That morning, in the premises of the Mouvement des entreprises de France (Medef) Aura, images illustrating heat waves, terrestrial biodiversity or even human health are placed everywhere on tables. Around them, twenty representatives of companies in the plastics industry, catering or even digital, are working to sort these photos in a logic of links of causes and consequences of climate change. They are creating a fresco of the climate. “I know, it’s the antithesis of what one might think of Medef”, recognizes, a bit teasingly, one of the participants.
In fact, this activity is part of a brand new training course dedicated to business managers to “promote climate resilience, with the aim of better understanding the regulations related to new climate challenges”. A first for the largest employers’ organization.
“The more we advance, the more people realize”
“Troubles”, “hope”, “interconnections” but also “waste of time and resources”. After the mural, workshop members expressed their feelings about what they had learned. “The more we advance, the more people realize, notes Maxime Pillie, the trainer. There is a real electric shock in them. »
Lena Ferrenbach, environmental project manager for Visiativ, specializing in digital transition, agrees. “We never finished learning about the subject,” she says. This internship was an opportunity for her to go “further” in her missions. “If a company wants to start a digital transformation, it cannot ignore ecological issues. Aware of the consequences of the domain on global warming, she remains convinced that a “reconciliation remains to be found between the two”. “I don’t think digital will save us all, but I think it can be an asset for the world of tomorrow,” adds this manager.
“Green growth does not exist”
It is in this logic that the Medef Aura project was born. “We want to provide solutions to companies in the face of the current context that we can no longer ignore,” says Léa Abou Saada, head of employment and vocational training. In October 2023, the employers’ organization will even open the first school of “environmental transition” for around forty learners: “The Climate Factory”. The goal? “Training talents to meet the challenges of more responsible growth”. According to the director general of Medef, Stéphane Flex, it is a question of “participating in the creation of new professions”, such as “manager of the transition”, and “greening those existing”.
The concept can be confusing. Especially because, for several years, we have heard that “green growth does not exist”. Energy-climate engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici assured him. The economist Hélène Tordjman, lecturer at the Sorbonne, too. She even claimed that it was “an illusion” during an interview with Blast. “It’s always producing and consuming that has this footprint on the environment,” corrected the author of Green growth against nature – critique of market ecology. A statement supported by the European Environment Agency. A study published in 2021 proved that a “decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption” was impossible, as pointed out by The world.
An “immediately operational” plan to reduce its environmental impact
“We don’t have the same opinion,” replies Stéphane Flex. Before developing: “There must be growth but it must be responsible. To do this, we must be aware of its impact and make choices. For example, a box whose water needs are very important must rethink the need for its production given the lack we are facing. We created this course for that. To enable all societies to drive change towards transition. »
“I believe in the legend of the hummingbird where everyone does their part”, supports Boris Lechevalier, director of a consulting firm and participant in the training. How ? At the end of the four days of training, each participant will leave with a “roadmap” of actions to be carried out at their level, specifies the trainer. “With this operational plan immediately, companies will be able to observe results in reducing their environmental impact from six to eight months,” adds Léa Abou Saada. Specific modules depending on the fields of activity will be added later.