EDHEC students take part in the Foresight 2050 workshop
On 22-24 May 2025, five students on the EDHEC International BBA and the EDHEC Master took part in the second edition of the “Foresight 2050: Environmental and Social Justice in Business Management” workshop. This year’s event, which also involved students from three other European management schools — Milan’s Polimi Graduate School of Management, Madrid’s IE Business School and Munich’s TUM School of Management — was held at the Polimi Graduate School of Management. The programme comprised five working sessions in which students, organised into groups, imagined efficient corporate models aligned with sustained and responsible development.
Rethinking the corporate model and purpose
Split into groups, the participants worked on practical issues combining respect for the environment and social justice, and aimed at proposing realistic solutions. “We took on the role of a company responsible for designing public transport. Our objective was to reconcile industrial performance with ecological responsibility”, explains Marlène Stöttinger, a student on EDHEC’s MSc in Marketing Management. “We imagined hybrid vehicles, designed from recycled and low carbon materials, and capable of transporting both passengers and goods. When you look at things from this angle, you realise its essential for businesses to project themselves over the long term, rather than remaining focused on their short- or medium-term results.”
These working sessions were also geared to strengthening students’ capabilities with a view to them managing the challenges of the next 25 years. “The workshop gets you to look into the future and develop skills that prepare you for the environmental and social challenges that businesses are going to have to deal with”, explains Théo Helterlin, a student on year one of the EDHEC International BBA. “My project involved thinking about the city of tomorrow — its infrastructure, means of transport and urban planning. The question of financing, particularly by the state, was one of the core issues for ensuring the implementation of sustainable solutions. In view of this aspect, it’s vital to develop solid financial management and forward-looking skills.”
Collective intelligence and professional introspection
By bringing together students from several European schools, the Foresight 2050 workshop was also an exercise in inter-cultural collaboration. “Working with students from several European countries enriched the solutions we prepared as part of the project, with a focus on the accessibility of sustainable finance”, underlines Pepper Li, a student on EDHEC’s Master in Management. “Certain students shared anecdotes of their first experiences in-company, while others presented concepts studied in class. All these exchanges fuelled our thinking on financial education and the importance of disseminating knowledge of responsible investment among the public.”
These three days devoted to future-watching and to issues of social and climate justice issues also prompted students to consider their future careers: “The workshop increased my desire to join a company that places sustainable development at the heart of its strategy and which actively engages in improving its environmental and social footprint”, says Marlène Stöttinger. “From a general standpoint, this sort of exercise makes me want to work and progress towards positions with responsibility. If I get to a stage where I exercise these types of functions in the future, I hope to be in a position to make decisions that transform the system and offer a new definition of entrepreneurial success. A definition not solely based on financial profitability, but which really factors in the company’s positive contribution to society and the environment.”
