Kering launches its first Water Resilience Lab in the Arno Basin in Tuscany

The launch event of the Water Resilience Lab – Arno Basin took place at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence on November 2, 2026. Initiated by Kering, Conservation International and Etifor, the platform seeks to address the main water-related challenges affecting the Arno Basin. 

Water, the world’s most important economic resource, lies at the heart of Kering’s sustainable development strategy. Published in 2025, the Group’s Water Strategy sets out its water-related objectives and defines its path towards making a positive impact. The Water Resilience Labs are one of the flagship programmes of this Strategy: the Water Resilience Lab – Arno Basin is the first in a series of ten Labs.

Over the last 12 months, the Lab has brought together public institutions, businesses, academia, the scientific community and financial actors with the objective of fostering coordinated, long-term action against:

•    Water scarcity
•    Drought
•    Flooding
•    Pollution

Ultimately, the Lab aims to regenerate and replenish the basin to achieve long-lasting resilience. 

Floods affecting Tuscany in 2023 caused an estimated €1.89 billioni in damages; by 2030, the Tuscany region is expected to experience more than 50 days of heat stress per year, while all stakeholders across the basin will be exposed to water-related risks.

Thus, the Water Resilience Lab – Arno Basin promotes a shared platform to address water-related risks, with a defined roadmap and periodically measured outcomes to regenerate and replenish the basin.

The roadmap prioritizes the key areas where interventions can generate the greatest impact, with six hotspots selected as the Lab’s first cohort of nature-based restoration projects, which have already started on the ground:

-    Villa Petriolo, 
-    Ombrone/Bisenzio, 
-    Altopascio/Lake Sibolla, 
-    Pisa/Era Basin, 
-    Usciana/Pescia River, 
-    Arezzo/Chiana Valley areas. 

All of these areas are home to some of Italy’s most prominent manufacturing districts, culture, craftsmanship and tourism, representing centres of excellence in the country.

“No individual company or actor, regardless of its size or influence, can address the challenges posed by climate change, nature loss, and water risk alone. Through the Water Resilience Lab – Arno Basin, we seek to demonstrate that meaningful value creation stems from systemic collaboration and collective action across diverse stakeholders,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering. “Joining forces with public institutions, the scientific community and industry partners throughout the Arno Basin is not only a responsibility towards the region and its communities, but also a strategic investment to help ensure the continuity and resilience of our value chains. Our ambition is to make the Arno a leading example that can be replicated globally.”