Tribune: 300 actors from the impact and economic worlds advocate for prioritizing ecology for our shared future

Published in Les Echos on March 18, 2024

Gathered at the initiative of ChangeNOW, 300 stakeholders from the impact and economic world are calling for overcoming divisions and positioning ecology and planetary boundaries as fundamental principles upon which society must build and organize itself, for a sustainable future.

In a constantly evolving world, where challenges are multiplying and becoming more complex, ecology is often perceived as an additional constraint, a moral luxury reserved for some or for times of prosperity. Not only is this view reductive, but also dangerous. It artificially pits ecology against other fields such as agriculture, industry or the economy, as current events remind us. As if protecting our environment required us to sacrifice everything else.

However, ecology from the Greek ā€œoikosā€ (house) and ā€œlogosā€ (science), is none other than the science of our common home, the framework in which all life on earth is governed. It is intrinsic to every aspect of our existence: moving, producing, consuming, are all ecological acts because we are always operating within the limits of our living world. Ecology concerns everyone. It touches on all aspects of our daily lives, impacting our common existence and our economic system. As such, it is intrinsically political.

With nearly 50% of the global population heading to the polls in 2024, it is crucial that environmental issues are neither overshadowed nor exploited. Rather than using ecology to sow division and discord, it is imperative to realize that it forms the shared foundation on which we all depend.

Ignoring ecological principles risks becoming ā€˜out of touch,ā€™ disconnected from the physical realities that frame our existence and widening the social divide caused by the consequences of climate change. Science teaches us that every action has its effects, and ecology applies this principle to all living beings and our interaction with them.

It is therefore imperative to adopt planetary boundaries as a guide for our development. Not as a brake, but as a necessity to build a sustainable, fairer future that leaves no one behind.

It is in this spirit that we, entrepreneurs, leaders, investors, members of NGOs, activists, experts, artists, athletes and citizens from all walks of life, will gather in large numbers at ChangeNOW from March 25 to 27 in Paris around concrete solutions, to transcend the sterile confrontation between ecology and progress, and demonstrate a common commitment to building a sustainable and more humane world.

In a world that pushes us to polarize, to divide, threatening the very existence of our democracies, two elements unite us all: ecology and humanity. Ecology, as the science of our common home, because it defines, like a physical law, the framework in which we live. Humanity, because it defines, like a moral law, what we all are.

It is time to consider ecology not as a constraint, but as the foundation of our common future.

An opinion paper signed by 300 players from the impact and business worlds, brought together by ChangeNOW.

Signatories of the tribune:

Emilie Alberola, Director EcoAct Southern Europe, EcoAct

GrƩgoire Alston, Co-Founder & CEO, ReSoil

Monica A. Altamirano de Jong, Director, Climate Impact, WaterEquity

Theo Alves Da Costa, Co-President, Data For Good, Head of AI for Sustainability, Ekimetrics

Amandine Hersant, General Manager, Planete Urgence

Harena Johussa Andriatsaramanana, Sales assistant, BĆ“ndy International

Yasir Arafat, Co Founder and COO, AponTech Ltd.Ā 

Baptiste Arribe, Co-Founder, The New Materialist

Felipe Arriola, CEO, BioEsol

Raphael Ascoli, Architect, Blue Temple

Pascal Asselin, Co-founder, MORFO

CĆ©dric Aussaresses, Co-founder, FairTrotter

Mina Awad, Commercial Enablement Lead, Plan A

Nils Bachmann, Co-Founder, PROSERVATION GmbH

Marlene Badenhorst, CEO, SlideLuvre

Thomas Bajas, Investment Director, Founders Future

Nicolas Banchet, CEO, Zeplug

Alice Barbe, CEO, AcadƩmie des Futurs Leaders

Nurra Barry, CEO, Carbon Saver

Fabrice BarthƩlemy, CEO, Tarkett

Assaf Ben Or, CEO, Greeneum

CATHERINE BENACIN, Fondatrice, Social 3.0

Jahawi Bertolli, Founder, East African Ocean ExplorersĀ 

Maeva BESSIS, CEO, LA CASERNE

James Bidwell, CEO, Springwise

Philippe Birker, COO & Co-founder, Climate farmersĀ 

Camille Blin-Oudard, Project manager international development, ROSI

Ivonne Bojoh, CEO, Circle Economy

Sara Bonnet, Directrice de la communication, Circul’R

Benedikt Bƶsel, Founder, Gut & Bƶsel // FInck Foundation

JosƩphine Bouchez, Co-founder & CEO, Ticket for Change

Augustin Boulot, DĆ©lĆ©guĆ© GĆ©nĆ©ral, B Lab France (B Corpā„¢)

