LVMH bets on biodiversity with UNESCO

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Erin Floyd

Published
May 14, 2019

 Luxury heavyweights are accelerating in the sphere of sustainable development. While Kering published its first guidelines on animal welfare on Monday, LVMH has now stepped forward to demonstrate its commitment in the sector. The group has announced a five-year partnership with UNESCO to support the United Nations program “Man and Biosphere,” an intergovernmental scientific programme aiming to reduce the loss of biodiversity and addressing ecological, social and economic issues.
 

As part of the agreement, the luxury group helmed by Bernard Arnault will be present alongside UNESCO for education, science and culture at major upcoming international events over the next two years, amongst which will be the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) at the Convention on Biological Diversity in November 2020 in Kunming, China.

The MAB programme will gather together multiple disciplines (natural sciences, social sciences, economy and education) with the aim of improving human environments and preserving natural ecosystems, encouraging in particular innovative approaches and tapping a large network of participants as well as 686 biosphere reserves across 122 countries.

Thanks to this network, LVMH and its labels will be able to benefit from UNESCO’s scientific expertise in their programmes on sourcing sustainable supply chains.
 
“This partnership marks a significant step forward along the path on which the LVMH group has already embarked to safeguard biodiversity,” the group said in a press release. It added that the partnership will also facilitate the implementation of innovative solutions in the sustainable management of natural resources and the identification of products and new markets founded on quality and the traceability of materials.
 
The group will participate in scientific research projects supported by MAB and will make some of its infrastructure available for the establishment of pilot sites for conservation and the long-term protection of biodiversity.
 
The partnership underscores LVMH’s commitment to sustainability, which it formalised in 2012 with the introduction of its LIFE programme (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment), based around four objectives: improving the environmental performance of its products by 100% by 2020;  more closely monitor the traceability and conformity of raw materials used while applying the highest possible standards across 70% of supply chains by 2020, in order to arrive at 100% by 2025; reduce carbon dioxide emissions resulting from energy consumption by 25% between 2013 and 2020, for all of its sites (industrial, administrative and commercial), improving on its environmental efficiency KPIs by at least a margin of 10%.