Michel Lescanne, Founder and President of Nutriset Group, with Adeline Lescanne-Gautier, General Manager of Nutriset and Onyx Développement (left) and Isabelle Lescanne, Administrator of Onyx Développement (right).
A core mandate: "nutritional autonomy for all"
Since its foundation in 1986, Nutriset has set itself the goal of feeding vulnerable populations in developing countries and providing humanitarian workers with innovative and effective nutritional solutions.
In cooperation with its partners, Nutriset has been able to implement radical changes in the treatment and prevention of the different forms of malnutrition.
To fulfill its mission, "nutritional autonomy for all" (capacity of a country or community to set up a sustainable system to identify and make accessible the nutrients required for the development and good health of its population), the company has invested massively in research, developed a range of products to reach different target populations, and encouraged local production as close as possible to the beneficiaries.
An innovative model of governance
As an independent family business, Nutriset has developed a unique model of governance to carry out a mission with a humanitarian purpose. Its founders and shareholders wanted to ensure the sustainability of this mandate by including it in the company's memorandum - its legal status.
French law makes clear distinctions between charters for entities of the corporate private sector and for those of the social and solidarity economy sector. There is no legal form of companies wishing to implement projects that combine economic, social and sustainability dimensions. In collaboration with research workers from the School of Mines-Paris Tech, discussions led to the adoption of an “Expanded Corporate Purpose” (in French, Objet Social Etendu). Nutriset deliberately referred to its mandate to describe this updated purpose: "To bring effective proposals to address the problems of nutrition / malnutrition".
This Expanded Corporate Purpose, written down in the company legal status, aligns the management of the company with the values of its shareholders within the dynamics of a collective collaborative project. It advises and guides Nutriset strategies, and enables the set-up of innovative modes of governance among all stakeholders within the company.
Nutriset is the first company in France to update its memorandum by adopting an Expanded Corporate Purpose, with the aim to rooting its mandate at the heart of its activity.