Lucile Brachet, Co-directrice, 50 Partners Impact

Georg Breitenberger, Founder, ParaStruct

Tim Breker, Co-Founder & Managing Director, VYTAL Global GmbH

Thomas Breuzard, Directeur permaentreprise, Norsys

Edward Brial, CEO, Materra

Thomas Bruno, Project Manager, Cleantech Open France

Bonnie Burnham, President, Cultural Heritage Finance Alliance

Nicolas CarlƩsi, CEO & Founder, IADYS

Nicolas Celier, Managing Partner, Ring Capital

Thibault Chabert, Marketing Manager, Publicis Sapient

OlympeĀ  Chabert, Co-founder, SmartBack

ValƩrie Chabot, Coordonnatrice projets internationaux, Coop FA

Elsa Chai, Co-founder, OpenClimat

Ram Chaitanya, CEO, Ecowiser

Linda Chanussot, CMO, Cycle Up

Bertrand Charpentier, Volunteer, The Shifters

Caroline Cheng, Co-Founder, Yi Design Company Limited

Flore Cholley, Global ESG & Sustainable Development Director, EDENREDĀ 

Silja Chouquet, Chief Commercial Officer, Artidis

Antoine ClƩment, Secretary of Works Council Environmental Committee, SAP France

Julien Clery, Head of CSR, DS Smith

Bella Collins, Brand & Strategy Director, Flexi-Hex

Zoe Colosimo, COO, Neighbourly

Constance Cordier, Curator, Global Shapers Paris

Xavier Criel, Board member, Planet on Stage

Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, CEO, Project Seagrass

Elsa Da Costa, CEO, Ashoka France

JƩrƩmie Dalibot, Business Creation Manager, EIT Manufacturing

Fabio Dalmonte, CEO, SEADS-Sea Defence Solutions S.r.l.

Stephanie De Beaumont, DGD, PHITRUST

Christian De Boisredon, PrƩsident, Fondateur, Sparknews

Carine de Boissezon, Vice President, C3D

NicolasĀ  de BrabandĆØre, Founder, Urban Forest EuropeĀ 

Matthieu de Lesseux, CEO, La Belle ForĆŖt

Chuck de Liedekerke, CEO, Soil Capital

Carine de Meyere, Founder & CEO, Women of the WorldĀ 

Maxime de Rostolan, Directeur de Sailcoop, fondateur de La Bascule

Julien de Sousa, Founder, Panache

Martin de Stoppani, CEO, Abundant Earth

EvolĆ©na de Wilde dā€™Estmael, Co-founder & CEO, FaircadoĀ 

ClĆ©ment DEBOSQUE, Co-founder, Ma Petite PlanĆØte

Antoine Degavre, CEO, Urban Youth Games

Michelle Del Valle, CEO, FinSat

Louise-Oceane Delion, ChargƩe de communication, Women for Sea

Jean Despax, Directeur Investissement, 50 Partners Impact

Jorden D’hulster, CEO, The Green Revolution

Romain Diaz, General Partner, Satgana

Anne Dijkstra Sta van Uiter, Co-founder, Feelou

Xavier Dommange, Dirigeant, Coeur et CanopƩe

Tony Donne, Former CEO, EUROfusion

Jeimila Donty, Founder & CEO, KoraĆÆ

Gabrielle Doussaint, Student, Emlyon Business SchoolĀ 

Philippe du Payrat, Co-founder, 4jours.work (1er pilote en France šŸ‡«šŸ‡·)

Alice du Verne, founder, Zest for Life

Anne-Sophie Dubanton, AssociƩe, Life Flowing

Vanessa Duchatelle, Co-founder and CEO, ScholaVie

Florent Ducos, Directeur, 50 Partners Impact

Jeremy Dumont, Fondateur, NOUS SOMMES VIVANTS

StĆ©phanie Dupuy-Lyon, Directrice de l’engagement sociĆ©tal, Groupe La Poste

Eric Duverger, Founder, CEC (Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat)

EylĆ¼l ER, Co-founder, CEO, PALGAE

Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, Founder & CEO, ENSO

Gonzalo Escudero, co-founder and CMO, Recovo Lab S.L

Daniela Fernandez, Founder & CEO, Sustainable Ocean Alliance

Fionn Ferreira, CEO, Fionn & Co.

