11 Kedgers who are committed to the environment!

#3 ANNE-LAURENCE VILLEMONTEIL -CO -FOUNDER - VIJI

Graduated from KEDGE’S European Business Program in 2002, Anne-Laurence began her career in Brittany, where she is from, at Beaumanoir, a textile purchasing centre that was booming at the time. Over the following six-plus years at the company, mainly as a buyer, she was able to travel the world and discover jobs and techniques particular to the textile sector.

Wanting to increase her vision of the sector, she sector then went to work for a Parisian manufacturer and was responsible for managing style teams, procurement, and business development. After this successful start to her career, she moved to Vietnam where she and identified opportunities to create a high-end ethical brand for ready-made clothing for women. After that, she got management positions in two other high-end textile production companies.

When she returned to France in 2016, she re-established her French career as a Security and Environment Quality Manager for the Elide Autos group. With 15 years of experience in the textile centre, and the last three years focussed on CSR in companies, it was perfectly natural that she joined her friend, and now associate, Josselin Vogel, in the ViJi venture.

"With ViJi, we want to reduce the negative social impact and environmental impacts of actors in the fashion industry and assisting them to always be more transparent. All along the production chain, we gather data on CSR practices of every step, and secure and structure it. By making this information available to brands and their providers, we help them better understand and implement their CSR actions and we provide transparency to end customers."

LINKEDIN

#4 MARTIN GRIMONT - SUSTAINABILITY JUNIOR PROJECT MANAGER - SUSTAINABILITY JUNIOR PROJECT MANAGER – PARIS OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS 2024 ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Martin Grimont is a major sports enthusiast. He is certain that he can act as a lever in response to societal issues. 

After completing his first-year Master of KEDGE’s Grande École Programme in Bordeaux, Martin decided to make the most of his gap year by going to work for the International Academy of Sports Science and Techniques (AISTS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

After this rich experience, he also did a gap year internship at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (CIO). "My main duties consisted of working on the commitments of the International Sports Federation (FI) and National Olympics Committees, mainly on sustainable issues." 

Since he was able to do the major part of the second year of his master remotely, and wake of working in the Olympics sphere, he did his end of studies internship at the Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games of Paris 2024 in the Environmental Excellence department.

Following that successful position, Martin is now a Project Manager and is working on several projects, such as the implementation of a sustainable management system involving all the departments for Paris 2024, managing the carbon footprint of the Games, responsible purchasing strategy, and integrating sustainability issues in delivery operations.

LINKEDIN

#5 FLORIAN BUREL - HEAD OF CSR AND SMEs - UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT FRANCE

Florian Burel started KEDGE's Grande École Programme in 2008 after obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Applied Foreign Languages. His interest in CSR, the link between sustainable development and the business world, was gradually nurtured. 

After doing an internship in business development at Nova Horizons, a real estate agency in Montreal, he did a university exchange at the American University in Washington DC, where he explored the upstream side of sustainable development. He got a degree in International Development and Environment at the same time as doing an internship at the American Institute for Cancer Research.

In 2012, he returned to France and went to work for Alinéa to get some experience in CSR before deciding to specialise in the subject. Florian completed a professional master doing a work-study in sustainable development and CSR at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.

After those rewarding experiences, and a few trips abroad (Japan and New Zealand, Florian worked for some time in the energy economics sector), SAS Energy Economy. In 2016 he went to work for Global Compact France and is the official French representative of the United Nations Global Compact, which brings together more than 1,000 companies around CSR and sustainable development issues. Florian is working with SMEs to increase the importance of CSR in France.

LINKEDIN

#6 FLORE LAURENT - PROJET MANAGER, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - SAINT LAURENT 

Flore Laurent graduated from KEDGE in 2012 (campus.) She also holds a master's degree in English studies from the New Sorbonne University. 

Passionate about sustainable development for a very long time, but afraid of the lack of opportunities in the sector, Flore her career by holding several jobs. "I did a six-month internship in HR at AXA in Paris, a three-month internship in wheat trading at Bunge in Singapore, and then a three-month internship at the International Federation of the Red Cross in NYC during my gap year in 2011."

