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Marine CHENAIN and Marion CADU, two students from the Grande École Program at IÉSEG, turned their gap year into both a sporting challenge and an environmental commitment. They cycled across parts of Europe—covering 3,000 km—to meet local sustainable initiatives. Their goal? To highlight innovative environmental projects and ecological transition efforts, encouraging similar initiatives to emerge in France.

“Taking Action for the Environment, One Way or Another”

“We wanted to take action for the environment, one way or another. After many discussions about the gap year project we wanted to pursue, we decided to create our own association, ‘Ride2Change,’ aimed at promoting sustainable projects and, more broadly, a more sustainable lifestyle through a sporting challenge that advocates eco-friendly mobility,” explains Marine CHENAIN.

For three months, the two students cycled across Europe, covering over 3,000 kilometers, to discover sustainable projects rooted in local strengths. Their journey took them through Finland, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and other European countries, moving at the pace of local projects and communities.

“We wanted to create a kind of map of Europe highlighting innovative and inspiring sustainability projects, to encourage the emergence of similar initiatives here in France—or elsewhere in Europe. It’s by multiplying efforts that we can rise to the challenge of sustainability!” adds Marine. “As both of us are facilitators of the Climate Fresk, we also took the opportunity to visit schools and companies to run workshops and raise awareness about environmental issues.”

Inspiring projects across Europe

Throughout their journey, Marine and Marion met 13 experts and project leaders. Among the initiatives that particularly impressed them was Evyon in Sweden, tackling a major environmental and industrial challenge.

“The company focuses on recycling electric vehicle batteries into energy storage systems for commercial and industrial use. They noticed that many electric vehicle batteries are discarded even though they still retain at least 60% of their capacity—insufficient for vehicle range, but still functional. Evyon extends the batteries’ life to reduce technological waste,” Marine explains.

Another favorite was Rebread in Poland: “Rebread recovers unsold bakery products and transforms them into other items, like fermented foods such as kombucha, or even new types of bread! They also use them to make cosmetics, spirits, biodegradable packaging, and bio-filaments. They turn a resource that’s often wasted into something new and sustainable. I loved this innovative and creative approach, developed in a lab in Poland,” adds Marion.

One euro for each kilometer

Marine and Marion managed everything themselves: creating the association, finding sponsors, handling social media, and managing logistics and administration. “In a way, we built a mini-startup!” says Marion. “Our project was supported by several partners, including Chef de File, Sloé, and even the city council of Paris’ 16th arrondissement!”

Symbolically, their challenge aimed to raise one euro per kilometer cycled—3,000 euros in total—to support a sustainable initiative upon their return to France. Through an online fundraiser, a unique promotional event (a 24-hour pop-up restaurant), and help from sponsors, they reached their goal.

The funds were donated to Neolitik, a young Normandy-based company developing sustainable alternatives to concrete using 100% recycled materials. By repurposing orphan plastics destined for incineration and construction waste, they created a new raw material that combats both plastic pollution and the environmental impact of the construction sector—one of the most polluting industries in the world, with concrete alone responsible for over 8% of global CO₂ emissions.

“A very enlightening experience”

Beyond the sporting challenge and the discovery of inspiring projects, Marion and Marine especially value everything this adventure has brought them on a human and personal level:

“This project has contributed to both my personal and professional growth. It has made me very adaptable, able to find solutions and stay calm even in difficult situations, despite fatigue. I’ve learned to keep my composure and self-control. For me, the biggest challenge was the accumulation of fatigue, cold, and unexpected obstacles. The real challenge was managing myself in these extreme conditions. You can never predict everything, and you have to accept uncertainty, like not knowing where to sleep at night if no one opens their door for you!” explains Marion.

“I think, overall, it’s an incredibly enlightening experience. During these three months cycling, it was mostly the human encounters that moved us. We were constantly interacting with strangers and realized how fundamentally kind and willing to help people are. It’s something we sometimes forget in our daily lives,” adds Marine.