ESSEC unites with L’Oréal, EssilorLuxottica and Bouygues to launch Global Circular Economy Chair

ESSEC Business School, mobile phone company Bouygues, multinational corporation EssilorLuxottica and personal care company L’Oréal have launched the ‘Global Circular Economy Chair’, the first international chair dedicated to the circular economy.

The chair is committed to the master students from ESSEC’s management programme, who will graduate in September 2022.

The chair aims to equip chief circular economy officers so that they can lead organisations towards a circular economy, a system in which components, products and raw materials lose their value as little as possible.

Additionally, the chair will focus on the following: creating innovative awareness-raising tools such as e-books, launching circular economy experimental projects and producing fundamental research to accelerate the transition from a linear to a circular economy.

ESSEC Business School, Bouygues, EssilorLuxottica and L’Oréal are committed to a circular economy approach in their organisations:

Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit, executive director of the chair and president of ESSEC’s alumni entrepreneurs club, said in a statement: “The circular economy could play a vital role in reducing up to 45 percent of our global CO2 emissions, as demonstrated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

“However, we are in dire need of adequately trained individuals who have a keen grasp of circular economy principles and are able to make it a tangible reality. This is precisely the goal of this academic project, which is set to be implemented across the three ESSEC campuses in Cergy, Singapore and Rabat.”

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of the L’Oréal Group, said in a statement: “At L’Oréal, we are convinced that the circular economy requires collective intelligence and cooperation with our partners (suppliers, distributors, public authorities, consumers, etc.).

“This partnership with the ESSEC Global Circular Economy Chair, of which I am very proud both as a L’Oréal executive and as an ESSEC alumnus, is fully in line with this collaborative movement that is essential in order to meet environmental challenges.”

Francesco Milleri and Paul du Saillant, CEO and deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica, added: “At EssilorLuxottica, we firmly believe in the power of collaboration. This is why we are honoured to be partnering with highly-esteemed organizations such as EESEC Business School, L’Oréal and Bouygues.

“Through EssilorLuxottica’s global sustainability program - ‘Eyes on the Planet’- we hope to address the world’s evolving vision needs and the demand of a growing industry in a responsible and sustainable way. This partnership will help us advance on ways to research, reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Olivier Roussat, CEO of the Bouygues Group, commented: “We are proud to partner with a leading academic institution such as ESSEC Business School to work on the important topic of the circular economy, which is a source of environmental and economic benefits and a key lever for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.”

Photo credit: ESSEC Business School, Facebook