Sophie FILLET, HEAD OF EVENT PARNTENRSHIPS, SOCIETE GENERALE

Sabine Flechet, Co-Founding Partner, Masawa

CƩdric FranƧois, CEO, EQUIUM

Lena Frank, Head of Menstruation Education, WASH UnitedĀ 

Quentin Franque, CMO, MORFO

Sammy Fry, Head of Climate, Tech Nation

Cyril Garcia, Head of Global Sustainability Services and Corporate Responsibility ā€“ Member of the Group Executive Board, Capgemini

Diana Garcia, Managing Director, Quest studio

Maelle Garrido, Directrice, NASKAS RP

Luigi Gatti, Partenariats, commercial et opƩrationnel, FairTrotter

Shana Gavron, CEO, Endangered Wildlife OU

Marie Geneste, Founder, The C Collective

Iyad Ghanem, Digital Transformation Director, Publicis Sapient

Nora Gherbi, Founder, WHo CARES!? Chronicles

Gaspard Gilbert, Co-Founder & Business Manager, MAASH S.A.

Eduardo Gonzalez, CEO, Green Box

Santiago Gowland, CEO, Rainforest Alliance

Aude Grasset, Board Director, Planet on Stage, Founder & Sustainability Consultant, Uncle Ltd

Jean-Baptiste Grassin, Managing Director, Nomad Plastic

Monica Griso Schrƶtter, Founder, Fond of goodĀ 

Maja Groff, Convenor, Climate Governance Commission

Isabelle Grosmaitre, Founder, CEO, Goodness & Co

Christopher GuƩrin, CEO, Nexans

Alex GUILLUY, PrƩsident, Les Alchimistes

Shawn Guttman, Founder & CEO, Project Didi

ERIC HALIMI, CEO, EMERGENCE SOLAR

Aron Handreke, Founder & CEO, ContainerGrid GmbH

Veeral Hardev, VP Corporate Strategy, Ubiquitous Energy, Inc.

Anu Harkki, European Climate Pact Ambassador, EU

Adrian Haworth, CMO, Gazelle Wind Power

Kamna Hazrati, Founder, AndPurpose

Michael Henriksen, CEO, Wavepiston

Julian Hertrampf, Marketing & HR, eeden GmbH

Yvan Husson, Sales and Marketing Director, Okamac

Susan Israel, CEO & Founder, Climate Creatives

ABAH ViCTOR ITOA, Conservator, ECOSPHERE CONSERVATION FoundationĀ 

Lukas Jasiunas, CEO, Ecorbio

Jonathan Jennings, CEO, Health In Harmony

Kate Johnstone, CEO, Natural Habitat Bank

Elodie Jolivet, Directrice de la Communication, Sparknews

Moez JomĆ¢a, Founder & CEO, INFINITE

Camille Kaboulou, ChargĆ©e de mĆ©cĆ©nat, PremiĆØre Urgence Internationale

Galitt Kenan, Executive Director, Jane Goodall Institute France

ClƩmence KnaƩbel, Publicis Sapient

Vincent Kraus, Co-Founder of FEVE (Fermes En Vie), FEVE

Eugene Kuzmenko, Head of Engineering, Geodesic.Life

Vincent Lamanna, CEO, Crewdle

Thibault Lamarque, CEO, Castalie

Dan Lammot, CEO & Co-founder, threshold.world & b.world

Jacques LAMOINE, Gestionnaire de communautƩ et relation client, Association 1er degrƩ

SĆ©verine LARROUY, Co-Founder, JASH Partenaire

Santiago Lefebvre, PrƩsident fondateur, ChangeNOW

Erwan Le MƩnƩ, Chairman, EcoTree

Mathilde Le Roy, COO, ReGeneration

Arthur Le Vaillant, Founder, GENERATION 21Ā 

Tristan Lecomte, Founder, Second Life

Antoine Leguin, Sales / development, 1% for the Planet

Clarisse LELONG, Partner, Deloitte

Antonin LEONARD, Partner, Asterion Ventures

RaphaĆØle Leroy, Directrice Engagement dā€™entreprise, BNP Paribas Banque Commerciale en FranceĀ 

