Thomas and Fx often tell us with a Franco-French accent, “I have a dream, that one day, we will consommer moins mais mieux !”. Behind these airs of Martin Luther King, our two co-founders are convinced that together we can make things happen and that thanks to Oé, we can promote sustainable viticulture and responsible consumption. As actions are sometimes worth more than words, we decided to write in iron our environmental mission into our bylaws by becoming a Purpose-Driven Company. Follow us, we'll explain everything.
A purpose-driven company, what's that?
It's true, how could a company have a mission, and what does it mean?
A company allows us to contribute to the country's economy and also to make a living for citizens (employees), who receive a salary in exchange for their work. So far, nothing new under the sun.
In addition to its profitability goal to endure, the company has rights and obligations but we'll skip the details because it's very boring. At least one thing is certain, nothing obliges a company to have a social or environmental mission. It's a real shame my dear Watson because that means that a company can grow without taking into account the general interest, the well-being of the population and the health of nature, beyond the salary it pays every month to its employees. Of course, they can do it, and some do, very well indeed, but nothing obliges them to.
All that is ancient history because since May 22, 2019, the PACTE law introduced within a company some social and environmental objectives. When a company becomes a Purpose-Driven Company, it adds to its bylaws, a social or environmental objective. The societal and environmental objectives are therefore no longer secondary but primary, they are at the heart of the company and are part of the project. We write it in black and white, sometimes we also use a blue pen but that's less common, the reason for the company's existence. It is generally all the stakeholders of the structure who define together the mission, in connection with the company culture, to give a direction to follow. As we often say, alone you go faster, together we go further. So to define a mission for the common good and the planet, it is better to gather all available brains and find the best possible project.
You probably know the Patagonia brand, its iconic logo and its trendy clothes. Patagonia is also, if not especially, known for being the reference in terms of CSR (corporate social responsibility), which offers collections made from recycled materials and spreads a positive message, focused on more responsible consumption. Thomas, the co-founder of Oé is a fan of it, he is dressed in it from head to toe, we sometimes even wonder if his socks also come from there. All this to tell you that Patagonia is also guided by a mission, here it is: “Make quality products with the least possible impact on the environment, and encourage the business world to implement solutions to stop the environmental crisis.”
Inspiring, isn't it? In any case, that's what we told ourselves, especially since at Oé, that's what we've always done. Offering you good organic, vegan and pesticide-free wine. So we said: "Purpose-Driven Company, why not us!"
Why become a purpose-driven company?
Since 2017 we are B-Corp certified to our greatest happiness. In the world of startups and committed companies, being a B-Corp is a real goal because it allows us to improve every day in our commitments. We are very proud to be B-Corp certified for more than 3 years and to have been recertified in September 2020. For us, it's a driving force to move towards more sustainable solutions with pleasant working conditions and living environment.
We talk to you in more detail about our certification in this article.
But then, if we have all the keys in hand to move Oé towards a better world, why become a Purpose-Driven Company?
What if we took an example to talk about it, how does that sound? Let's say Oé is like a boat (a sailboat obviously). The B-Corp label is like a friend, with him, we improve our boat, we do the mechanical overhauls, we reorganize the interior and we take care of the crew. In short, thanks to B-Corp, we question ourselves every day and we constantly challenge ourselves to find solutions always more adapted to the problems of tomorrow.
Having a boat is good, maintaining and improving it is even better, but then, what is missing? A direction of course! We have always known our direction but we have never really written it. Sailing towards a more responsible world, that's the credo of our adventure, and as good captains of a ship, Thomas and François-Xavier, our two co-founders told themselves that they needed to define and write in black and white our direction.
Referring to the stars to move forward is nice but sometimes it makes us deviate and we would risk hitting an iceberg and sinking. Apparently, it has already happened to the toughest of boats (referring to the Titanic of course), we say that we say nothing. And since we want to take you with us to land on a land where biodiversity lives in harmony with man who has known how to learn to consume less, but better, we said to ourselves that we needed to draw our map.
So here, after a lot of reflection, discussion and especially excitement, the whole Oé team is very happy to announce that we are becoming a purpose-driven company, that our direction is in the company's bylaws and that we are officially sailing towards a better world!
And to be aligned with our mission, we set some objectives:
- Offer organic and zero pesticide products
- Build our offer around zero waste
- Deploy the Oé Program for Biodiversity
What does it change for Oé?
Well, for Oé it changes almost nothing. Why? Because since our beginnings, we operate as a Purpose-Driven Company, and our mission is to promote a sustainable and responsible agriculture, to address environmental issues and to find solutions for a healthier and more respectful consumption.
Becoming a Purpose-Driven Company is therefore both the culmination of everything we have done since our beginnings but it especially helps us keep the course, to remind ourselves why we are here and what our role is. We will therefore continue to struggle to offer you more sustainable solutions, in agreement with our values like when we decided to change our bottles, to reintroduce the deposit system on a national scale or even to venture into the bulk universe with our partner Jean Bouteille.
Emilie, our marketing manager also takes on the role of mission committee. By writing our environmental mission in our bylaws, our role is no longer unofficial but official and Emilie makes sure everything goes well. She keeps an eye on the direction Oé is taking and ensures that our societal and environmental objectives are well respected.
The whole team is happy about this new turn because the fact of becoming a Purpose-Driven Company strengthens our convictions, gives even more meaning to what we do and it's a new page of the book of Oé that is being written. We are very proud to become a Purpose-Driven Company and we hope you like it too.
Want to come aboard? Don't hesitate to share your feedback, your convictions, your doubts and your ambitions on our networks and at our address hello@oeforgood.com
As a good sailor that you are, you also have the right to relax with a good glass of red wine, white wine or rosé wine, committed from the cork to the foot. All our wines are organic, vegan and pesticide-free to suit everyone, even the planet!
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