UPHF and INSA Hauts-de-France awarded DD&RS label

On the occasion of the labeling, Prof. Philippe Pudlo, Delegate Vice-President for a Sustainable and Inclusive University, looks back at the scope of this recognition, the actions already undertaken and future prospects for the university, its establishments and the region.

What does obtaining the DD&RS label mean in concrete terms for UPHF and INSA Hauts de France?

Pr. Philippe PUDLO: Our university has transformed a great deal in recent years to the point where it is now perpetuated as a grand établissement. The Schéma Directeur Pluriannuel Développement Durable et Responsabilité Sociétale (SDP DD&RS) 2022-2026 UPHF/INSA Hauts-de-France is part of this transformation and aims to consolidate the social responsibility of our establishments by 2030.

The awarding of the DD&RS label, for a period of 2 years, and this 3 years after the adoption of our first multi-year master plan, comes in recognition of the systemic commitment of our establishments, its staff and students, and motivates us and encourages us to continue making progress.

In other words, the label confirms the direction we want our transformation to take, and confirms our strategic choices.

On each of the labeling axes, what have been the major initiatives? Did certain achievements or indicators make a particular impression on the Audit Committee?

Pr. Philippe PUDLO: To support this transformation, the establishment has appointed a vice-president, several project managers, referents and ambassadors within components and departments, set up a sustainable university committee, the central body for "setting to music" the multi-year DD&RS master plan, and increased the number of staff within the DD&RS pole from 1 to 5 in 3 years. This team has ensured the coherence and follow-up of all the labeling stages undertaken jointly by UPHF and INSA Hauts-de-France.

Strengthened by these players, actions are multiplying at both UPHF and INSA Hauts-de-France. A common base of skills and knowledge on ecological transition for sustainable development has been adopted, a training module is being tested, and will be offered to all our undergraduates at the start of the 2026 academic year. The INSA Group's Climatsup project has been rolled out, and aims to include climate and energy issues within engineering training courses. Training in sustainable research is offered to all our doctoral students, and a charter on scientific integrity is being finalized.

A calculation of the establishment's greenhouse gas emissions is carried out every year, and half of our research laboratories are beginning to do so. The mobility plan is being rolled out, most recently with the installation of secure bicycle shelters on our campuses and the award of the Silver Label Employeur Pro Vélo for the Mont-Houy campus. A biodiversity plan has been adopted, which will lead us to review the management of our green spaces, with visible results from spring onwards. Our energy sobriety plan has exceeded ministerial demand reducing our consumption by 19% over the period 2022-2024.

A Diversity and Equality Charter has been adopted, and the Gender Equality Plan has been renewed. INSA Hauts-de-France's Gaston Berger Center has been strengthened and offers, among other things, additional assistance to students. Finally, committed to making our university a fully inclusive one, the new disability master plan aims to provide ever better support for our students and staff, and also to give our teachers the tools they need to teach as many people as possible.

On a day-to-day basis, how will the label affect the lives of students and staff?

Pr. Philippe PUDLO: Being labeled recognizes that we're on the right path. Awareness-raising and training must continue, action must guide us, be encouraged and highlighted.

It is in this spirit that we support our Agoraé, the student solidarity grocery store, the loan of Vebo bikes (simplified electrification kit transforming a bike into an electrically assisted bike) and inclusive vehicles from our partner Toyota, which will soon be arriving on the Mont Houy campus. We also exchange a lot with the most committed players: our vélotafeurs for example, the players in the DD&RS cinés and cafés, or the members of the GR'INSA association.

Our community will be able to count on the DD&RS cluster, and its members, real drivers and players, to support our continuous improvement policy, but not only, as components and services, staff and students have a central role.

The label obtained should also remind us of our values, enshrined in the DD&RS Multiannual Master Plan. Dynamic, Innovative and above all Human, we must be, it is the strength of our establishments and the university. Our DNA.

Finally, there would be no labeling without our staff and students, who mean that today UPHF is the first university to be labeled in Hauts-de-France and is one of 16 French universities to be labeled to date, and that INSA Haut-de-France is the second institute to be labeled among the seven schools of the INSA Group.

Each of us can be proud of this milestone, this national recognition that embodies what our polytechnic university model brings to the Hainaut Cambrésis territory.

This label opens a two-year stage. What will be the milestones and the steering?

Pr. Philippe PUDLO: Our first multi-year DD&RS master plan was adopted in 2022, before the release of the Climate-Biodiversity and Ecological Transition Plan of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (ESR), which required each of its establishments to produce a master plan by the end of 2024.

The year 2026 will mark the updating of the Ministry's Climate-Biodiversity and Ecological Transition plan, the assessment of our first multi-year master plan and the writing of the second. Without presuming the content of our second plan, it will be perfectly in line with the Ministry's new Climate-Biodiversity and Ecological Transition plan, and in harmony with the transition plans produced by the territories. To build it, we'll need the entire UPHF community, staff and students. It will be based on continuity, while taking on board the new aspirations of the university community and its vision for our institution in 2030. We will also need to work in symbiosis with the players in our territories, just as our university must continue to work in favor of its territories.

What messages would you like to send to territorial partners, companies, local authorities or ordinary citizens, who are collaborating or would like to collaborate with UPHF and INSA Hauts-de-France on these subjects?

Pr. Philippe PUDLO: That it's natural to think about and include our partners in our sustainable development when you're a higher education and research establishment. It's all the more legitimate for regional establishments like ours. The UPHF and INSA Hauts-de-France will be there to take action and meet the challenges we know are crucial. So, I would say to them, "let's work together", "let's share our knowledge and skills". The task is a big one, and it's only together - territorial partners, companies, local authorities, ordinary citizens and academics - that we will make concrete, effective and lasting progress on these issues.

_{*The national Sustainable Development & Social Responsibility (SD&RS) label responds to the 5th component of the Plan climat-biodiversité et transition écologique de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche. Find out more}