The ESSEC Transition Alumni Club, dedicated to the environmental and social transition of our society, attracted almost 700 alumni to its launch event, and more than 1,500 signatures for its manifesto. It is a success worthy of the challenge it faces, one which affects all of us. Here, Lou Welgryn (E18), part of the team behind the initiative, tells us more.  

ESSEC: How did ESSEC Transition Alumni come about?

Lou Welgryn: At its core, ESSEC Transition is a student initiative launched in 2019 by over 40 students from different year groups. It was formed to encourage the school to take greater action on environmental issues, be that through its training programmes, practices, or in the vision of the world it expounds. This initiative, supported by our professors and the board of directors, helped formulate the Together strategy (learn more, here), which is now managed by Anne-Claire Pache (E94). 

EA: Why did you decide to extend the initiative with ESSEC Alumni?

L. Welgryn: The aim is to accelerate the implementation of concrete actions, and to create an activist dynamic across the whole ESSEC network, not just within the school. Of course, we want to keep having our say on ESSEC’s decision-making when it comes to the environment, notably though our involvement in the creation and delivery of the Together strategy. But we also want to encourage recent and not-so-recent graduates to retrain in roles that make a difference, and play an active role in the creation of a new model for society that is more resilient and more sustainable. We have written a manifesto that provides a clear overview of our philosophy and that has, at the time of writing, amassed more than 1500 alumni signatures: read it here!

EA: Your work is based around three themes. First theme: how can you help ESSEC take environmental and social issues into account?

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. Our commitment has been acknowledged by my appointment to COCON, the advisory committee for the Together strategy, that meets every month. We also want to work on the content and experiences available to students during their studies at ESSEC, so that it includes an even greater emphasis on the challenges of the environmental and social transition (climate change, environment, biodiversity, inequality, a fair transition, etc.), and new business models for companies. This cell is coordinated by Clément Pairot (E13), Charlotte Martinez (E17) and myself.

EA: Second theme: how to help graduates who want to retrain into more meaningful roles?

L. Welgryn: We use Slack, a dedicated platform where our community can chat every day, and we often share job offers on our channel. More broadly, we provide an information service: we are working on a guide to retraining, and we are holding an online forum on the new professions of the transition from 8-9 February, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. – sign up here! This cell is coordinated by Inès Pitavy (E19), Apolline Boulaire (E20), Aude Serrano (E12) and Félicie Goyet (E05).

EA: And the final theme: supporting and equipping alumni who want to transform their companies from the inside.

L. Welgryn: We want to give our alumni the knowledge and skills they need to play a driving role in the transition of the companies they work for, by organising themed events, providing tools, and working with other ESSEC Alumni Professional Clubs. This cell is coordinated by Sandrine Benattar (E86), Alain Risbourg (B00), Arnaud Marec (E08) and Hugues de Saint Pierre (E19).

EA: How do you think your launch event in December went?

L. Welgryn: We are very proud to have got so many alumni together – over 700 of them! – for renowned speakers like Jean-Marc Jancovici, founding partner of Carbone 4 and president of the Shift Project, Jean Moreau (E07), co-president of Mouvement Impact France and founder of Phénix (read his interview with ESSEC Alumni here) and Adèle Galey (E12), co-founder of Ticket for Change. Since then, more than 100 people from all ESSEC generations have joined us to actively help create change. It is a message of hope through our network’s capacity to take action.

EA: What other actions have you implemented since then?

L. Welgryn: We launched a “training/action” cycle with the Property, Cities, and Regions Club whose aim is to simultaneously understand the impact that dramatic climate change will have on cities and regions, identify the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the property sector and assess their order of magnitude, as well as to present the solutions that already exist so that we can take action. We are also organising a Fresque du Climat workshop in 21 January with teams from ESSEC’s professional clubs and members of the ESSEC Alumni board of directors, to raise awareness and create similar partnerships with them. 

EA: And in the long-term?

L. Welgryn: We would like our initiative to go beyond ESSEC, to create a dynamic joined by alumni from all grandes écoles. To that end, we do a lot of work with Alumni for the Planet, to help change mindsets and take action on a large scale!  

EA: How do you think ESSEC rates among French grandes écoles in terms of the environmental and social transition?

L. Welgryn: ESSEC has made good progress in some areas and less in others, but the Together strategy provides an ambitious 360° vision of the challenges we face. Our school is not the only one taking action, but very few establishments have committed to such a comprehensive transformation that involves stakeholders on every level: management, professors, graduates, students, partners... And indeed, change will only be possible if everyone at ESSEC works together. 

EA: How can our alumni support your work?

L. Welgryn: Join our Slack channel to find out our latest news, discuss the issues we are facing, and access our opportunities. Send a request to lou.welgryn@essec.edu to be added to the channel. Join the team in one of our three cells, by connecting directly with their members. And make sure you don’t miss any of our events by following our LinkedIn page and joining our group on the ESSEC Alumni website!

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), ESSEC Alumni Content Manager

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