Citizen Association label: EDHEC honours five student associations for their social commitment

For the first year, EDHEC was delighted to present the Citizen Association awards during the traditional inter-association pitch competition organised by Révélation Entreprendre on 10 September. At this event, Alexandre Caron, Director of Student Engagement and Diversity, along with Nicolas Flaszenski and Clément Leroy, who are in charge of the scheme, presented this innovative label to the many students in attendance and congratulated the winning associations. The prize: financial support of between 1,000 and 2,000 euros to back their projects.

The Citizen Association label was designed to encourage and support student-led civic initiatives whilst enabling students to develop transferable skills that will be useful in both their professional and personal lives. It is based on a framework centred around five key thematic areas, broken down into assessment criteria: ethics and governance; social and community impact; environmental impact; responsible communication and events; and progress monitoring and continuous improvement.

Inspired by the ISO 26000 standard, the scheme has been adapted to the specific characteristics of the voluntary sector and is based on three levels of certification, awarded according to the structure of the initiatives implemented and their CSR impact.

Talons Aiguilles: a step towards more responsible fashion

This first certification campaign recognised five organisations for their commitment to social responsibility and their ability to meet the standard’s requirements. Talons Aiguilles stood out by already achieving Level 2 of the certification, i.e. the ‘contributor’ level.

The fashion association holds several events each year, such as the International Young Designers’ Competition, EDHEC Fashion Week and the L’Escalator fashion show, with the aim of promoting emerging talent. It is the first organisation to achieve this level of recognition. “You can sense a genuine passion and strong convictions among these students, driving them to want to change the norms of the fashion industry. The association has demonstrated a societal, environmental and economic impact: circularity in clothing, the use of innovative materials, the creation of events in partnership with local stakeholders, and work towards a more inclusive representation of body types, amongst other things. The students have successfully documented and monitored their actions to measure their impact in concrete terms ”, emphasises Axel Tagliavini, co-director of the EDHEC Centre for Net Positive Business and a member of the expert panel convened for the audit of the associations.

The ‘Explorer’ level (Level 1) was awarded to four associations: Objectif Réussite (promoting equal opportunities), Raid EDHEC (organising outdoor sports competitions), BDE Master (organising key events in student life) and Demain (providing support to the homeless in the Lille metropolitan area).
Founded less than two years ago, Demain is still in the process of establishing its structure, though this did not prevent them from making a convincing case. “This young association, which organises outreach patrols in Lille, really won us over during the audit. They are born philanthropists!” explains Axel Tagliavini. “More broadly, I’ve noticed that many students aspire to become responsible leaders, even if their level of understanding of CSR issues remains quite varied. I’m also impressed by the robustness of the framework developed as part of the scheme.”

The application period for the new campaign has just closed. The certification process will begin in October with a new wave of student associations, which will be supported throughout the year as they undertake this process.