Sustainability has become an increasingly important aspect of business schools, with various new programmes being developed and launched with sustainability topics at their core. We spoke with Valéry Michaux, research professor at NEOMA Business School and director of the MSc in Sustainability Transformations, to find out more:

Please introduce yourself and your career to date.

I completed my PhD in the middle of my career after 16 years of professional experience. My dissertation had a strong technological focus and received an award in 2004 from the Information and Management Association (AIM), which brings together academics in the field of information systems in France.

However, what truly defines my career is its highly unconventional and multifaceted nature. I started by working in the private sector for eight years, where I learned all the fundamentals. Then, I felt the need to shift toward more impactful subjects. This led me to spend another eight years working in the disability sector. I led the implementation of a local policy for the French State aimed at preventing dismissals for health reasons (such as workplace accidents, occupational illnesses, or debilitating illnesses and accidents) and promoting employment access for people with disabilities who could still work in business environments.

This role allowed me to collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders. It involved devising sustainable inter-organisational solutions capable of addressing urgent individual situations in a collective manner. It was a deeply enriching time for me. This experience sparked my interest in governance, long-term strategy, and shared vision – essential elements for uniting stakeholders around common goals. In fact, my thesis examined the various forms of collective competence necessary for companies to survive in an increasingly uncertain world.

After my Ph.D., I continued exploring local public policies, which led me to conduct an eight-year longitudinal study on the implementation of sustainable development policies in different territories. This rich experience introduced me to territorial foresight and its impacts. From these initial experiences, I authored a book on collaborative local policies and their governance, from diagnosis to impact assessment, as well as several academic articles.

The second part of my academic career has focused more on large-scale changes and strategic foresight. Naturally, after the Paris Agreement in 2015, I developed a passion for the transitions and multiple transformations required within companies and across sectors in response to Sustainability European policies. Some of my research articles focus on these transformations in the mobility sector. It also felt natural to teach my students to project themselves into possible futures, helping them better anticipate threats and opportunities in an increasingly unstable, uncertain, and sometimes anxiety-inducing world. I have also published a book covering 25 years of research on scenario methodology in corporate strategy.

What do you enjoy most about your role at NEOMA Business School?

For the past 20 years, I have combined teaching and research activities. I believe that merging both aspects is essential. Research allows us to keep a fresh perspective on the issues we teach, while teaching enables us to share this knowledge. My unconventional and multifaceted profile led me to design and lead the MSc in Sustainability Transformations, placing equal emphasis on the three ESG pillars: Environment, Social, and Governance. Today, I am very proud to train the new generation responsible for transforming the economy and businesses toward more sustainable and environmentally beneficial models.

What is unique about the MSc in Sustainability Transformations?

What makes the MSc in Sustainability Transformations at NEOMA Business School truly unique is its blend of highly structured components, such as the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with practical methods that enable students to drive change within companies. The CSRD is, after all, only an ESG reporting framework. If we do not seize the opportunity it provides to reinvent businesses, it will be a significant waste of time and energy.

Students are, therefore, taught to use the CSRD’s formal framework as a lever to spark discussions and reflection on possible solutions. For instance, under the CSRD, an increasing number of companies will need to devise action plans to minimise their impacts on climate change, biodiversity, water, and oceans. These plans must also outline how the company limits pollution, uses fewer resources and generates less waste. This is a unique opportunity to reinvent business and its economic model.

In parallel, also under the CSRD, companies will have to calculate short-, medium-, and long-term financial risks linked to the transition (climate change, biodiversity loss, resource and water scarcity, worsening populations, etc.). This is not insignificant. By calculating potential losses, awareness can be heightened, enabling deeper questioning and reflection. Students participate in immersive workshops (such as environmental mapping exercises) to better understand how to leverage collective intelligence, emotions, and systemic approaches, learning to lead such sessions themselves. The goal is to create environments within companies that foster discussions about potential solutions.

Students are also engaged in real-life business cases. Finally, they learn to develop scenarios for 2035 and 2040 to help companies better visualise future risks and threats and identify opportunities for change in this highly uncertain world. Scenario planning is known for breaking down silos, building a compelling shared vision, fostering innovation, driving change, and supporting better strategic decisions.

Tell us about the ‘Campus de la Transition’ – why are seminars like this important for students?

The Campus de la Transition is an eco-site located in the southern Paris region in France. It provides an immersive environment for experimenting with innovative low-tech solutions and a lifestyle based on simplicity, sufficiency, sobriety and community. This is where we organise the students’ kick-off seminar. Several workshops are co-organised by the teams from the Campus de la Transition and the programme.

From the moment students enter the programme, we explain that there is not just one way to envision the transition. Depending on one’s background, perspectives can vary widely. This initial approach helps raise students’ awareness of their future role as CSR managers, where they will work with teams from vastly different professional fields. We even go as far as analysing climate-sceptic discourses, as students are likely to encounter such viewpoints in the workplace.

At the same time, they quickly learn that there is not just one possible future but multiple futures depending on the choices made by society. This serves as an introduction to scenario planning, a method we use in various forms throughout the programme. The Campus de la Transition has them work on two possible scenarios for achieving carbon neutrality: one characterised by energy and resource sufficiency and a low-tech society, mirroring the Campus de la Transition; the other requiring fewer restrictions in terms of energy and resources and relying more heavily on green technologies. This allows for in-depth discussions on the meaning of sufficiency and low-tech, helping students understand that innovation is not necessarily synonymous with technology.

The goal is to foster an open mind. The future will be what we make of it. We should not be limited to a single vision of the transition but should build, alongside all stakeholders, a vision that achieves consensus to move forward effectively.

What are your hopes for graduates of the programme?

Above all, may they feel at ease with themselves and hold on to that desire to revolutionise the world that defines them for as long as possible.

For additional insights, announcements and perspectives about Sustainability Initiatives in business schools, visit the conversation here.