We hear it all the time: our current economic models need a deep transformation to become more ecologically and socially sustainable. But what does that mean in practice—especially for businesses? Can a company remain profitable while producing or selling less? One promising answer comes from a model called the Functional and Cooperative Economy (Économie de la Fonctionnalité, or EFC in French), a concept mostly developed and studied in France. It's a different way of looking at value creation—one that focuses not on selling more products, but on providing better services, often with fewer materials and less environmental impact.

The Fab City movement, driven by an inclusive, sustainable, and circular vision, now faces a political dynamic in the United States that directly threatens its foundations. Since his return to the presidency in January 2025, Donald Trump has implemented a series of measures that undermine climate initiatives, biodiversity efforts, and social innovations championed by the Fab City movement.

Earlier this summer we were discussing what in urban logistics is known as the ‘last mile’, the final stretch of the transport of goods. We saw how your online shopping (and those of thousands or millions of your neighbours) had disastrous environmental and social effects: from skyrocketed traffic carbon emissions to further precarious working conditions in the ‘gig economy’ delivery culture.

Long before AirBnB, Uber and other flagships enterprises of the so-called ‘sharing economy’ (what’s actually being shared with, and by whom, is another discussion), pre-Columbian Inca civilizations were putting in practice the minka philosophy of communal work and living together.

‘Croissant’, other than the delicious pastry, is a good adjective to describe our current economic system. The warnings about the disastrous effects of exponential economic growth are not new: they have been out there for fifty years already, following the well-known 1972 report 'The limits to growth' (Meadows et al.).