Home>Eleonore Cartillier, Class of 2016
10.06.2022
Eleonore Cartillier, Class of 2016
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?
After two years of preparatory classes, I was lucky enough to get into ESSEC, the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan and then Sciences Po for a Master's degree in public affairs, while at the same time doing a Master's in Public Law at the Sorbonne. I developed a personal awareness for sustainable development very early on, however unfortunately 10 years ago, courses on the challenge of ecological transition were underdeveloped. It is an excellent and indispensable step that higher education establishments, and particularly Sciences Po, are beginning to make it a compulsory course!
Since then, the common thread in my professional career has been using my beliefs to participate in ecological transition. I have chosen to work for various committed stakeholders (public authorities, intermediary bodies, companies) because I am convinced that each one has a fundamental role to play in the face of the climate emergency - not in opposition but in a complementary manner. None of these actors alone can provide a unique solution to global warming and we must collectively act quickly and ambitiously, since every tenth of a degree celsius of warming that is avoided counts.
I started out as a consultant for private and public institutions on energy transition projects, in particular on the development of renewable energies in conjunction with local authorities. I then wanted to work on the development of public policies by acting at the heart of the law-making process at the National Assembly, by working on bills relating to sustainable development. I realised that, faced with the challenges of ecological and social transitions and territorial fractures, intermediary bodies also had a major role to play. This is why I then joined a trade union organisation in order to improve the understanding and dissemination of the issues linked to ecological transition, among employees and companies, for example through the deployment of a CSR reference framework or by anticipating, as close as possible to the territories, the challenge of adapting skills and professional retraining towards the new sustainable development professions. Finally, I chose to join a sustainable construction company to help, from the inside, with the drastic decarbonisation of its activities.
>WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR POSITION TODAY AS SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER AT SAINT-GOBAIN ?
In concrete terms, my job consists of accelerating transition by accompanying, in a serious and transparent manner, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from activities throughout the value chain (in what we call scopes 1, 2 and 3). This involves promoting solutions for phasing out the use of fossil fuels, accelerating energy efficiency and sobriety, identifying any blocking factors and trying to resolve them. It also involves encouraging a more sparing use of resources and moving towards more circular business models, for example by improving the eco-design, repair and recycling of products. In short, it is a bit like taking up the pilgrim's staff with instructions to enable rapid action to reduce the company's impact on the planet as much as possible, with the most sustainable and virtuous products possible for the ecological transition!
WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DID YOUR STUDY AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS HAVE ON THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?
This course offers a detailed understanding of contemporary issues in the political, economic and institutional world. The teaching is very rich and varied, and allows you to have a real open mind and to acquire the ability to understand a complex subject, to summarise it and to popularise it quickly. This ability is still useful to me today on a daily basis, particularly on the subject of ecological transition, which may sometimes seem technical but needs to be understood to trigger action.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO GIVE A STUDENT OR A FUTURE YOUNG GRADUATE?
I would say above all to use your talents to build a sustainable future. Listen to your intuition, don't hesitate to ask for advice and don't be afraid to make mistakes: no career path is mapped out in advance. Sciences Po offers a high degree of adaptability, and you should not hesitate to be curious to discover the issues at stake from the perspective of several different players: associations, intermediary bodies, the State, local authorities, the private sector, etc. The field of possibilities is immense.
And above all, it may seem simple, but I would say that the most important thing is to look for a job and an organisation that you want to get up for every morning, that is in line with your values and where you feel really useful and in your place!
