What is the IMPACT NOW week at NEOMA, which took place at the end of January 2024?

It’s a week of actions on the three NEOMA campuses in Reims, Rouen and Paris. The aim was to raise awareness among students about social and environmental issues. The student societies and associations created stands and workshops on responsible food choices, carbon footprint reduction and people with disabilities.

What were the highlights of the Impact Now week?

The café debate was held on the role of innovation in the ecological transition and the changes to the practices of organisations. In Reims, the library invited the researcher and current Chair in Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development at NEOMA. The participants debated current issues like “How can farmers prosper by maintaining a solid level of production for products without using pesticides”? It was a chance to imagine solutions and listen to the outlook of an expert. They discussed the risk of innovations causing greater consumption when greater restraint needs to be shown, as well as the difficulty in identifying objective indicators for choosing the most responsible technologies.

The 2Tonnes workshops were led by the students in the Msc. in Sustainability Transformations programme. The goal was to think of concrete solutions that enable each person, individually or collectively, to reduce their carbon impact by two tons by 2050.

The NEOMACT Awards honoured the projects of student societies in three categories: Engaged for Society; Engaged for Diversity; Engaged for the planet. The winners received a check so they could continue with their actions.

Which workshops stood out the most at the 2024 event?

First, there was the workshop on recycling plastic waste led by the Eco-Plast association. The participants were able to transform plastic waste into practical objects such as spinning tops, snap hooks and key rings using a pedal-powered grinder. It was a practical way to move from raising awareness to real actions. A big success!

The “Fresque du Climat en quizz” (climate mural quiz) is a game that raises awareness about climate change, led by the members of the Ecologique Ethika student society. The participants had to find all or parts of the cards hidden in the mural to have a wider view of the causes and consequences of climate change.

The documentary film “Jusqu’en haut avec lui” (To the Top with Him) was shown to bring attention to the subject of sport and people with disabilities. At the core of this film is Charline Pouillet, an alumnus of NEOMA Business School, his brother and his father who suffers from a neurodegenerative disease. Together, they climb Mount Kilimanjaro. This story highlights the work of their association On Détonne Contre Huntington, which combines inclusiveness, the values of sport, overcoming personal limitations and fraternity.