Interview with Valérie Sauteret, Ecological transition and organisational transformation certificate student

Valérie Sauteret - When I joined Europcar Mobility Group in 2018, I took on responsibility for the group’s CSR alongside its communications. At the time, this was a regulation-heavy area with an extra-financial performance declaration that needed to be submitted every year. To be perfectly honest with you, I wasn’t initially aware of its full scope, although I did have some CSR experience from my previous role. Little by little, I became increasingly aware of environmental issues as I deepened my understanding in bursts by reading up on the subject and watching some hard-hitting documentaries. I tackled the GIEC reports of course, but reading Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens and The Human Bug by Sébastien Bolher was eye-opening too, not to mention Aurélien Barrau and Hubert Reeves’ talks, Jean-Marc Jancovici’s LinkedIn posts and Arte’s documentaries on the state of the planet, such as L’Homme A Mangé La Terre. I could go on... It felt as if a veil were lifting, the uneasy sense I’d had for a few years by then, the feeling that “something wasn’t quite right”. And there was the fact that I’d recently turned 50: more or less the same age as the Meadows Report, which was one of the very first expert assessments to sound the alarm and tackle the limits of growth. Because I’m already head of CSR in my company, the idea wasn’t to embark on a 180-degree pivot. Instead, I was looking to roll out the programmes I already oversaw, but better, faster and deeper – schemes like Europcar Mobility Group’s low-carbon plan, for instance. I wanted to get to grips with everything I needed to understand it all. I also wanted to put my – shaky, admittedly – knowledge to the test by interacting with experts. Finally, I was looking for validation: considering this green transition affects us all, where can I be most useful? Where can I have the most impact?

Valérie Sauteret - I’m a Sciences Po Lyon graduate, and my degree had a life-long positive impact on me. I feel a large chunk of my personal values and way of seeing the world all stem from this undergraduate experience. I’ve always had a soft spot for the course I did, and although I went on to business school, a university master’s and a handful of CPD courses, none of these later experiences ever matched up. It made sense for me to see whether Sciences Po Executive Education offered any training on the green transition. Over and above my personal connection with the school, I think Sciences Po is unique in its ability to pair social sciences (which give you the perspective you need) with hands-on practice and the high standards our working lives demand. There is a continuous back-and-forth conversation between these two spheres, and we’re all going to need to blend these resources as we take on the climate emergency: probably the single greatest challenge humanity has ever had to face.

Valérie Sauteret - The course content is extremely well thought out. You start with the facts and prognosis, climate change and biodiversity issues. You then cover all known solutions to date, sector by sector: agri-feed, construction, mobility, transport, the most carbon-intensive industries and those most heavily impacted by climate change. You also get a very comprehensive overview of the environmental stakeholders, from European institutions and the world of finance to NGOs, lobbyists, and beyond. The practical studies are a fantastic exercise in tackling a specific issue: you get plunged into the deep end of actually implementing solutions! I’d add that the class sizes are ideal, too. Having a dozen or so students meant we were able to engage in meaningful discussion among ourselves and with the teachers. Finally, I very much appreciated how well organised it all was: it felt seamless, with the programme for each session sent to us ahead of time, a super-central training venue and lunch breaks where we could continue the conversations sparked in class.

Valérie Sauteret - It’s really hard to choose one memorable experience over any other! Overall, the atmosphere was fantastic: the course was very friendly, despite the fact that every instructor and class was a relentless wake-up call that opened our eyes and could well have felt like a downer! Personally, I’ll never forget the opening session with Sébastien Treyer from the IDDRI (Sustainable Development and International Relations Institute), who introduced us to the course. And the classes by Sylvain Lambert (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Nicolas Berghmans on businesses’ and Europe’s roles in the green transition, respectively. I loved the sustainable finance module, too.  Honestly, I obviously learnt so much from all of them, and some left me with the sense that I’m definitely in the right line of work in what I do now.

Valérie Sauteret - One piece of advice: just do it! You won’t regret it. Of course, the training is a commitment. Two days a month is quite a lot, and if you’re working alongside the course, it clearly does require a bit of organising. And there’s the case study to consider, which I still haven’t handed in, and is definitely a challenge when you’re juggling balls, it’s true. But this is what the climate emergency is going to demand of us all: flexibility and organisational skills, the ability to get out of our comfort zones and break with old habits.