INSEAD is an international business school founded in 1957 in Fontainebleau, France. Well known for its flagship MBA programmes that are highly sought after, INSEAD also offers a Master in Management, PhD programmes, and various executive education programmes.
INSEAD started its international expansion in the 1970s and established its Asia campus in the early 2000s in Singapore. INSEAD has four facilities worldwide in France, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and San Francisco.
Business School for the world
INSEAD prides itself on being the business school for the world. Educating future business and world leaders makes it necessary to incorporate real-life concerns and challenges into its curriculum to provide a holistic view of current affairs.
Sustainability plays a huge part in the INSEAD curriculum. Given how sustainability concerns affect all aspects of business, from gender diversity and social mobility to environmental concerns, it is appropriate to consider all these factors while developing the curriculum. This is reflected in INSEAD faculty members' research and applied to the course materials taught in the classroom.
Sustainability is something that INSEAD takes very seriously. It's behind all of the decisions that we take on how we operate and manage the building and the premises.
James Middleditch
Director of Operations & Campus Services, INSEAD
Sustainability targets
INSEAD also aims to reduce its carbon footprint from its day-to-day campus operations. This is something that James, the Director of Operation & Campus Services in INSEAD is passionate about.
This is apparent even from the initial stage of development of its Singapore campus. The campus is designed with energy conservation in mind, using high specification glazing to reduce heat loss and efficient chiller plant room. In addition, photovoltaic (PV) panels generate in-situ solar energy, and INSEAD is looking to install more solar panels to fully utilise its rooftop's potential. Other initiatives include waste management, recycling, and urban farming.
In 2022, INSEAD received the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum certification for its Asia Campus. In addition, INSEAD also has committed to cut 67% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. You can refer to the press release here.
Sourcing renewable energy
Amid global scepticism about corporate commitment to sustainability, transparency is of paramount importance to INSEAD, James noted. To fully realise the ambition of carbon footprint reduction, vendor selection also plays a vital role.
In 2021, INSEAD partnered with Flo to power its Singapore campus with 100% renewable electricity.
The Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) bundled into the plan allows INSEAD to verify the source of the renewable electricity the school uses, solving one of the most common pain points in the transition to renewable energy: lack of accountability. Every quarter, INSEAD receives a REC redemption statement on their behalf to certify that the electricity supplied by Flo is verified 100% renewable.
The whole process with Flo Energy has been very easy. We built up a very quick relationship with Flo Energy, and the whole process is very transparent. We want to work with a reliable and trustworthy partner.
James Middleditch
Director of Operations & Campus Services, INSEAD
Another feature that is particularly useful to the Operations team in INSEAD is the Flo Account Dashboard. It allows the team to monitor energy consumption in real-time and react swiftly when a drastic change in usage is observed. This further increases the transparency and trust between INSEAD and Flo.
Flo is proud to support INSEAD's sustainability target by supplying 100% renewable electricity to its Asia campus.