How does climate change affect our jobs?

The Respire association, in partnership with ISTP, organized a conference on the role of businesses in the ecological transition. This presentation, which follows the ongoing actions taken within our institution regarding environmental and societal issues, took place as Mines Saint-Etienne was recently ranked the 9th most committed engineering school in the ecological and social transition.

Led by the The Shifters association, the conference raised the question of the role of companies in climate change. The Saint-Étienne branch of The Shifters is an organisation that advocates for the ecological transition at local and national level. Fieldwork, stepping back, and a global view of problems and their solutions: these are the association’s working methods and the lessons it promotes.

To illustrate these methods, Olivier Siret (climate issues consultant, former R&D project manager in the medical sector, and ICM class of 2001 alumnus) spoke about the greenwashing that some companies use to secure their profits. The speaker highlighted several points to watch out for:

  • the use of the term “neutrality“
  • commitments based on relative rather than absolute values (for example, airlines’ values in km per passenger).
  • the notion of offsetting: offsetting a carbon footprint by planting trees proves paradoxical, as a forest’s peak absorption is reached after around fifty years, and monoculture of the same tree species is a threat to biodiversity.

The Shifters then spoke about contributing to decarbonisation as a citizen, professional, a company’s CSE member, or student, by suggesting several useful digital resources:

  • For an ecological wake-up call: lists of questions to ask in a job interview to find a job that does not accelerate the environmental crisis
  • Shift your job: a list of more than 2,000 companies committed to the transition

From the limits of greenwashing to the prospects for action for companies, this conference gave tomorrow’s professionals and engineers an opportunity to better understand the ecological and social transition. We would like to thank the speakers from The Shifters, the Respire association, and ISTP for organising this event.

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