With a view of keeping Prof. Philippe de Woot’s spirit and inspiring thinking alive at UCLouvain, Spadel and Solvay are joining the Phillippe de Woot Chair for a period of three years. The goal of this chair in corporate sustainability management is to perpetuate Philippe de Woot’s thinking in the academic curriculum, to train and inspire tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and managers, so that they become aware of the various economic, environmental and societal challenges they will face for a better future.

This Chair will support the Philippe de Woot International Award for the best master thesis related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, as well as the Major in Corporate Sustainability Management offered to Master students in Management Sciences and in Management Engineering at the Louvain School of Management. Launched last year, this major has been massively chosen by our master students.

“Philippe de Woot was a pioneer in the reflection on corporate ethics and sustainable development. For Solvay, these themes are the key values in the Group’s development, just as education is at the heart of our philanthropy and citizenship policy. Support for the Philippe de Woot Chair in Corporate Sustainability Management is a catalyst for these various priorities” (Cécile Tandeau de Marsac, Member of the Executive Committee, General Manager Human Resources at Solvay).

“For Spadel, sustainable development is truly rooted in its values, mission and strategy. This family business with a European dimension is a pioneer in the protection of the environment and the sustainable economy. It focuses on a local economy by promoting regional production of natural products. We were therefore naturally convinced to participate in the Woot Chair because it offers us the opportunity to encourage the next generation to sustainable development and innovation. The fresh and enthusiastic ideas of the students have strongly inspired us to believe in this Chair. We are strongly delighted with this great cooperation” (Marc du Bois, CEO of Spadel).