Earth Day: paving the way to a sustainable future

“It is crucial to recognise that we hold the power to enact significant change,” he says ahead of the annual event dedicated to raising awareness and mobilising action for environmental protection. “Our greatest strength lies in shaping the minds of future leaders. We empower them to become catalysts for positive change in the world.”

The first Earth Day was organised in 1970, marking the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Since then, it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of people participating in various Earth Day initiatives each year.

Miemczyk himself has been immersed in the world of sustainability for about three decades now. Currently halfway through a three-year term as associate dean for sustainability transition, Miemczyk spearheads initiatives that embed sustainability across ESCP’s operations and curriculum.

His primary responsibilities and objectives for the department revolve around several key areas. “Firstly, on the pedagogical front, the overarching goal is to ensure that every student fully grasps the sustainability challenges through a business lens,” Miemczyk says.

“This entails a departure from conventional paradigms focused solely on profit maximisation and market dominance,” he says. Instead, Miemczyk advocates for a holistic perspective that acknowledges the imperative for businesses to make a positive impact on society.

His academic journey began with a PhD in sustainability and circular economy, which he completed in 2006 at the UK’s University of Bath. Then he joined Audencia Business School in France, where he spent a decade from 2006 to 2016, primarily focused on teaching and research in supply chain management.

“Back then, there wasn’t a department related to sustainability,” Miemczyk says, “but I championed the integration of sustainability principles into the curriculum.”

Upon joining ESCP in September 2016, he continued his mission to advance sustainability in academia. Initially serving as a professor in sustainability and supply chain management, he assumed the role of associate dean for sustainability transition about 18 months ago.

Moreover, he underscores the importance of developing competencies in sustainability among faculty, not least because the content and teaching methodologies are often dictated by international standards rather than individual business schools.

To address this, he sees it as crucial to collaborate with other institutions, sharing insights and best practices to collectively drive progress in sustainability education.

“For example, through 'Train the Trainers', we bring academics together in collaborative workshops, an opportunity for professors from different disciplines to come together for two days of intensive workshops on embedding sustainability into their curricula,” says Miemczyk. “It’s essentially a retreat where educators can collectively rethink their teaching paradigms.”

Beyond that, ESCP recently embarked on its inaugural carbon footprint analysis. This project involved extensive collaboration across departments and program teams to gather data on all aspects of the school’s operations, including “Scope 3” emissions from travel and procurement. The initial audit revealed an estimated annual carbon footprint ranging from 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes across the five campuses.

Miemczyk’s journey towards sustainability was deeply influenced by his upbringing, which juxtaposed urban and rural environments throughout his childhood, from London to the west of England and France. “This exposure instilled in me a profound appreciation for nature and an awareness of our impact on it,” he says.

Additionally, his mother, an artist, cultivated his interest in environmental issues through literature, notably Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, which exposed the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. “These readings illuminated the monumental challenges we face in preserving our planet,” recalls Miemczyk.

Academic pursuits further solidified his commitment to sustainability. He pursued a master’s degree in environmental assessment, focusing on how organisations measure and mitigate their environmental footprints.