Ethika, the Rouen-based student society has suggested awarding the Ecofest certificate to certain student events. The aim is to take an active role in reducing the School’s ecological impact.

Integrating environmental issues into the organisation of students events

The goal the students set themselves when launching this ecological transition initiative at the start of the 2021 academic year was to award two events with the Ecofest certificate in the first year. 7 months on, 5 events have been certified!

“We didn’t expect to receive so many applications and the feedback we’ve received has been very positive because the student societies have now fully integrated environmental issues into the organisation of their events,” says Inès, an Ethika member in charge of the project. “We have increased the number of auditors from 2 at the start of the 2021 school year to 5 in response to the increase in demand from the societies. And we hope to have a sixth for next year.”

Created in 2004 by GEM students, the Ecofest Certificate is awarded to eco-responsible events that have the lowest possible ecological and social impact. The label has since been endorsed by a number of management and engineering schools: in France there are seven offices and 90 members who audit around 60 events per year. To be awarded the label, events must obtain a minimum score on the following seven criteria: waste management, communication, venue, transport, awareness, food and social impact.

CSR: a major theme for the students

Two student societies explain why they decided to apply for the Ecofest Certificate:

Antoine, President of Rouen K’val: “We decided to go through the labelling procedure for our inter-school horse-riding competition because it is important to take into account CSR considerations when putting on an event. And we plan to earn this label in the coming years because it is also an important sign of our commitment for our partners.”

Corentin, President of the GLX list for the Extreme Sports Office (BDX), which obtained the certificate l for their JA campaign day event, says: “We chose to be audited for the Ecofest certificate because the ecological cause is very important for us. Extreme sports are often practiced in a natural environment. Surfing in the sea, skiing in the mountains, hiking in the forests. It was therefore important for us to contribute to the protection of the planet in own way.”

Congratulations to the students for making an active commitment to the ecological transition!