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Third Place for HEC Montréal at Citizen Act II Act II

Sustainable Development

April 21, 2008

Izold Monnier, Chloé Dodinot and Anne Roudaut, all students in the Graduate Diploma in Management and Sustainable Development program, won third place in the Citizen Act II business game, organized by the Société Générale, on March 26. The theme of the competition was for participants to “Imagine what Société Générale, the responsible bank, will be like in 2028.” The 40 teams had to come up with a project showing what a socially responsible bank might be like in the future.

Izold, Chloé and Anne, who named their team “Les Bretonnes expatriées” (the expatriate Bretons) in honour of their home region of Brittany, suggested a project encouraging Société Générale staff to be players in social change. Their submission earned them an invitation to the sustainable development week held by the Société in early April. The students will also be leaving on an eco-friendly trip to Morocco, the third-place prize.


A serious and demanding business game

The teams of three had to organize an interactive meeting at which they and Société Générale representatives could discuss social and environmental issues. Following the meeting, in the form of a three-week lively wikiblog on the www.citizenact.com site, the team members had three days to summarize their discussions and submit a detailed proposal to the Société Générale. The constantly changing and highly interactive site was a great success, attracting 4,500 comments and 28,000 visits; nearly 13,000 visitors from over 60 countries exchanged views throughout the game.

Our three winners will also benefit from tremendous visibility even after the contest, since their project, like the other three winning projects, will be studied by the Sustainable Development Department of the Société Générale to assess its feasibility.


Participants from all over the world

Citizen Act II was launched in October and was open to students from 82 business schools, engineering colleges, and universities in France and around the world invited by the Société Générale. The 40 participating teams were pre-selected by the bank after submitting project summaries.


The Société Générale in brief

The Société Générale is listed in the five major socially-responsible investment indexes and is among the largest asset managers in the euro zone. The bank focuses on three sectors: retail banking and specialized financial services for individuals; investment management; and corporate and investment banking.