The world leader in luxury LVMH wants to neutralize its impact on biodiversity by 2030

The world leader in luxury LVMH aims to neutralize its impact on biodiversity by 2030, announced its Group Director of Image and Environment, Antoine Arnault, in an interview this week. “We are aiming for zero desertification and deforestation by 2030 for all of our supply chains”, declared Antoine Arnault in this interview with Audrey Azoulay Director General of Unesco, in the newspaper La Croix.

“Technological advances and the fact that all the major companies in the world are working simultaneously on these themes will allow us in ten to fifteen years to grow without polluting”, says Antoine Arnault.

Clearly, LVMH is committed not to use by 2030 raw materials from areas at high risk of deforestation or desertification. “By this date, we will also have deployed regenerative agriculture for all of our strategic supplies: grapes, cotton, wool, leather or palm oil”. And by 2030, 5 million hectares of habitat for flora and fauna will be rehabilitated by LVMH, according to Antoine Arnault.

To measure this impact on biodiversity, the group with 75 “houses” (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Guerlain, Fendi, Dom Pérignon and Bulgari) will use the Global Biodiversity Score, developed by CDC biodiversity, a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts, and will work with the Quantis firm.

On March 22, a report published by the specialized site Business of Fashion had pinned the fashion giants, including LVMH, on their eco-responsible commitments, deploring the discrepancies between speeches and facts. Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga …) appeared to be the best student among the 15 luxury, mass distribution and sportswear groups studied, with 49 points out of 100 in the established index. LVMH accumulated 30 points, behind PVH (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger … 41 points) and Hermès (32 points) but ahead of Richemont (19 points).

Antoine Arnault has also indicated that LVMH is stepping up its action “in favor of animal welfare” – even if, he admits, the group continues “to offer leathers and furs to (its) customers, because their synthetic substitutes can pose other problems such as the pollution of the oceans by microplastics”. LVMH contributes “to save species, for example alligators, which experts agree that the development of breeding farms has prevented the disappearance”, he estimated.

“There are no cosmetics without plant species, no handbags without animal species … our products come from nature and we have a duty to preserve it”, he added.