Amaury Lethu, SecrƩtaire gƩnƩral et trƩsorier, 1er degrƩ

Guillaume Leti, CEO and cofounder, Carbonable

Beatrice LEVEQUE, Founder, LOOK SHARP

Christian Lim, Managing Director, SWEN Capital Partners I Blue Ocean

Joshua Linn, CEO, The Ocean Package

Birgit Marie Liodden, Founder & Chief Mermaid, The Ocean Opportunity Lab AS

Pierre Louette, PrƩsident Directeur GƩnƩral Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien

Rose-May Lucotte, Co-fondatrice, ChangeNOW

Buvat Ludivine, Chief of Marketing, Communication and CSR Officer, Reforest’Action

Paul LUU, Executive Secretary, 4 per 1000 international Initiative

Bertier Luyt, Cofondateur, Adesio

Revd Jide Macaulay, Founder & CEO, House of Rainbow CIC

Prosper Magali, Head, Innovation and Strategic Growth, Ensol Tz Ltd

SĆ©bastien Maire, CEO, France Ville Durable

Emilie Malek, Marketing Manager, CompPair

Jasmine Manet, CEO, Youth Forever

MahƩva Manganaro, PrƩsidente, CEO, FairTrotter

Edouard Mathieu, Sales, Le Printemps des Terres

Ludovic MaugĆØre, Campaign manager, On Est PrĆŖt

Tammy Mayer, Director/Founder, One Climate Action

Ajay Menda, CEO France, Greenmood

Nithya Menon, Head of Product and Technology, Okra Solar

Gesa Miczaika, General Partner, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund

Vanessa Molia, Sales Manager, Newcy

Camille Mommer, Co-Founder, Natura Mater

Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Head of Sustainable development, CNES

Victor Mora, Investment Director, 50 Partners Impact

Mathilde Moulin, CEO, Geopure

Elizabeth Myers, Founder & CEO, MĀDI

Hechem Nadjar, CEO & co-founder, Enhywhere

Shahriar Najafian, Founder & CEO, Green Energy Development Co.

Sarah Newman, Executive Director, Climate Mental Health Network

Caroline NEYRON, Directrice GƩnƩrale du Mouvement IMPACT France, Mouvement IMPACT France

Maya Noƫl, Managing Director, France Digitale

SĆ©bastien Nunes, CEO, ClimateSeed

Nico Occhiminuti, President, Waves of Change

Marine Olacia, Founder, SAO textile

Jacquelyn Omotalade, Climate Investments National Director, Dream.Org

Alfred Opio, CEO and Founder, KAINOafrica

Pierre PAGEOT, Directeur GƩnƩral Transition Ʃcologique, Groupe SOS

Boaz Paldi, Chief Creative Officer, United Nations Development Programme

Deborah Pardo, Impact scientist, Leaders d’envergure

Axel PAUGAM, Head of Impact Investment, GROUPE SOS

Magali Payen, Fondatrice, On est prĆŖt, Imagine 2050

Caecilie Hougaard Pedersen, Programme Manager, Challenge Works

Rebecca Percasky, CEO, The Better Packaging Co

Fanny Picard, President, alter equity

Julien Pierre, CEO, Fair Play For Planet

Brune Poirson, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Accor

Jenny Poulter, Senior Associate, Volans

Mickael Pourteau, CEO, Takats’Eau

Angel Prieto, Membre, Pour un rƩveil Ʃcologique

Celine Puff Ardichvili, DG and Partner, LOOK SHARP

Valeria Ramundo Orlando, Managing Partner, Greensquare Ventures

Anne Ravanona, CEO, Global Invest Her

Rebecca Ravenni, Investment Associate, Techstars Sustainability Paris

Katrin Redmann, Regional hub lead Paris, EncourageventuresĀ 

MaĆÆlys Reneaume, Teacher, Ecole de la Transition / Teachers for the planetĀ 

Celia Rennesson, Founder and Managing Director, RĆ©seau Vrac et RĆ©emploi

Ingmar Rentzhog, Founder & CEO, WeDontHaveTime.org

Bruno Resseguier, Agile Transformation Consultant – Director of training academy, Publicis Sapient

