Stellantis places Freedom of Movement at the heart of Public Debate
- Sustainability
- Travel, Transport & Logistics
How to preserve freedom of movement in a decarbonized world?
In 2022, Stellantis decided to launch the Freedom of Mobility Forum, a unique, disruptive and long-term initiative fostering international, open public debate about the freedom of movement of people and goods in a decarbonized world.
Each year, the Forum takes the form of a debate organized at the end of March / beginning of April, along with monthly articles published on the Forum’s website to continue the discussion and express the diversity of viewpoints on the topic of the year.
- The first debate, held in March 2023, focused on the following topic: “In a decarbonized world, will freedom of mobility be accessible only to a privileged few?” and brought together contributors from around the world.
- The 2024 debate aimed to explore the following question: “How will our planet meet the mobility needs of 8 billion people?”.
These pioneering debates, based on an open, interdisciplinary and fact-based approach, bringing together several thousands of participants every year, aim to:
- Explore all dimensions of the topics at stake: social, economic, technological, environmental, financial, etc.
- Invite international recognized experts from diverse geographies and expertise to confront their perspectives.
- Generate concrete ideas and explore new solutions for all stakeholders by relying on key facts, trends, and figures.
- Address all citizens, whether they are experts or not, through an online debate format accessible to everyone.
- Interact with the live debate audience with Q&A session.
Wavestone mandated as a neutral third party
The Freedom of Mobility Forum is facilitated by Wavestone as a neutral third party, entrusted by Stellantis to prepare contents, mobilize debaters, lead discussions and capitalize outputs in an independent manner. Throughout the year, Wavestone works together in close collaboration with the Stellantis Freedom of Mobility team.
After consulting with several market players, Stellantis chose Wavestone as a neutral third party to support them in the long-term (multi-year mission) for the implementation of the strategic decisions made by the Forum’s Advisory Board. To this end, Wavestone has assembled an international team of employees based in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, led by Cédric Baecher (Partner Sustainability) and Cecilia Edwards (Partner US). Due to her experience in leading collaborative projects, Cecilia was also designated as the moderator for the annual debate.
This assignment comes after a long-running collaboration with former Groupe PSA on CSR-related activities.
Wavestone is clearly identified as a leading actor of the sustainability consulting market, due to pioneering practice and wide cross-sectoral experience. Among other projects, we accompany our clients to design and implement stakeholder dialogue platforms, which we can operate over the long term. Such platforms (including panels, forums, learning expeditions…) are essential tools to foster the mobilization of collective intelligence, decrypt transformational challenges and reinforce mutual understanding to go beyond controversies and identify concrete solutions.
The topics included in the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, including mobility, are multifaceted and interconnected. For example, one cannot have a thoughtful conversation about mobility without understanding the impacts on education, health, socioeconomic status, nor the impact clean energy has on available mobility options. The Freedom of Mobility Forum establishes a unique space for global, interdisciplinary, fact-based, transparent and respectful dialogue open to anyone in society, including non-experts.
A collegial, multi-stakeholder forum
As part of this project, Wavestone was entrusted with the creation and management of an international advisory board. This board brings together high-level experts responsible for defining the strategic orientations of the Forum (positioning, topics covered, selection of debaters…), while ensuring the independence and collegiality of the approach.
The members of this board were selected for their constructive and factual approach to mobility-related issues, while ensuring the absence of conflicts of interest. They are individuals with diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary profiles from different geographies and sectors: experts in the topics covered, public institutions, energy providers, mobility providers, civil society/NGOs, youth representatives, and representatives from the labor and social dialogue sectors.
To facilitate the structuring of dialogue and debate, and encourage better mutual understanding between all stakeholders, Wavestone and the advisory board have co-created an analytical framework aimed at decrypting the multiple dimensions of “freedom of movement” in a decarbonized world.
Amplifying “The Voice of Youth” in the debate: a key priority
The Freedom of Mobility Forum is meant to envision the future. Young generations are key players in this approach. To give youth a greater voice in the 2024 edition, and in consultation with the Forum’s advisory board, several students from universities in three regions of the world, specializing in various disciplines, were invited to contribute to the debate by bringing the perspectives of younger generations: Brandeis University, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management (United States), HEC Paris (France), and ENSA Kenitra (Morocco) joined the adventure.
The discussion focused on three key dimensions:
This dimension focused on the increasing scarcity of the natural resources needed for the current and future mobility of people and goods, exploring technologies and innovations that can help to ensure the optimal use of these resources.
This second dimension allowed us to explore existing and new solutions, as well as innovative business models to enhance accessibility for all while minimizing environmental and social impacts.
Global and local issues at the heart of the Forum’s results
To highlight and explore in more detail the ideas shared during the debates, the Forum team has tasked Wavestone with identifying, synthesizing, and aggregating key publications, works, and initiatives related to the discussed themes, as well as interviewing experts to create an international database of resources, accessible to all interested audiences.
With the help of the Freedom of Mobility Forum team and Wavestone, the experts participating in the Forum have produced a range of content available on the Forum’s website. For 2023, examples include: “Sustainable Urban Mobility: Exploring the Role of Cities and Citizens” Opens ins a new tab and “Today’s Mobility Challenges: A Young Professional’s Perspective” Opens ins a new tab. In 2024, the contents published monthly will allow for a deeper exploration of the questions raised during the debate, including topics related to the scarcity of natural resources, the adaptation of lifestyles and mobility habits, and new business models to address social and environmental challenges. Discover now the first article, already available online: “The Future of Mobility Through an Anthropologist’s Looking Glass” Opens ins a new tab.
We also summarized the key lessons learned from the forum:
– Discover key takeaways from the 2023 debate Opens ins a new tab
– Discover key takeaways from 2024 debate Opens ins a new tab
You can also access all contents directly from the event website Opens ins a new tab.
Lastly, the third dimension brought panelists to delve into how our current lifestyles and mobility habits might be challenged by the climate crisis. It also allowed exploring pathways toward achieving mobility equity, allowing all citizens to fulfill their vital social and economic needs.