ESSEC Transition Alumni: "We Raised Awareness Among 500 Alumni in 1 Year"

Launched just 2 years ago, the ESSEC Transition Alumni Club already boasts more than 2,000 members and leads multiple actions within the network. Its aim is to rally the ESSEC community for the environmental and social transition of our society. We learn more with Lou Welgryn (E18), a member of the original team behind this initiative.  

ESSEC: How did ESSEC Transition Alumni come about?
Lou Welgryn: ESSEC Transition was originally a student initiative, launched in 2019 by forty young people from various programmes, aimed at encouraging the School to do more for the environment, through its training programmes, practices and its vision of the world. Submitted to teachers and the Administrative Board, this initiative contributed to the development of the Together strategy, which is currently being steered by  Anne-Claire Pache (E94). 

EA: Why did you decide to extend this activity to ESSEC Alumni?
L. Welgryn: The aim is to boost the move to action and create a momentum of commitment throughout the ESSEC network, not just within the School. We obviously want to continue to influence ESSEC’s decisions in terms of ecology, in particular through our involvement in the development and roll-out of the Together strategy. However, we also want to encourage graduates, of all ages, to convert to meaningful professions, to participate in the emergence of a new, more resilient and sustainable model for society, and to equip them to transform companies. We produced a manifesto which sums up our philosophy, and has been signed by 2,500 alumni to date.

EA: What are the aims of ESSEC Transition Alumni? 
L. Welgryn: Our aim is to act as a laboratory for radical experimentation, to offer a multitude of new ways to make transition systemic, to test those methods and ensure that the best ones are taken up and rolled out on a wide scale by ESSEC Alumni. This move begins with oneself, so we also help ESSEC Alumni to initiate their own transformation, then to inform, equip and connect alumni, by providing them with skills and expertise and by sourcing useful profiles.

EA: More specifically, your actions focus on three objectives. The first: to help ESSEC to take into account and promote environmental and societal matters. What actions do you lead in this aspect? 
L. Welgryn: We try to bring ideas and work with the School to develop solutions to challenges in training, inclusion, and mobility, as well as rankings, so that the above take environmental criteria into account. ESSEC Transition Alumni takes part in COCON, the advisory committee for the Together strategy, which meets every month. We also want to work on the content and experiences available to students during their studies at ESSEC, to place an even greater emphasis on matters of climate change, environment, biodiversity, inequality, and fair transition,  in addition to new business models for companies. Students and teachers alike are welcome to participate in our awareness workshops: Climate Fresk, 2tonnes Workshop, sectoral frescoes, etc.

EA: The second objective is to help graduates wishing to convert to meaningful professions. What solutions do you offer them?
L. Welgryn: Our aim is to build a strong community of alumni looking to get involved or already committed, and to help them move to action faster. Up to now, this action has been based on three main pillars. Firstly, the community: we organise cocktail events for ETA members, share job offers and talk on a daily basis via our Slack. Secondly, the Transition Job Forum: following a successful 2022 edition which attracted more than fifty businesses and hundreds of participants, the 2023 edition, planned for April, will see a scaling-up thanks to the involvement of numerous committed collectives from other schools and the launch of the Ambition Transition initiative. Thirdly, my personal commitment on the ESSEC Alumni Administration Board , through which I was able to initiate, alongside  Benjamin Athuil (E15), the recruitment of two employees devoted to raising awareness of the environmental crisis among the ESSEC community, because you cannot lead a systemic transformation with volunteers alone. I’m delighted the organisation has recognised this need and has found the means to place environmental issues at the heart of its decisions.  

EA: The third and final objective is to equip alumni wishing to transform their company form the inside. How do you go about this?
L. Welgryn: This aspect of our action is primarily led and consolidated by Sandrine Benattar (E86) and Alain Risbourg (EXEC MBA 00) who set to building a three-step process. The first step is to inform alumni. This year we’ve managed to raise awareness among more than 500 people, including the members of the Administration Board and ESSEC Alumni volunteers, specifically via frescoes with sector-based themes (building with the Real Estate, Cities & Territories Club , Digital with the Digital Club, and so on). The second step is to organise conferences and round tables in partnership with other ESSEC Alumni clubs and chapters, around transversal themes such as climate change in the health sector with the Health Club ; the future of air transport in terms of decarbonisation with the Travel Club ; the fight against greenwashing in fashion with the Luxury Club, or the post-oil era and global warming in the Middle East with the  United Arab Emirates Chapter. The third step is to share resources, in particular through the Bouge de là ! podcast launched by Marie Husson (E00), which lends a voice to ESSEC members and experts acting for environmental transition, including  François Merriaux (EXEC M21), Director of Sustainable Development with the industrial group Arc; Caroline Renoux (EXEC M10), founder and director of Birdeo, the leading French recruitment agency for CSR and impact professions; Elisabeth Gaillarde (M17), Director of Sustainable Development with Transition & Growth, or Timothée Parrique, author of  Ralentir ou périr, l'économie de la décroissance [Slow Down or Perish, the Degrowth Economy]. 

EA: Your actions are not limited to the ESSEC sphere. You also advocate the cause with other schools and their networks.  
L. Welgryn: We try to join forces with other, similar organisations to convey strong messages on the inclusion of environmental matters. In particular, we launched a petition on the climate and resilience law, contributed to the publication of recommendations to adapt higher education rankings, and initiated a tribune for more ecology during the 2022 presidential campaign, followed by a similar call to Emmanuel Macron following his election.

EA: How can alumni contribute to your actions?
L. Welgryn: Join our Slack to follow our news, discuss our themes and access our opportunities, by sending a request to lou.welgryn@essec.edu. Join the team for one of our 3 areas of activity by contacting their members directly. Finally, stay up-to-date with our events by following us on  LinkedIn and joining our group via the ESSEC Alumni website!

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