Luxury brand group Kering announced the launch of its new Water Positive Strategy, aimed reducing water-related risks in the company’s value chain and supporting the company’s commitment to have a net water-positive impact by 2050, and measured net positive water impacts in its key hotspots by 2035.
Headquartered in Paris, Kering’s brands include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and others. In 2024, the company became one of the first to release validated science-based targets for nature under the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), including a freshwater quantity target for its direct operations and upstream suppliers.
According to the company, the new strategy will focus on 10 priority water basins that are most critically associated with its activities, as defined by its science-based target, and will involve working with local stakeholders to seriously improve the quality, quantity and accessibility of water in these areas.
Key aspects of the new strategy will include sourcing materials that alleviate pressure on water sources, such as recycled fabrics, along with taking steps to reduce pollution and replenish water used in operations. The company will also collaborate with suppliers to tackle shared water challenges, and utilize technologies, such as chrome-free and low impact tanning agents, that will promote water efficiency and improve the quality and quantity of water where it operates.
In addition, Kering said it will establish Water Resilience Labs to encourage collaboration and improve water quality and supply among regional stakeholders, including suppliers, other companies and sectors, local communities, indigenous peoples, and public authorities. The labs will operate in ten water-stressed areas where the company operates, with the first lab opening later this year on the Arno basin in Tuscany, where most of the company’s tanneries and supplier tanneries are located.
Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering said:
“The need for responsible corporate water stewardship to stay within the planetary boundaries has never been more urgent. It is crucial that water commitments evolve from a reductions-only approach to become water-positive, regenerating and replenishing water and ecosystems associated with all business activities. Accordingly, Kering’s Water-Positive Strategy has been designed to be transformative, and we will collaborate with local stakeholders to deliver measurable water-positive outcomes to enhance social, environmental and economic resilience, and ultimately contribute to building up the availability of clean water for all.”