After those early experiences and obtaining her degree, Flore returned to New York to work for Bunge as an indirect purchasing analyst for a little more than a year, before finding her dream VIE in sustainability at Solvay in Singapore. In that position, she is in charge of developing sustainable value chain projects, working with both suppliers and customers. "I set up a project in India to teach and promote sustainable agricultural practices to 4,000 guar farmers (an Indian bean with many qualities) in around 20 villages in the desert region of Bikaner, Rajasthan developing sustainable value chain project. I also worked on a project in Malaysia to source sustainable palm oil."

 In 2017, after having worked four years in Singapore, she was transferred back to France to be closer to the head office and the strategy team. The same year, Flore was selected to be part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development leadership programme in collaboration with Yale University, to receive training on sustainable development issues and to work on her strategic decision-making skills. 

In 2019, Flore decided to change sectors, but not her job, and became a sustainable development project manager at Saint-Laurent in Paris; "I now work on multiple projects such as the traceability and certifications of the raw materials we use, the research on sustainable innovations, the social and environmental performance of our suppliers, the energy performance of our locations, etc."

LINKEDIN

#7 JULIE DE NAILLY - PROJECT MANAGER, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – COVIVIO

 Julie De Nailly started at KEDGE in Bordeaux in September 2013. As soon as she completed the first year of her Master, she focused on courses related to sustainable development, from responsible marketing to the Sustainable Development Chair. Her experience at the Solid'Earth Association contributed greatly to this direction. 

"I also focused on this during my gap year, first doing a six-month internship in the performance department at an engineering consulting firm. I worked on sustainable development, quality, and safety, in addition to other issues. In that position, I discovered broadly what the days were like for a sustainable development director in a large company, and the manner in which CSR is integrated into a business."

In the second part of her gap year, Julie opted for an internship in CSR consulting at a small company. She also took advantage of her gap year in Paris to get involved in the associative life (Alternatiba in particular, a citizen's movement against climate change) in which the COP21 context was no stranger.

After an exchange in Canada, Julie was got a work-study in the field of responsible purchasing in the media world. "That time, I wanted to discover a particular profession, while keeping sticking to being committed to sustainability, which is essential to me." 

At the beginning of 2018, Julie went to work in real estate management and development at Colvivio as a sustainable development project manager in the sustainable development department. "That cross-functional role let me work with all the departments and to get involved in many aspects of CSR: social (raising awareness of CSR issues amongst employees, quality of life at work, etc.) and environmental (energy performance of buildings, circular economy, etc.), and societal (skills sponsorship, relationships with the associations in territories where the company is based, etc.). In short, a rich and changing profession, in tune with the times.”

LINKEDIN

#8 ROMAIN DEVEZE - SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER, SUSTAINABLE COMMODITIES - WWF SWITZERLAND

Romain Deveze graduated from KEDGE (Marseille) in 2007. He is graduated from the University of North Carolina and the Université Jean Moulin 3 in Lyon.

In North Carolina, Romain met Jack, a "crazy" inventor who created peanut shelling machines. At that time the cultivation of peanuts in Mali was gradually being abandoned. However, although malnutrition is widespread, this crop is a great source of proteins and vitamins.

• Why is it being abandoned? Because the tedious task of shelling the crop makes it less attractive;
• The solution? The creation of a simple and accessible high-yield shelling machine.

Romain was concerned about this issue and started helping Jack. They founded an association and raised funds. Because of that, the two friends won the 1st prize of the prestigious MIT IDEAS Award in Boston. After a long mission in East Africa for the distribution and the spread of this initiative, Romain realised that Africa will always be part of his life and that he will always be partial to the problem of agricultural development.

After that, Romain went to the Jean Moulin 3 in Lyon and got a Master in Philosophy in ethical and sustainable development. He was hired by Unilever after an internship and created the group's first partnerships and the first agricultural certification projects.

In 2011, Romain went to work for WWF on developing the strategy for market transformation strategy for the NGO. After working in that position for a few years, got a job as a Program Manager for Africa at the Better Cotton Initiative (the largest cotton certification agency). He worked in that position for six years, during which he created and managed large-scale programmes in seven African countries and for more than 900,000 producers before moving on to the position of global programme manager. 

After six years of travelling and working in the field, Romain returned to WWF as senior programme manager for the fight against deforestation in agricultural value chains. "I am now responsible for developing and implementing a new strategy on sustainable products in line with conservation priorities and market drivers."

