École Polytechnique has been granted the Label DD&RS (Sustainable Development and Societal Responsibility)

École Polytechnique has just obtained the Label DD&RS (Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility) for a period of four years. The Label DD&RS recognises the sustainable development and social responsibility initiatives of French higher education and research institutions. This certification is the result of École Polytechnique’s social and environmental commitments.

This labelling system covers the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized into five strategic categories: Governance & Strategy, Education & Training, Research & Innovation, Campus Operations and Social Policy & Outreach.

Structured around equal opportunities and its Climate Plan, all the DD&RS issues have been covered at École Polytechnique for several years now. The Equal Opportunities section is supported by the Insitution’s Diversity & Success Center and, since June 2023, by the Equal Opportunities Centre of Institut Polytechnique de Paris. The Climate Plan is built around ten objectives, achievable in five years' time. It integrates sustainable development into École Polytechnique’s fundamental missions of education, research, innovation and into the operation of its campus.

In the three years since the Climate Plan was introduced, a number of initiatives have been taken, including the creation of the ‘Engineering Sustainability, engineering for the long haul’ course, run by economist Céline Guivarch, the creation of the interdisciplinary Energy4Climate centre (E4C), which combines the strengths of the schools of Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the CNRS, and a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions linked to École Polytechnique’s campus’ energy consumption.