The Sustainable Development Officers Meetings (R2D2), supported by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE), held their 15th edition in Vaulx-en-Velin from May 22 to 23, 2025. This year, the organization was entrusted to the Lyon Saint-Étienne engineering college (INSA Lyon, ENTPE, Centrale Lyon, Mines Saint-Étienne), in partnership with ENSAL, the Lyon School of Architecture. The staff of Mines Saint-Etienne were deeply involved throughout this event, leading conferences and workshops rich in exchange, reflection, and collective energy.
An opening focused on cooperation
The morning of May 22 set the tone: cooperating to accelerate the transition.
Christine Berton, “science and society” project manager at the School, moderated all the conferences on this first day. Alongside Frédéric Fotiadu, Director of INSA Lyon, representatives from the Region, the Metropole, and the municipality of Vaulx-en-Velin praised the inter-institutional dynamics serving the socio-ecological transition of the territory. Catherine Staron, Vice-President for Higher Education and Research of the Region, highlighted the “exceptional relationship with the higher education and research ecosystem.”
Students at the heart of the event
R2D2 is also a platform for committed students!
They held a round table on local student representation, led a workshop on the student experience in a committed institution, and above all, they shone during an inspiring and enthusiastic pitch sequence.
Workshops made in Mines Saint-Etienne
School staff led workshops centered around the three major challenges of the Engineering College: decarbonized society and industry, circular economy, and responsible digital technology:
- Valérie Laforest and Mathilde Lenoël led the TAMO LAVIVA game: a simulation of waste management on a fictional French island involving different stakeholders. This exercise is also offered in a more comprehensive format to our Master’s students.
- Dominique Berthet, Sandrine Bonny, and Victor Paillon led the PhonEthic game: raising awareness about the complexity of manufacturing a smartphone, from raw material extraction through manufacturing to final recycling, incorporating technological, environmental, economic, social, legal, and even geopolitical dimensions.
Science, biodiversity, and AI: crucial issues on the programme
The R2D2 meetings would not be complete without their scientific component:
Gilles Escarguel (P3E research professor at Université Lyon 1) provided an overview of biodiversity erosion, emphasizing that this issue exceeds the climate crisis in gravity.
Workshops led by INRAE, CNRS, INSERM, and IRD allowed for the sharing of practices regarding the assessment of the environmental and societal impact of research.
Finally, Olivier Boissier, research professor at Mines Saint-Étienne and director of the Henri Fayol Institute, presented a fascinating overview of the ethical issues related to artificial intelligence.
