Page 150 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

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SUSTAIN
Forward march

Shaking up the system, from the board right down to the individual,

Vogue speaks with the forces working towards a greener fashion future

THE COMPANY

A more evolved luxury customer is asking: “Who

Marie- made our clothes?” Marie-Claire Daveu, French
Claire Daveu powerhouse Kering Group’s chief sustainability

o cer and head of international institutional a airs,
tells Rishna Shah that the answer lies at the top

How is Kering, the parent company behind legacy brands
like Gucci and Bottega Veneta, addressing sustainability?
Our CEO François-Henri Pinault is convinced that sustainability
must be built into the core of our business and represented at every
level of the company: from the board, through our stores, and across
our supply chains. I am responsible for defi ning and creating new ways
of looking at our business through the lens of sustainability.

With goods being scrutinised now more than ever, consum-
ers have become more aware of the traceability and integrity
of products. How do you keep up with the shift in buying?
Millennials and Gen-Z in particular are more conscious of their pur-
chasing power, and this helps drive sustainability in our entire indus-
try. We aren’t focused on sustainability as a marketing lever, but rath-
er, embedding it into all our collections as a part of our DNA. This
includes a strategy with a series of ambitious social and environmental
targets to attain by 2025—reducing our overall footprint by 40 per
cent across operations and supply chain, a target to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by 50 per cent, and fi nding innovative ways to manufac-
ture more effi ciently. Plus, our Clean by Design programme for textile
mills translates into 12 per cent carbon dioxide savings every year. We
are also offsetting remaining greenhouse gas emissions every year
across our supply chain through REDD+, which protects critical for-
ests worldwide.

What about the social dimension of sustainability?
We have programmes to ensure diversity, gender parity and equality,
and equal opportunity. Externally, Kering engages its supply chain PHOTO: PEDRO FERREIRA; SUMER VERMA; SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. PRODUCTION: ANA CARACOL
partners to protect and transfer craftsmanship skills to the next
generation of artisans.

Can you tell us more about innovation and sustainability?
We already know that half of our target to reduce environmental im-
pacts will come from innovation, and start-ups are an important aspect
in this. We held a ‘Hackathon’ in Paris last October, where over 80
developers and experts participated to create apps or digital solutions
that could support sustainability in the industry.

150 VOGUE INDIA JANUARY www.vogue.in