develop the Master in Management for Sustainability, which B Lab will be associated with from now on.

Thanks to IÉSEG, B Lab France will have an active partner to boost the development of its B Academy and generate content, approaches and innovative thinking in management education within its various programs. This partnership will also enable the development of specific knowledge through dedicated research projects, led by IÉSEG professors.

Concrete results around 3 major axes 

Built around 3 axes, this partnership (which benefits from the support of the Université Catholique de Lille’s Foundation) aims to develop teaching and learning about sustainability, to develop research and disseminate the results, and finally to animate the networks of each through specific actions of awareness and training.

The Teaching axis

  • IÉSEG will integrate the content proposed by B Lab into its teaching.
  • IÉSEG professors will take part in the B Leaders Training and will collaborate in the development of a “student” version of this training, which IÉSEG students will be able to follow.
  • B Lab France has become a sponsor of the Master in Management for Sustainability and will support the development of this program by integrating the B Leaders Training and the activities, learning and content developed by the organization.
  • Finally, B Lab France will encourage the involvement of B Corp label companies in certain courses and projects (notably the “People – Planet – Profit” project) and will promote the development of end-of-study consulting projects involving the School’s students and companies that are part of the B Corp network.

The Research axis

  • Research projects will be developed jointly and will focus on issues submitted by B Lab France and B Corp companies.
  • The results of these research projects will be disseminated jointly by IÉSEG and B Lab in the academic, managerial, general public, economic, political and institutional spheres in order to give them maximum impact.

The network animation axis

  • IÉSEG will act as a driving force for the B Academy initiatives launched by B Lab France.
  • Case studies, real company issues, cross-functional projects, as well as seminars, events and training sessions with companies that are members of the B Corp network will be offered to IÉSEG students.

For Maria CASTILLO, Director of Social and Environmental Impact at IÉSEG, “this partnership responds to one of IÉSEG’s strategic priorities: to broaden the types of companies and organizations with which we become partners and to favor those that have a positive impact on the world. By partnering with B Lab, our professors will benefit from the experience, knowledge, and impact of their network to develop more case studies, high-level academic research, and training programs that are better adapted to our students’ expectations. This partnership will create real synergies between the B Corp network and all of our stakeholders, and I hope it will pave the way for greater integration of B Corp companies into higher education and research.”

Climène KOECHLIN and Camille PAUMIER, Ecosystems & Programs Development, B Academy by B Lab France, conclude: “We are delighted with this partnership with IÉSEG, which perfectly embodies the ambitions of our B Academy program, a major axis of our development strategy to intensify the emergence of a more equitable, inclusive and regenerative economy. It is essential to get higher education on board and IÉSEG is leading the way.“