Credit: Sardaka
On
Tuesday, Kering announced that the luxury group, which includes brands
such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, will become
carbon neutral across its operations and supply chain by offsetting its
greenhouse gas emissions from 2018. The announcement follows Gucci’s
own carbon neutrality pledge earlier this month and comes a day after Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s emotional speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
"We
are going a step ahead in the implementation of our sustainability
strategy," says Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering’s chief sustainability
officer. Kering’s sustainability initiatives to date have included work
to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a
push for the use of reusable energy, says Daveu. “Where we won't be able
to have zero impact it's important to offset.”
Fashion
companies are increasingly pledging to offset their carbon footprint as
it shows a commitment to sustainability, but the benefits
of these initiatives are not guaranteed. “There is nothing logical or
innovative around carbon offsetting unless it comes with a very serious
commitment to prevent and reduce the company's carbon footprint,” says
Orsola de Castro, founder and creative director of Fashion Revolution.
Kering, which also led the formation of the Fashion Pact
to combat climate change at the 45th G7 Summit in August, has pledged
to reduce all of its operations and supply chain greenhouse gas
emissions by 50 per cent by 2025. The ambitious goal sets the industry
in the right direction, but de Castro points out that without an
external policing body, there is no guarantee of accountability.
Gucci Spring/Summer 2020.
Since
2011, Kering has measured the group’s greenhouse gas emissions through
environmental profit and loss accounting (EP&L) to implement changes
in its supply chain and promote efficiency initiatives across the
board. These efforts have focused on offsetting two of the three types
of emissions as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, by operating on direct emissions from owned or controlled sources and emissions from the generation of purchased energy.
With
its latest pledge, the group will offset all remaining emissions in the
protocol, meaning upstream and downstream emissions in the value chain.
For 2018, these remaining emissions will account for approximately 2.4
million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The group’s offsetting
practices rely on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD+) projects, which include a partnership with the
Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) to promote the conservation
of biodiversity in farming practices, and collaborating with the Savory
Institute’s Frontier Founder initiative to encourage regenerative
grazing practices. The company’s 2018 offset will equal around 2 million
hectares of forests around the world.
Kering’s
announcement pushes it ahead of other luxury conglomerates in its
commitment to full carbon neutrality, but other groups have their own
initiatives in place. Richemont has been purchasing carbon offsets since
2008, while LVMH introduced a carbon fund across its brands in 2015 to
calculate and offset greenhouse gas emissions generated by its
businesses. “Such an approach reaffirms how Kering is one of the
companies leading the way in sustainability, and I hope other brands and
retailers will follow,” writes Eva Kruse, CEO and president of the Global Fashion Agenda, via email.
But an overreliance on offsetting can be seen as sidestepping a larger issue.
“With
this level of urgency [we need] a commitment policy on reduction, not
just of carbon and fumes, but also of production,” says de Castro. “We
need to disinvest from growth to invest in social and environmental
supply chain prosperity and compliance.”
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