#UEED2021: The Impact France Movement at the forefront of the (future) economy

Organised by the #WeAreTomorrow coalition, which brings together more than 25 networks of committed entrepreneurs (from the CJD to the Christian Entrepreneurs, from B-Corp to the Community of Companies with a Mission), the third Summer Universities of the Economy of Tomorrow brought together more than 2,000 entrepreneurs on 26 and 27 August!

On this occasion our vision of a business model based on 4 pillars (social impact, ecological impact, power sharing and wealth sharing) and our proposals were brought to the forefront.  

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux: "You are the avant-garde of entrepreneurs

The day after his speech announcing the necessary ecological turn of capitalism at the Medef Ref, the boss of bosses, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, came to the #UEED2021 to salute the commitment of the entrepreneurs of the Impact France Movement. According to him, if all companies are on a continuum, those gathered within Impact France constitute "the avant-garde of entrepreneurs" thus inviting to continue the mobilization to pull, upwards or in the direction of History, all companies.

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A vanguard that Emmanuel Faber, the former CEO of Danone, did not fail to notice when he chose the #UEED2021 to make his comeback. In front of a packed room and more than 30,000 people online, he welcomed an economic reopening and a movement of leaders for whom the ecological and social overhaul of the economy was not an idea to be defended but a starting point for exchanges and discussions.  

The Impact France community in the spotlight at #UEED2021!

Our entrepreneurs, members of Impact France, were massively mobilized at the #UEED2021 to make it the most important meeting of the economic year. More than 250 of us gathered on this occasion to share a convivial moment and meet new people within the community.  

The highlights of this Summer University also came from our entrepreneurs: Eva Sadoun, our co-president, was warmly applauded:

"We must stop talking about the ecological and social transition as a constraint, the real constraint for companies is everything that makes it more expensive and more difficult to act and transform" - Eva Sadoun

Another round of applause for Julia Faure from Loom who reminded us that "relying on the consumer is fine, but as long as Jeff Bezos goes off to get his rocks off in space, it won't work. He then added that as long as costs do not include all the negative externalities, the transformation will not take place. In his introduction, Jean Moreau, our co-chairman, announced his ambition: " We are not fighting a model, we are demodelling it ".

In another context, the members of the Movement met during the lunches and afterwork: a welcome relaxation that allows them to meet new people and discover the entrepreneurs of their region or sector, in particular the Tech for Good France community , which was particularly present.  

At the closing ceremony of the #UEED2021, Olivia Grégoire, Secretary of State for the Social, Solidarity and Responsible Economy, praised our Movement for making its Summer Universities a highlight of the month of August. It was an opportunity for her to recall the work carried out together throughout the year to build the economy of tomorrow.

The economy of tomorrow, yes but how?

While the need to reform capitalism was unanimously agreed among speakers and participants, different solutions emerged at #EUED2021.  

A first solution is to internalise the global impact of products through price. This will enable companies to be transformed by eliminating whatEva Sadoun calls the " vice premium ". Estelle Brachlianoff, COO of Veolia, sums up: " as long as it costs less to pollute than to clean up, companies will not change ". The many debates on competitiveness reinforce this view: Emmanuel Faber, Christophe Chavagneux (AlterEco) and Marie Toussaint(ELLV MEP) all insist that the price must reflect the quality and real impact of the product. Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux agrees: he is in favour of a carbon tax at European borders.  

Another solution is to make transparency and consumer information the driving force behind the transformation.Olivia Grégoire said that " for consumer freedom to be real, we need transparency on company practices, based on sourced, open and verifiable data ". Dominique Potier (Socialist Party) and Jean-Noël Barrot (Modem), both of whom were present at the meeting, said that consumers play a major role in the transformation of companies. They all agreed that transparency must go beyond words to allow each consumer to rely on opposable data. Our Impact Score has thus gained new support, from Pascal Demurger (Maif) to Olivia Grégoire, whosaid she wanted to take it to the European level.

A dynamic that continues in the regions

After these successful Summer Universities of the Economy of Tomorrow, the momentum will spread to many regions to allow the actors of the economy of tomorrow to get together and write the regional story of the commitment of companies. The first meeting will be held in Nancy on 23 September for the first Universities of the Economy of Tomorrow before a new meeting in Lyon on 19 October, then Dijon on 9 November and Montpellier on 14 December. Take part in making tomorrow's economy a reality for all businesses! I'm joining the dynamic!