Kering aims for positive impact on biodiversity by 2025

07
Jul '20

Pic: Kering

Kering has come out with a biodiversity strategy, setting new targets to achieve a “net positive” impact on biodiversity by 2025. The strategy includes launching of the Kering for Nature Fund to support the fashion industry’s transition to regenerative agriculture. Kering and the Global Fashion Agenda will also co-host a digital Masterclass on biodiversity.

The digital Masterclass will lay emphasis on the importance of integrating biodiversity into the core of business operations, with additional expertise from Conservation International.

Aligned with its long-term commitment to sustainability, Kering’s biodiversity strategy outlines steps to not only minimise biodiversity loss across the group’s global supply chains, but also support nature and create net positive conservation. The strategy encourages prevention of biodiversity degradation, promotion of sustainable and regenerative farming practices favouring soil health, and protection of global ecosystems and forests that are vital for carbon sequestration.

Alongside its previous environmental commitments, Kering has set up new biodiversity targets, including commitment to have a net positive impact on biodiversity by 2025, by regenerating and protecting an area around six times the total land footprint of Kering’s entire supply chain, all the way back to raw material production, within this timeframe.

It has also committed to convert 1 million hectares of farms and rangelands in its supply chain landscapes into regenerative agriculture by 2025, and protect an additional 1 million hectares of critical, ‘irreplaceable’ habitat outside of its supply chain by 2025, through programmes that support biodiversity protection, carbon sequestration and livelihood improvements.

In addition to these commitments, Kering’s biodiversity strategy includes a number of new, specific targets around sourcing and operations that work together to protect biodiversity in the group’s supply chain.

“Thriving biodiversity is intrinsically linked to the long-term viability of our industry, and society more broadly. Integrating a dedicated biodiversity strategy – which is now part of our wider sustainability strategy – into Kering’s day-to-day operations is pivotal for our contribution to bending the curve on biodiversity loss over the next years,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability officer and head of international institutional affairs, Kering. “Business has a serious role to play in shifting towards a ‘nature-positive’ economy and ahead of the establishment of the Global Goals for biodiversity in 2021, it is important that Kering’s strategy aligns with the scientific community so that we are already on the right path and taking the actions that are urgently needed.”

To support the implementation of its biodiversity strategy, Kering has also launched the “Kering for Nature Fund: 1 Million Hectares for the Planet”, in partnership with Conservation International. The Fund will assist promising regenerative agriculture projects around the world, with the aim of bringing one million hectares of land under regenerative practices. The Fund will focus on raw materials with the highest environmental impacts such as leather, cotton, cashmere and wool, as indicated by Kering’s Environmental Profit and Loss analysis.

The ultimate goal of the Fund is to help transform raw material production in the fashion industry, and drive a shift towards farming practices that operate in harmony with natural ecosystems.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)

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