Context

As we collectively reach and begin transgressing planetary boundaries, new questions are arising in both research and practitioner communities on how organizations can prepare for growing socio-ecological grand challenges and adapt their strategies.

To tackle these questions and address their complexity, emlyon business school  and IF Initiative by Carbone 4 through the joint research and teaching Chair “Strategy in the Anthropocene”, are organizing an Ideas Development Workshop to explore the design of alternative Futures, Strategy and Systems-Change in the face of the Anthropocene and Planetary Boundaries through new research areas at the crossroads of the fields of strategy, foresight, design and systems thinking to support action.

The Idea Development Workshop Designing Alternative Futures, Strategies, and System-Changes in the Anthropocene brings together strategy, organization theory and management experts as well as business practitioners to collectively discuss the use of future scenarios to develop new frameworks, methods and approaches to take action in the face of the Anthropocene. The workshop will take place September 30 and October 1st 2025 in Lyon, France.

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this one and a half-day workshop is to provide a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder discussion platform to build bridges between sustainability, management and strategy researchers and business leaders. Through a series of roundtable discussions and workshops, its objective is to enable the development of new research ideas and discussions based on the latest research and grounded in the needs of businesses.

Participants will engage in three discussion tracks :

• Track #1 – Future(s)-making in the Anthropocene: How can we imagine, design and learn from alternative, possible and desirable futures?

• Track #2 – Strategizing and Organizing in the Anthropocene:  How can we develop a shared science-based strategy framework for the Anthropocene?

• Track #3 – Designing Systems-Changes in the Anthropocene: How can we foster systems transformations?

While the workshop is invitation-only for practitioners and researchers, up to 12 slots are being opened for PhD candidates and early-career researchers. The full attendance costs of these selected participants will be funded by the workshop organisers. You will find the call for expressions of interest here.

Benefits for participants

→ For academics and early-career researchers

• Exploring how different fields frame shared research interests and developing new research questions

• Learning from on-the-ground challenges and thought processes of decision makers

• Developing collaboration opportunities with practitioners and decision-makers

→ For practitioners and decision-makers

• Sharing and reflecting on own challenges and decision-making questions and exploring solutions with peers

• Challenging strategies and practices and identifying possible solutions

• Exploring concepts and research contents that can support and underpin efforts to transform their organizations

The workshop would then serve as a catalyst to bring scholars and practitioners closer to each other and stimulate AMP Practitioner Perspectives papers projects.

Organizing Committee

• Prof. Thomas Gauthier (emlyon business school), Associate Dean for Pedagogy in the Anthropocene and Holder of the Carbone 4 Chair “Strategy in the Anthropocene”

• Jacques Portalier (Carbone 4), Director, IF Initiative and Co-Steering of the Carbone 4 Chair “Strategy in the Anthropocene”

• Prof. Amanda Williams (IMD Business School), Sustainability Research Fellow and Term Research Professor at the Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business

• Pierre-Baptiste Goutagny (Carbone 4), Project Leader, IF Initiative and PhD candidate at University Lyon 3 (Magellan), emlyon business school (Carbone 4 Chair “Strategy in the Anthropocene” and IFGE) and Strate, School of design (reset Design Lab)