The Rational Project works, or seeks to work, with counterparts across the political and institutional spectrum — this is a condition of our method, not an option. This declaration sets out, once and for all, the nature and limits of our commitments.
What we are not
- A political party, nor affiliated with any party, in France or abroad.
- An ideological movement prescribing or opposing any particular economic system.
- A pressure group serving a business sector, a company, or a government.
- A faith-based organization.
- The spokesperson for any other climate movement, radical or institutional.
- Funded by any government, political party, or organization whose primary purpose is to serve a partisan or electoral agenda, regardless of the electoral cycle.
Each of these points, and how this independence is applied in practice, is detailed below.
Political and electoral independence
The Rational Project is not affiliated with any political party, in France or abroad, and does not endorse or support any candidate, list, or referendum. Our members retain, in a personal capacity, the full range of their individual political convictions and commitments; only the organization, as such, refrains from taking any electoral position. This distinction is deliberate: we prefer to bring together people with diverse opinions around a shared method, rather than requiring a uniformity of belief that would limit our reach.
Ideological independence
We neither prescribe nor oppose any particular economic system. A carbon-pricing measure proposed by a free-market government and the same measure proposed by a social-democratic government are assessed using the same analytical framework: their measurable effectiveness, independent of their political origin. Our thesis critiques certain climate-mobilization strategies on their comparative effectiveness; it does not constitute a judgment on the legitimacy of the movements that carry them, nor an endorsement of any other movement.
Economic and financial independence
As of today, the organization receives no external funding and runs entirely on the volunteer commitment of its members. Should this change, any funding will be subject to an editorial-independence clause guaranteeing that no contributor, whoever they may be, has any influence over our analytical conclusions. We will not accept funding from any government, political party, or organization whose primary purpose is to serve a partisan or electoral agenda, regardless of the electoral cycle.
Independence from other movements
Our analyses commit The Rational Project alone. We occasionally collaborate with other climate, institutional, or non-profit organizations when doing so serves our mission — but a collaboration implies no overall endorsement of their positions on our part, nor of ours on theirs. We are not the spokesperson for any other movement, radical or institutional.
Religious independence
The Rational Project defends no religious doctrine and is open to anyone, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
How this independence is enforced
These principles are not merely declarative. Any Architect otherwise engaged in a partisan organization, an elected mandate, or a position representing the interests of a third party that could conflict with our mission must declare it to the Direction and recuse themselves from the decisions concerned. This Declaration of Independence is reviewed periodically by the Direction and may be amended by a vote of the Assembly of Architects.
What we are
We are an independent research organization, structured into thematic Poles, that evaluates economic and behavioral levers to accelerate climate action. What brings us together is not a shared political color, but adherence to a shared method: rigor, measurement, and a preference for effective solutions over symbolic ones.
Our independence is not an end in itself. It is the condition that allows us to pursue our core mission: making sustainability economically irresistible — by identifying the levers that work, regardless of their political origin or ideological packaging.