F.A.Q – Your most frequently asked questions
About the Hemp European Hub, hemp and its markets, and the subscription to the capital of the SCIC Hemp European Hub
The Hemp European Hub
Hemp The European Hub brings together all the actors in the hemp value chain from upstream to downstream, across its different application markets and within a cooperative multi-stakeholder and multi-market ecosystem.
Its role is to provide structured, concrete, and operational answers to current challenges in order to develop hemp production, processing and uses.
Through its services, the Hub supports the creation of new opportunities for hemp ecosystem stakeholders, facilitates industrial innovation within the sectors, promotes the development of hemp-related activities in local territories, and offers a forward-looking, cross-disciplinary perspective on the evolution of hemp markets.
The Hemp European Hub is a 360° community of actors and a specialized cooperative tool that brings together all stakeholders in the hemp value chain, from upstream to downstream, and across its various application markets.
The Hub addresses the complexity of the hemp ecosystem through a global approach and avoids creating isolated mini-sectors that lack cross-functionality and fail to address the real challenges. Through its operation, the Hub seeks to transition from a random approach to a systemic one.
The particularity of the Hub lies in the concept of co-commitment among actors based on shared social or societal interests, which is why local authorities and individuals are involved, as well as economic interests, which is why businesses are engaged.
The Hemp European Hub was created to meet the needs of the sector’s stakeholders, and it is they who have chosen to work together.
An interprofession represents the hemp sector and its actors (seed multipliers, producers, and processors) at the national level. It plays a role in representation and promotion, advocating for the sector and its actors with economic and political institutions.
As a cooperative company, the Hemp European Hub carries out projects and provides services for which it earns revenue. It does not represent the hemp sector but its associates. The Hemp European Hub focuses not on a single hemp sector but multiple hemp sectors, operating in all application markets (construction, plastics and composites, cosmetics and wellness, textiles, food). The Hub is a cooperative ecosystem that brings together a diverse range of stakeholders from across the hemp value chain (businesses, producers, local authorities, promotional networks, research centers, universities, associations, individuals, etc.). It leverages the strengths and expertise of this ecosystem to provide tangible solutions and support collective projects.
Moreover, the Hub operates not only on a national level but also on a European and even global level. We are approached to respond to requests from other countries around the world. We also organize a biennial international event dedicated to all professions and markets related to hemp, the World Hemp Forum.
The purpose of the Hub is not to create a network of stakeholders but to build concrete and operational solutions that address the needs of territories and businesses for hemp-driven transition, create new opportunities, and develop markets.
The Hub is a company that undertakes projects, provides services, and generates revenue from the solutions it delivers. A commercial structure ensures resources through revenue in addition to contributions. This model ensures financial autonomy.
However, the Hub is not a typical commercial company as it is a SCIC, a Community Interest Cooperative Company. It is the only form of commercial company that allows local authorities, businesses, individuals, and all stakeholders in the sector to come together to support a hybrid system between the public and private sectors. This enables the Hub to fulfill its promise, which is simultaneously economic, ecological, and societal.
The Hub is a 360° community of stakeholders dedicated to the valorization and use of hemp, with a specialized tool to carry out its actions. It’s not the structure that is complex, but the issues we are aiming to address today. It’s not the structure that is complex, but the issues we are aiming to address today.
The SCIC is a tool that combines both economic value creation and societal value creation. It brings together public and private, commercial and non-commercial actors. It is the legal form that allows us to manage this 360° community in an ecosystem approach, with governance that mirrors this model.
It’s a cooperative company, with the possibility of a dual contribution: I can be a customer or I can also contribute to its societal mission and become a member to support its ambition. The Hemp European Hub aims to generate profit to support value creation in local territories.
In practice, the organization is quite simple, with a support team led by its director, relying on a community of stakeholders based on specific topics and needs, and a board of directors that reflects the ecosystem.
The Hub was founded in Troyes, a historical region for hemp cultivation and production. This area represents 60% of France’s hemp production and 30% of Europe’s production. This historical background allows us to experiment and serve as a demonstration territory for the possibilities of the hemp ecosystem.
That said, the application markets are global, and we want to provide a structured response accessible to all sectors and territories. The mission of the Hub is to multiply resources to help businesses develop their opportunities and markets, and to help regions use hemp as a lever for their ecological transition.
With the Hub, we are creating a cooperative ecosystem where actors from these sectors and regions engaged in the transition co-build an innovative, productive, and evolving ecosystem. We believe that cooperation between multiple and diverse actors is a source of development for everyone and for the whole.
The Hub’s mission is global, and its 360° community is already positioned at the European level: the markets and opportunities are global, businesses are international, R&D centers are integrated into international partnerships, and the Hub itself was born from a European project…
The Hub’s vision has no administrative or territorial boundaries: it relies on a holistic approach to hemp-based applications. In fact, we are often contacted by foreign organizations, and our structure is designed to respond accordingly, both in terms of staffing and expertise.
The Hub is deeply rooted in its home territory. It is probably here that the first territorial demonstrations of its work will materialize. However, it is important to distinguish the grounding of these results and the ability to expand this demonstration to a European scale. We have structured a tool capable of working at this level.