LINKEDIN

#9 AUDREY KRASKOWSKI - AUDITOR AND SENIOR CONSULTANT IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - KPMG FRANCE 

Audrey Kraskowski learned about CSR via her associative commitments at KEDGE (Marseille campus) when she took on the role of CSR representative for the Student Office. "By carrying out actions that made sense, I felt that I wanted to grow in this field." 

After she realised that, she got her end-of-studies internship at KPMG, in its sustainability department. In that position, she carried out CSR audit missions and then was hired as soon as she got her degree. 

"I’m currently a Senior Consultant in the team. I mainly work on CSR auditing projects. You have to understand that, in France, large companies (more than 500 employees and a turnover of 100 million or more) are legally required to publish an Extra-Financial Performance Declaration (EFPD)- an annual report on its sustainable development and have it verified by an independent body. My job is to verify and certify those reports for large companies, such as Arkema, CMA CGM, Sodexo, Veolia, etc. I am in constant contact with the sustainable development, HR, general services and other departments that carry out CSR projects in those companies. The diversity of the companies I work with, and the departments involved, provides me with an overall view of the implementation of CSR measures within companies, whether in terms of organisation, governance, or the issues addressed. Depending on the sector of activity, we comprehend a wide range of subjects, such as atmospheric emissions and pollution, gender equality, the financing of the energy transition projects, and workplace safety., I can clearly see how CSR issues in companies have accelerated since my internship in 2016. "

Audrey also works on activities to support companies on issues related to the circular economy and the implementation of circular business models.

Lastly, Audrey is also a representative for the KPMG Foundation's Marseille office and sponsors a class in Marseille's northern neighbourhoods to help young people enter the professional market, through coaching, proofreading their CVs, hosting interns, etc.

LINKEDIN

#10 BORIS LE GOFFIC - CO-FOUNDER - ENDRO

A 2018 KEDGE graduate, Boris Le Goffic describes himself as a Breton sportsman – optimistic and committed. When he was at KEDGE, on the Bordeaux campus, he presided over the sports office. "It was a very enriching experience! In hindsight, I can see that being active in an association as a first professional experience [...] it's also a way to make a very good group of friends. "

After getting his feet wet at Rakuten and Coca-Cola, Boris decided to travel around the four corners of Asia before returning to France with the desire to create an impact company. "It's very important to see that there are other ways of living and other ways of thinking [...] It was, by far, my most rewarding experience." 

In June 2019, while getting assistance from KEDGE's Business Nursery, he and his partner Marion Le Goualher launched ENDRO cosmetics on Ulule. The objective is to create and manufacture cosmetic products in returnable jars that are effective and healthy for both our health and the planet. "I've always liked entrepreneurship - I like the versatility of projects, leading a team, and understanding the needs of the market and customers. Marion and I complement each other." 

After 18 months of existence, ENDRO now has about twenty employees and continues its expansion, both in France and internationally. "We are present in 1,300 organic and bulk sales outlets in six different countries. That’s been a very good development and we hope to convert as many people as we can to zero waste."

LINKEDIN

#11 VINCENT NOYER - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER - NESTLÉ NESPRESSO

A 2018 graduate of KEDGE, Vincent Noyer has been working in the growing CSR sector for the past four years. He began his professional career in Louis Vuitton's Environment division as an Environment Assistant. "I very quickly appreciated the international dimension of my role in accompanying the entire World Retail network in a continuous improvement approach to their energy performance."

Vincent adopted a more customer-focused role when he got a job as a Sustainability and Product Compliance Specialist at Canon France in 2017. "I had the chance to help our sales force convey a message on CSR and construct a sales pitch based on the environmental performance of our printing systems [...] I also worked on the company's environmental approach by implementing ISO 14001 standards." 

At the beginning of 2020, Vincent started at Nespresso as Head of Sustainable Development Projects and took part in several projects related to their main commitment: that each cup of coffee is carbon neutral.

"Nespresso France wants to use an eco-responsible approach throughout its value chain. With this assessment, we have been able to establish the primary locations of the emissions of our activities and to put in place an environmental strategy based on robust and holistic data. It’s for this reason that we joined ADEME's Fret 21 scheme and have voluntarily committed to reducing our transport-related CO2 emissions by at least 6% by 2022. We have also just announced a series of new eco-responsible local delivery services, 100% run on electric power or by bike, particularly in Paris."

LINKEDIN