Maxime RichƩ, Artist Photographer, Maxime RichƩ

Christopher Ridgewell, CEO, AW-Energy

Carole Riehl, CEO, Optic for Good

CĆ©dric Ringenbach, fondateur de la Fresque du Climat

Katie Roche, Communications Lead, Unreasonable

Binta Rodrigues, CEO, Balenti

Jenny Romano, Co-Founder, CEO, The Newsroom

Nastassia Romano LC, Consultant / Business Development / Strategy & Partnerships, NRLC BizDev For Good

Benjamin Rombaut, CEO, Sand to Green

Alain Roumilhac, President, Southern Europe, ManpowerGroup

Laura Rousse, RƩfƩrente emploi-autisme, Auticon

Nonette Royo, Executive Director, Tenure Facility

Samuel Rubin, Co-Founder, Entertainment and Culture Pavilion

Jeff Russakow, President, Getaround

Denis Saada, PrƩsident, BETTERWAY

Brieuc SaffrƩ, Founder, Circulab

Maiko Schaffrath, Founder & CEO, Impact Hustlers

Jean-Michel Scheuren, CEO, Novobiom

Vitalie Schiopu, Co-founder & CTO, ClimateCamp

Michel Scholte, Director & Cofounder True Price & Impact Institute, True Price & Impact InstituteĀ Ā Ā 

Nicolas Sdez, CEO, PRONOE

Brice Sendra, CEO, Demet’air

Jonathan Seror, Responsable Projet Ć©vĆØnementiel, La Poste

Liesse Shimanawe, Finance and Accounting Director, Greening Burundi

Christian Sigmund, CEO, WILDPLASTICĀ®

Carla Sipp, Marketing, FairTrotter

Katarzyna Sobierajska, marketing assistant, SYSTEM 3E

Moody Soliman, CEO & Co-founder, Ryp Labs

Carry Somers, Writer, speaker, activist, League of Artisans

Anil Soni, CEO, WHO FoundationĀ 

Taylor Souter, Owner, Souter Services

Gergana Stancheva, Co-founder and COO, LAM’ONĀ 

Wilhelm Stein, CEO, Sunmaxx PVT GmbH

Aaron Stevenson, CEO, Ashored Innovations

Sabine Stuiver, CMO & Co-founder, Hydraloop

MƩlanie Sueur Sy, Directrice GƩnƩrale, Enactus France

FranƧois Taddei, President, Learning Planet InstituteĀ 

Kevin Tayebaly, Co-fondateur, ChangeNOW

Daniela TEJADA-VENEGAS, Brand and Communications Director, Count Us In

Adina Teleuca, Founder, Toboro

Julien Tessier, Directeur ExƩcutif, Karbonpath

Pauline THEVENOT, Communication & Marketing Manager, IADYS

Benoit Tholence, Co-founder, Sanka Cycle

Einar Thorsteinsson, Mayor, The City of Reykjavik

ValƩrie Tiersen, Founder & CEO, Green Score Capital

Mathieu Toulemonde, CEO, Agoterra

Romain TroublƩ, Executive Director, Fondation Tara OcƩan

Anastasia Usova, Founder & CEO, TomorrowPackĀ 

Cynthia Vallayer, Responsable RSE, Tallano Technologies

Stijn van der Linden, Impact Developer, Paper on the Rocks

Anne Pleun van Eijsden, CEO, Paper on the RocksĀ 

Ananta Vangmai, CEO, Revivebattery bv

Dani Varadi, President, Climate ProtectorsĀ 

Etienne Variot, Cofounder CEO, Regen Insight

Louis Vicart, volunteer, Waves of Change

Jean-Christophe Vidal, Deputy CEO, Konexio

Vincent Villet, Green IT expert, Publicis Sapient

Harry Waters, Founder, Renewable English

Helen Watts, Executive Director, Student Energy

Molly Webster, Director of Marketing, Arbimon & Rainforest Connection

Melati Wijsen, Founder, Bye Bye Plastci Bags and YOUTHTOPIAĀ 

Nora Wilhelm, Founder, ParaymaĀ 

Adi Yeh, CEO, Fabumin

Shu Zhang, CEO, Pandobac

Carole Zibi, VP Marketing, Plan A

Alexander ZĆ¼st, Founder, Head of Business, Zurich Soft Robotics GmbH