The Environmental Transition Observatory (ETO) examined business schools in France to see how they are integrating environmental transition into their curriculum and operations. They approached 90 business schools and analysed their approach in six key areas: mission and strategy, teaching, research, student engagement, campus management, and business creation. Findings show most schools address these issues in their mission statements and strategies, but only some have robust reporting or stakeholder committees. While research and student engagement are strong, areas such as campus management and eco-entrepreneurship need improvement. Overall, the business education sector in France is making progress in terms of environmental transition.

---

Launched in 2020 by FNEGE (la Fondation Nationale pour l’Enseignement de la Gestion des Entreprises), the ETO is designed to enable managers and directors of management schools to diagnose and quantify the steps that need to be taken in the field of environmental transition and sustainable development.

The FNEGE launched the third edition of the ETO in 2023. A questionnaire was sent to 90 higher education institutions belonging to the FNEGE network in France, including the IAE France network, the business schools of the CDEFM (Conférence des Directeurs des Ecoles Françaises de Management) network, and universities or institutes teaching business administration. A total of 60 institutions responded (30 private and 30 public).

How the questionnaire is constructed

We know that the education students receive, their academic experiences and the ecosystem in which they develop during their studies should prepare them for the environmental, social and societal responsibilities that could impact their future management decisions. Therefore, the questionnaire, originally designed by Jacques Igalens, Professor Emeritus at Toulouse School of Management, seeks to identify the mechanisms that measure how the issues of sustainable development and environmental transition are addressed in French business schools and, once recognised, to what extent they are prepared and engaged with these issues. Six main topics were identified: 1) the school’s raison d’être, mission and strategy, 2) the integration of these issues in teaching and 3) in research 4) in student engagement 5) in campus management and 6) in business creation. The survey focuses on the following questions: Are our higher education institutions adequately preparing their students, the future managers and leaders, for their essential responsibilities in terms of environmental transition, sustainable development and social responsibility? How committed are these schools to these issues? How do they integrate them into their policies and practices?

The results in relation to these six topics are presented in detail in the following sections.

Educational institutions are increasingly engaged in the environmental transition

Taking into account the challenges of environmental transition and sustainable development, it is clear that the vast majority of business schools (77%) explicitly mention sustainable development, energy transition or social responsibility in their statements of mission, purpose or vocation. Even more (93%) have a strategic orientation related to one of these issues. To be more precise, and following the logic that ‘what can’t be measured can’t be improved’, we asked whether performance targets or indicators had been set for these issues. The answer was positive in 70% of cases. However, only about half of the business schools published a social or sustainable development report, although this type of report represents the business school’s actions and impact on the environment. However, in order to be credible, such a report must include both positive and negative results. Of the business schools that responded to our question on the inclusion of negative results (28 business schools), nine did not include them in their CSR report.

Regarding the establishment of stakeholder committees, less than half of the business schools have established such a committee. However, of the 34 business schools that do not have a stakeholder committee, 76% report the existence of some other type of association, but these alternative governance systems do not perform the same functions and cannot be compared to a true stakeholder committee dealing with CSR issues.

In addition, 66% of business schools have signed up to national or international commitments, mainly the UN Global Compact or a specific version of it for management education, known as the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). However, in terms of labelling, we note that few institutions have obtained a label or certification directly related to the energy transition.

Our analysis of the responses on budget and staff dedicated to sustainable development and CSR shows that the average budget (excluding staff costs) is around €11,000. 15% of business schools allocate more than €4000, while 82% allocate less than €1000 to the CSR or sustainable development initiative, which is insufficient to make progress.

There is a very uneven distribution of staff dedicated to these initiatives. Most business schools have only small teams of up to three people, while larger business schools have more robust teams.

Finally, in terms of networking, 62% of the business schools that responded to our questionnaire are members of a network involved in environmental transition. These business schools participate in network activities either regularly, e.g., weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or annually.

How business schools integrate sustainable development and environmental transition issues into their teaching

Business schools have a fundamental role to play in raising awareness and educating future business leaders and managers about environmental and social change. These efforts primarily concern the type of courses offered and the integration of environmental and social concerns into each management discipline.

In order to measure the integration of environmental transition and sustainable development issues in their curricula, we asked questions about the main programmes of the business schools to find out whether or not they have a common core of knowledge on these issues. The results show that the vast majority of responding business schools are addressing this first responsibility. However, learning assessments for this knowledge are not always carried out, and less than a third of business schools undertake such assessments (mainly via Sulitest).

In our questionnaire, we were also interested in training administrative staff because courses dealing with the consequences of environmental issues, energy transition, or CSR should not be limited to students. In this context, we asked about specific courses for administrative staff on these issues and found that 60% of business schools report that they have offered courses on these issues to their staff, while 40% do not offer any training. On average, 38% of staff have attended such courses, leaving considerable room for improvement.

Research into the environmental transition is still in full swing

Research into the environmental transition is thriving, particularly in the areas of research policy, research units and research outputs. The results show that the vast majority of business schools have an environmental transition orientation in their research policy. The majority also have dedicated research units, with an average of 65 academic articles published on these topics. When we asked business schools about their participation in national or international research programmes on environmental transition, sustainable development or CSR, two out of three business schools participated in such programmes, resulting in significant research outputs for 75% of them: publications, academic/scientific events, participation in COP (Conference of the Parties), PRME conferences or other important events.

A strong student engagement …

… however, the results on support for student engagement present a contrasting picture – while the majority of business schools have associations that promote environmental transition and organise awareness campaigns, there is room for improvement in terms of student eco-mobility. The carbon footprint of students’ international travel is rarely measured (28% of business schools), and only 42% of business schools report that they encourage students to use low-carbon transport.

Campus management

Business schools should set a good example in terms of campus management in relation to environmental change. We found that the majority of business schools have a policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; many reported that they had measured their carbon footprint. However, other measures are struggling to take hold. In some cases, this can be explained by the characteristics of the campus itself. For example, biodiversity policies are rare (29% of business schools), but would not make much sense for campuses located in city centres and without green spaces. In addition, few business schools have an environmental travel plan and only 12% of business schools comply with a standard (e.g., NF X50-135-1, a standard for sustainable purchasing).

Business creation

Business schools’ efforts to support the creation of new businesses that actively promote the environmental transition are very uneven. While teaching on alternative forms of entrepreneurship is developing and entrepreneurship is generally promoted by business schools, there is very little specific support for eco-entrepreneurs. To conclude, in terms of preparation and commitment to the environmental transition, the management education sector in France currently has a robust level of maturity. However, the results show that there is a strong correlation between different activities in this area: it is often the same business schools that have a stakeholder committee, carry out a Business School Impact System study, obtain certifications and participate in national and international networks. There is also an interrelationship between certain areas: for example, the business schools that focus their research activities on sustainable development, energy transition or CSR also seem to be at the forefront of introducing a common core of knowledge on environmental transition and pedagogical innovation. In addition, the existence of human and material resources is essential for taking action in the field of environmental transition and promoting the sustainable growth of business schools.

Finally, the ETO report is an opportunity for the leaders of these institutions to take stock of what has already been achieved, measure what remains to be done, and identify the milestones still to be reached in order to train their students to become committed managers in sustainable development and environmental transition.