Société à Mission: What if Hauts-de-France were to become the Laboratory of a European Entrepreneurial Revolution?

The Company of Tomorrow Already Exists... But We Don't Know Enough About It

Imagine a company where the raison d'être exceeds profit, where employees become co-entrepreneurs, and where social or environmental impact is as important as sales. This is no utopia: it's the mission-driven company, a model born in France in 2019 with the PACTE law.

Yet, despite its potential, only 2,500 companies have adopted it. Why? Because it remains unknown, misunderstood and underestimated.
Matthieu Caron, lecturer in public law at the LARSH Laboratory, Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France - UPHF, and leader of the "Société à Mission Europe" project, is convinced: "The mission-driven company is not a cosmetic tool. It's a leadership lever for managers. Employees want meaning, and this model enables us to build it together." His ambition? To make Hauts-de-France the starting point for an entrepreneurial revolution in Europe.

Why Hauts-de-France? A territory that has always had a mission

Chosing the Hauts-de-France region as a testing ground is no accident: "In the Nord, companies didn't wait for the mission-driven company to have a raison d'être," explains Matthieu Caron. Giants like Bonduelle or Mulliez have always combined economic performance with social commitment. "There's a paradox: this territory is historically "mission-based", but the legal model is struggling to establish itself there."

The "Société à Mission Europe" project aims to understand and remedy this paradox. How? By bringing together academic research, economic players and territories to create an ecosystem where the mission-driven company becomes the norm, not the exception.

An Ambition Project: 3 Axes, 7 Structures, 1 European Objective

1. A Hybrid Method: Empirical and Theoretical

The project is based on a dual approach:

On the ground: mapping committed companies (companies with a mission, B-Corp, CSR, perma-companies,...) and analyzing local public policies.
In theory: propose a harmonized European legal framework, inspired by national models.

"We'll be constantly going back and forth between empirical and theoretical," says Matthieu Caron. "For example, our ambition is to convince a French company to implement the mission-based company in its European subsidiaries, to test whether the model can be exported."

2. Scientific and consumer production

By 2028, the project plans to:

7 books, including:
- 2 books for each focus area (territorial, national and European).
- 1 series of interviews with local leaders "Ces entrepreneurs du Nord qui changent le monde" (2028)
- 1 practical guide for businesses "La société à mission, mode d'emploi"
3 summer universities (the first in June 2026) to share the results.
Over time, our ambition is to grow from a network of 50 researchers to a collective of 100 experts, in order to create a lasting dynamic and structure a scientific and operational movement around the mission company.

"Our aim is to give birth to a movement, not just a project" emphasizes Matthieu Caron.

Barriers to adoption: Misunderstanding and unfounded fears

Why do so few companies dare to take the plunge?

Lack of visibility: many are unaware that this model exists.
Fear of complexity: yet, the mission-based company is low-key and flexible.
"Cosmetic" approach: some companies adopt it without grasping its transformative scope.

"The mission-driven company means rewriting the history of the company with all its stakeholders" insists Matthieu Caron. "When it's done well, it changes everything. Take La Camif: this model profoundly transformed its corporate culture because its leader, Emery Jacquillat used it as a powerful lever for transformation"

A Major Asset: Self-Responsibility

Contrary to imposed standards (as in the Social and Solidarity Economy), the mission-driven company relies on voluntary commitment. "Companies prefer to reinvent themselves rather than suffer constraints," he explains. "It's a balance between entrepreneurial freedom and responsibility."

Expected Impact by 2028: European Diffusion and Influence

The "Société à Mission Europe" project aims to achieve two concrete results:

Make the model visible and understood: via books, training and events.
Obtain a European text: an EU green or white paper to harmonize practices.

"Success would be for the model to become better known, better understood, and for one day there to be a company with a European mission" sums up Matthieu Caron.

sur scène, l'équipe du FEDER La Société à Mission Europe

A clear message to hesitant companies

"Train yourself in the mission-driven company rather than the other tools of business ethics. It's far more transformational. And read our books when they come out: they'll give you the keys to take action! In any case, that's what an action research project is all about, and we hope to be up to the challenge"

And after 2028?

The project doesn't stop there. The aim is to perpetuate a movement for an economy where performance rhymes with impact. The Hauts-de-France region could well become the symbol of a new way of doing business - one that is both locally rooted and turned towards Europe.

To follow the project :

A web page
LinkedIn (400 subscribers in one week!).
Books to be published in 2027: "Ces entrepreneurs du Nord qui changent le monde" and "La société à mission, mode d'emploi".

Matthieu Caron, lecturer in public law at UPHF and leader of the Société à Mission Européenne project, draws on the expertise of Stéphane Vernac, professor of private law at UPJV and associate researcher at Mines ParisTech. One of the pioneers of the Société à Mission since 2012, Stéphane Vernac played a key role in establishing the scientific credibility of the project, helping to bring together a solid consortium. Their collaboration, enriched by the partnership with Mines ParisTech, was decisive in bringing this ambitious initiative to fruition.

To finance the project, Matthieu Caron applied for an ERDF grant, which required the formation of a consortium of partners. Among them, CARAC, a mutual insurance company committed to its mission, played a key role, committing to funding the project to the tune of 40,000 euros a year for three years. This financial support was decisive in getting the project off the ground and attracting other major players to its side.