It is a concept that comes to us straight from the United States and which has already been included by more than 150 French companies in their statutes since a law of 2019. From Danone to Air France via Société Générale or RATP, they chose to sum up their DNA in one sentence, their "raison d'être", to guide their action. 

"To be the trusted actor who gives each and everyone the keys to a responsible digital world".

You could almost believe an Orange advertising slogan, but no.

This is in fact its "raison d'être".

That is to say a sentence that sums up the DNA of this company.

And like the telephone operator, more and more of them are including it in their statutes with the aim of giving themselves a framework for action.

And it can just as well be related to what the company is at the moment T, as it is a declared ambition, often with an environmental and social dimension.

Guide the company's action

This concept, which came straight from the United States, emerged in France in 2019 thanks to the PACTE law.

According to an estimate from Bercy, there are now between 150 and 170 companies that have entered "their raison d'être" in their articles of association.

If this sentence is not coercive, it is in a way set in stone.

We must therefore choose it well, and weigh every word of it. 

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In the case of RATP, the latest to unveil its "raison d'être", this sentence symbolizes a year of teamwork, as Sophie Mazoué, director of sustainable development, explains.

"We consulted 200 employees. Our online consultation allowed us to collect more than 138,000 contributions. We also questioned our unions, our Board of Directors ... So they really resemble us, this 'raison d'être'".

Not just communication 

"With a hundred years of experience and unique know-how, the RATP group is committed every day to improving the quality of the city", the group has rightly chosen.

And so that this sentence does not remain in the air, he will now break it down into several principles.

Because the idea is not to make the communication, but to guide its action, as explained Charles de Beistegui, associate director of the consulting firm NoCom which worked in particular on the "reasons for being" of the Company. Générale, Garnier and Air France.

"The idea is to make sure that it clings to the strategy of the company. It will guide choices over the long term, so it also sometimes forces you to give up certain things, to say the lines that we don't want to cross or say internally what will never change. "

Concrete and direct effects

These "reasons for being" actually have a real impact.

At Danone, since 2005, the phrase chosen has been: "Bringing health through food to as many people as possible".

And to stick to it as closely as possible, the company has already separated from several of its activities in beer, aperitif biscuits or even snacks.

It has also decided to integrate its carbon footprint into its results.

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But for it to work, everything else has to follow.

For the professor of strategy and corporate governance at the University of Clermont-Auvergne, Bertrand Vallorgue, the stakes are therefore multiple.

"We must be able tomorrow to assess these companies on criteria that are broader than strictly economic criteria. Because they do something else, so they must be assessed on these extra-financial performances. Whether or not these companies meet the ambitions they have set for themselves It is very important to highlight the achievements or failures in terms of undermining the 'raison d'être'.

And it could even help to restore the image of some.

According to several experts interviewed, certain sectors, such as insurance, would benefit from examining the issue when they have been undergoing a real crisis of confidence since the start of the pandemic.