Lexicon of Corporate Sovereignty

In previous articles, we defined corporate strategic sovereignty and explained how to measure it using the 4 blocks of the Open Sovereignty methodology.
To master the subject and discuss it clearly with your teams, partners, clients or investors, it is essential to know the key vocabulary.

This glossary has been designed as a practical tool for better understanding the issues and better utilizing the results of a SovTrack platform evaluation.

1. Corporate Strategic Sovereignty

The ability of a company to control its critical resources, avoid risky dependencies and maintain its activities irrespective of economic, regulatory or geopolitical disruptions.
It is based on three objectives: autonomy, security, resilience.

See the article: Corporate Strategic Sovereignty: Definition and Key Issues.

2. Geopolitical Typology of Countries

Scale of the Open Sovereignty methodology used to weigh a company’s geographic exposure:

• Country of Registration: 100 points

• European Union: 75 points

• Allied Countries: 60 points

• Neutral Countries: 50 points

• Countries under Tension: 25 points

• Countries Sanctioned by the EU: 0 points

EU Framework Note: Companies based in a member state benefit from the common framework of European trade policy, which directly influences their international trade.

3. Country of Registration

The country in which the company is legally registered.
A head office in France or the EU is generally an asset in the assessment of the Open Sovereignty methodology, due to regulatory stability and legal protection.

4. Country of Control

Location of the parent company, holding company, or majority shareholders exercising strategic control.
Different from the country of registration, it can influence the Governance score, especially if the country of control is classified as “under tension” or “sanctioned by the EU”.

5. Tier 1 / Tier 2 Suppliers

• Tier 1: direct suppliers, with whom the company has a contract or a direct business relationship.

• Tier 2: suppliers to the suppliers, often invisible but can constitute critical dependencies.

• Tier 3: suppliers to the suppliers' suppliers, very often invisible and constitute an important variable in a company's independence.

The Open Sovereignty methodology evaluates all three levels to better anticipate risks.

6. Turnover by Country

Distribution of sales by country of destination, used to calculate the Block 2 – Turnover of the corporate strategic sovereignty score.
A strong concentration on a high-risk country reduces the overall score.

7. Purchases by Country

Distribution of supplies by country of origin.
Includes tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 suppliers to identify indirect dependencies.

8. PEP (Politically Exposed Person)

An executive or beneficial owner holding a significant political or public function, posing an increased risk of corruption or conflict of interest.
The Open Sovereignty methodology imposes a penalty if a company or executive is identified as a PEP.

9. Sanctions Lists

Official registers of entities and individuals sanctioned by authorities such as:

• OFAC SDN (United States)

• EU Consolidated List (European Union)
  Being present on these lists results in a very low governance score.

10. AML/CFT

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
A criterion verified in Block 1 – Governance to ensure that the company and its executives do not present major financial risks.

11. Digital Sovereignty

The ability to host, store, and process its data on infrastructures protected from extraterritorial laws and to avoid dependence on providers outside the EU.
Bonus in the Open Sovereignty methodology if the company uses European or open source solutions.

12. Trusted Cloud

Cloud infrastructure meeting high standards of security and sovereignty (e.g. SecNumCloud in France).
Favoured in the evaluation of Block 4 – Digital.

13. SovTrack Score

European SovTrack platforms are issued from the Open Sovereignty methodology.
This score out of 100 reflects a company's overall strategic sovereignty, calculated as the average of the 4 blocks: Governance, Turnover, Purchases, Digital.

• 80-100: strong autonomy and low vulnerability

• 50-79: dependencies to monitor

• <50: critical vulnerabilities to address

14. Sectorial / Declarative / Verified Score

• Sectorial: based on industry averages, applied by default.

• Verified: based on responses to the SovTrack questionnaire.

15. Strategic Block

Each dimension evaluated by the Open Sovereignty methodology (Governance, Turnover, Purchases, Digital).
Each block accounts for 25% of the overall score.

Mastering the vocabulary of strategic sovereignty is already thinking like a resilient actor.
These concepts are not there to enrich jargon, but to provide you with concrete levers for management and objective indicators of progress.

In the next series of articles “Why?”, we will see why strategic sovereignty is a competitive advantage for companies, and why 2025 is a pivotal year for action.