Hemp and its markets
Hemp is an ecological, economic, and responsible plant. It offers numerous agronomic benefits and is fully valorized. Each component of the plant has its own characteristics that add extra value to the final products.
In addition to its ecological value, hemp provides differentiated technical elements for finished products:
Building: thermal and hygrothermal performance, decarbonizing the sector
Plastics and composites: lightweight, impact resistance
Cosmetics and wellness: anti-inflammatory and anti-atopic properties, relaxing, soothing, and healing virtues
Textile: thermal and absorbent properties, durability, and eco-responsibility
Food: protein source, high content of essential fatty acids
Furthermore, hemp is a local resource (France is a leader in European hemp production), contributing to the reshoring of industrial sectors in France.
Hemp is an annual crop, a spring plant. It is sown in April and harvested between September and October.
By the end of August, the straw for the textile market is cut and left on the ground for six weeks to decompose under the combined effect of the sun, rain, and microorganisms, a process called retting.
The harvest of unrretted straw and seeds takes place between late September and early October.
Until the mid-20th century, hemp was one of the key plants globally. Its use and production declined due to the arrival of cheaper and easier-to-process materials. However, production never ceased in France, particularly in the Aube region, which continued hemp cultivation, under certain conditions, for the paper market.
Indeed, the paper industry is part of Troyes’ industrial history, with the presence of the Bolloré company (pioneers of fine paper such as cigarette paper). Hemp straw was brought directly to this pulp mill until it closed in the 1970s. After its departure, the territory continued to produce hemp.
Cannabis contains THC, the main psychoactive compound in hemp. CBD is a cannabinoid that contains little or no THC, and thus does not produce psychoactive effects.
CBD is derived from industrial hemp, which refers to hemp varieties intended for fiber and seed production. In Europe, these varieties contain less than 0.3% THC. The approved seeds are listed in a catalog, and each year, 30% of hemp plots are checked for THC levels.
It depends on how hemp is used in a construction or renovation project. Hempcrete costs more than traditional concrete, but this should be put into perspective.
When comparing biosourced materials (materials derived from biomass) to conventional materials, it’s important to consider all the costs involved in the entire project (material cost, supply cost, labor cost, material function, etc.). For example, conventional insulation only ensures winter comfort, while biosourced insulation ensures both winter and summer comfort. Additionally, in a new hempcrete building, no insulation is required, which reduces material and labor costs.
Long-term considerations are also important, as hempcrete and hemp wool offer excellent thermal performance, ensuring energy savings.
Firstly, for ecological reasons. Unlike cotton, which requires a lot of water for cultivation, hemp does not need irrigation. Moreover, it can be grown on French soil, whereas cotton needs a lot of sun, making hemp a local resource that doesn’t need to be imported from across the globe. Hemp is a fast-growing plant that can reach up to 3 meters in height, offering better fiber yields per square meter than cotton. Lastly, hemp improves soil structure and fertility for subsequent crops.
Secondly, for technical reasons. Hemp is much more durable than cotton, providing better long-term wear. Thanks to its superior absorption capacity, hemp not only absorbs dyes better, leading to savings in dye usage, but it also manages humidity better, making the fabric more comfortable to wear.
Subscription to the capital of the Hemp European Hub SCIC
All subscribed social shares constitute the capital of the cooperative. It ensures the solidity of the organization. It allows the cooperative to be established, forming a necessary guarantee and investment fund for its creation.
It represents ownership. The Hemp European Hub is a variable-capital SCIC SAS (Community Interest Cooperative Company): the purchase and redemption of shares are not subject to market laws. Taking a share in the cooperative represents a significant commitment to supporting the Hemp European Hub’s project, especially during its creation phase.
Citizens, associations, local authorities, companies, employees: all natural and legal persons.
Subscribing to shares commits one to becoming a ‘co-owner’ of an ambitious and innovative project. Each associate has one vote, regardless of the number of shares owned. Ownership of a share automatically entails adherence to the statutes, internal regulations, and decisions of the General Assembly. Associates are only liable for losses up to the amount of their contributions.
Tax advantages for individuals: investing in the capital of a SCIC (Cooperative Society of Collective Interest) that is less than 5 years old grants an income tax reduction. The reduction amounts to 25% of the payments made for cash subscriptions (under the Madelin Law). For instance, purchasing 2 shares (valued at €500) allows the subscriber to benefit from a €125 tax credit.
Share remuneration: in accordance with the statutes, any surplus is allocated to the legal reserve and a statutory reserve, staying as close as possible to the principles of non-profit management that guide the various stakeholders involved in the project.
An associate can exit at any time through resignation from their membership, the member’s death, or exclusion decided by the General Assembly in cases where the member has caused material or moral harm to the SCIC. The reimbursement period for shares is 5 years, unless an early repayment is approved by the Cooperative Council.
Shares are reimbursed at their nominal value, subject to any potential losses, which would be proportionally deducted if applicable.
Can’t find your answers in this FAQ?
