Credit: pixabayKering is a French multinational specializing in luxury goods such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Veneta. The company started in 1963, and today it has annual revenues of about $13 billion. Since 2017, the company has been ramping up its sustainability efforts, focusing on climate and biodiversity.
“Kering’s unwavering long-term commitment to sustainability is reflected by our progress towards meeting our ambitions and alignment with climate actions that make a difference. Now, by committing to implement a science-based target on climate to drive these actions so that they are consistent with a 1.5-degree pathway, will be taking another large step forward towards our future,” the company says.
It has set up three pillars: care, collaborate, and create, which generally have set 2025 targets to cut its environmental footprint. To that end, Kering reduced its environmental impact by 14% between 2015 and 2018. It is on a path to cutting its CO2 emissions by 40% by 2025.
It reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 77% in intensity within its operations during those same years, and it reached 100% renewable energy use at facilities in seven countries. As of 2018, Kering became carbon neutral as a Group in its operations and across its sourcing and supply chain. It uses carbon offsets, verified by the United Nations and REDD+, which oversees “sovereign credits” issued by countries.The governments use those monies to preserve their rainforests and biodiversity — so the trees do not have to be cut down for wood or the land used for farming.
In January 2018, Kering developed its ‘Standards for Raw Materials and Manufacturing Processes,’ covering best practices across environmental protection, social welfare, traceability, chemical use, and animal welfare. It says it has achieved 68% alignment. It is on track to reach 100% sustainable sourcing for many critical raw materials by 2025.
Kering says it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 77% in intensity in its operations (offices, stores, warehouses, and owned industrial sites) between 2015 and 2018. It has a Science-Based Target to cut those releases by 50% by 2025 from a 2015 baseline for Scopes 1, 2, and 3, which applies to its supply chain. It is 36% of the way there.
It has also focused on reusing and recycling materials. To that end, it launched an industry-wide effort to advocate for the circular economy and understand consumer use and product end-of-life. Kering attained 88% traceability for its vital raw materials, against a goal to reach 100% by 2025.
“This is the same for all of luxury and fashion. Scope 1 and 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol are not near enough given the intensifying climate crisis. We need bold leadership that also takes full responsibility for all the impacts upstream in Scope 3 as well,” the company says. “With this in mind, the Kering sustainability strategy starts there - where we source our raw materials - right through to the manufacturing and production of our goods. This continues all the way to our stores and clients, where we are also examining consumer use and the “end life” of our products.”
The company aims to reduce its environmental impact by 40% by 2025. It reduced it by 14% between 2015 and 2018. It had set clear standards, starting in 2018 when it open-sourced best practices for buying raw materials and running its manufacturing processes.
It is a holistic approach that considers each step of the value chain — from the farm to the field or mine to the finished product. And the company’s mission statement is embedded in its work product — something that its partners understand. It is their contract.
Sustainability is at the core of the company’s mission. As such, it complies with all national and international laws, conventions, and regulations. Its purchases are all traced to their origins and avoid the natural ecosystem's degradation or destruction. It promotes eco-friendly production methods and is committed to reducing the impact of climate change. For example, it aims to source 100% of its leather sustainably by 2025. It is 73% of the way. It already sustainably sources 100% of its gold.
Moreover, “From 2015 to 2018, our Clean by Design program helped save 8,000 tons of CO2 per year, across 25 participating mills in Italy, including an average reduction of 19% of greenhouse gas emissions and a transition for all sites towards natural gas or wood instead of fuel oil,” the company says.
The company’s achievements include:
— Becoming more energy efficient in its operations, which has reduced 30% carbon intensity in stores since 2015.
— Reaching 100% renewable energy in seven countries, which includes 77% of Europe and 67% overall.
— Adopting critical manufacturing efficiencies and innovative programs, such as its “Clean by Design” program for textile mills, translates into 19% CO2 savings annually.
Notably, it says the entire company hit carbon neutrality in 2018 across all scopes — 1,2, and 3. But that includes buying carbon credits, which are used to offset those emissions that can’t be controlled by switching to energy efficient technologies or cleaner energy forms. For example, it supports reforestation in Guiana, where it mines gold. It is planting trees on 116 hectares of Amazonian forest. It has planted 214,780 trees since 2018.
