A Corporate Social Responsibility policy to embody the commitments of OMNES Education.
The societal challenges of the contemporary world require new skills, new responsibilities, and new professions, which OMNES Education aims to provide to its student audience. With a resolutely humanistic and universalist approach, OMNES Education seeks to unlock the abilities and aspirations of each individual through an innovative and multidisciplinary study programme.
OUR AMBITION
As a multidisciplinary actor in higher education, OMNES Education‘s mission is to educate conscious and competent professionals who will contribute to the transition of organizations in a rapidly evolving society. Considering the priority of environmental and societal issues for humanity, it is time to engage our employees and students more significantly to accelerate the reach and impact of our actions.
Time to ACT is OMNES Education‘s CSR approach, integrated at the core of the group’s strategy and its 15 schools, empowering responsible ambitions. It is illustrated by its Purpose: “Educate and support all profiles in building their success.”
The CSR strategy revolves around three key commitment areas derived from extensive consultation with internal and external stakeholders of the Group: the achievement of its learners, coherence in its approach and operations, and the well-being of students and employees.
The integration and promotion of sustainable development in research work and programmes, encompassing environmental, social, economic, and societal aspects, are key to the achievement of learners within the OMNES Education Group. This entails adjusting existing programmes and creating new modules tailored to the professional sectors students are destined for. The objective is for 100% of OMNES Education‘s 40,000 students to follow an adapted study and action programme (Shift(S) programme and PACT partnership with the SOS Group, among others), and for their CSR skills to be verified through the acquisition of ECTS credits and a recognized sustainable development test.
PACT Programme: Integrated civic engagement in Student Curricula
The Citizen Field Action Programme (PACT), resulting from a partnership with the SOS Group, is integrated into the programmes and rewards students’ commitment to associations involved in social, societal, and environmental work through the allocation of ECTS credits.
Activities include organizing outreach missions with an association, managing a social media campaign for a solidarity grocery store, conducting reading workshops in nurseries, using gamification codes and/or video games to raise awareness among young people aged 18 to 30 about eco-friendly practices and individual actions, and providing digital assistance in nursing homes, among others. Each student must dedicate 25 hours to volunteering or join multidisciplinary teams to address challenges proposed by SOS Group associations.
By 2025, 100% of first-year students in OMNES Education schools, totalling 10,000 students annually, will be involved in this programme.
PACT PROGRAMME
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The Campus, as a living space for students, must be responsible by integrating topics such as energy management, waste management, digitalisation, procurement, and mobility. The carbon footprint assessment conducted by the group at the end of 2022 reveals that OMNES Education campuses stand out for their energy efficiency, with 82.5% of the energy used being renewable. The challenge is to standardize best practices across campuses and the headquarters in waste sorting, eco-friendly habits, catering, and nutrition. An awareness and training programme on these topics is intended for employees.
THE CARBON FOOTPRINT, A SUPPORT FOR THE TRANSITION PLAN
Even though it is not legally required, the urgency of collectively adapting to climate change, the need to anticipate potential regulatory changes, and the choice to engage in a continuous improvement process have led OMNES Education to react by measuring in detail all its greenhouse gas emissions over a year.
But we don’t stop at this assessment! We have developed a transition plan that will enable us to contribute to the Net Zero objective by 2050. This plan consists of four major components:
• Digital equipment and usage: for equipment, extending their lifespan or ensuring they have a second life; implementing a digital sobriety plan; engaging OMNES Education in responsible digital practices…
• Mobility: limiting the carbon footprint of international mobility, defining a travel policy to oversee professional travel, promoting teleworking, advocating for sustainable and alternative modes of transportation…
• Energy sobriety: establishing an energy sobriety plan, improving the energy performance of buildings, monitoring the evolution of energy consumption…
• Training, awareness, and communication: developing a policy for raising awareness and communication, involving staff and students.
Through these actions, OMNES Education aims to proactively address climate change and make significant progress towards achieving its Net Zero objective.
The well-being, health, and safety of students are measured and addressed through an action programme: 100% of the schools will have a psychological support unit and a Wellness programme. Ensuring access to its schools for students from all backgrounds and combating any form of economic, social, or cultural discrimination is also a significant challenge that OMNES Education addresses through the development of work-study programmes for over 15,000 students. The CSR strategy also focuses on employees by establishing a work environment that is tailored to each individual and responsive to evolving work trends.
STUDYING WITH A DISABILITY WITHIN THE OMNES EDUCATION GROUP
As part of its CSR approach, equal opportunities, and education for all are fundamental rights that the OMNES Education Group aims to ensure for all its students.
Disabilities can be temporary or permanent. In any case, solutions exist, and students have the opportunity to receive support. Moreover, students/learners can seek assistance at any stage of their academic journey within OMNES Education. To initiate these processes, students should get in touch with the disability referent.
Each school has its own disability referent. Students are encouraged to contact the coordinator through their respective school.
Anticipation is crucial for successfully implementing support measures, so it is important for students to plan ahead if they wish to receive accommodations for specific deadlines (internships, exams, etc.).
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
CSR Reports
The CSR report is intended to be an inventory of the practices and results of the OMNES Education Group in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility.
This document, published for the first time in 2014, is published annually to present the Group’s actions and progress in this area.