Kering openly shares its sustainability policies

One year after the launch of our “Crafting Tomorrow’s Luxury” 2025 strategy, the Group is openly publishing the Kering Standards, a suite of industry-leading environmental and social standards for manufacturing processes and raw materials (cotton, leather, precious skins...) which are applicable to Kering, our Houses and our supply chains.

Already instigated internally and now publicly shared, the Kering Standards are an extension of our progressive guidelines set in 2012 and are intended to operationalize our strategy and enable our Group and our suppliers to achieve the targets laid out within the 2025 roadmap. In addition, the Standards reinforce the Group’s existing monitoring and measurement of progress on traceability, social compliance, environmental protection, animal welfare and chemical use.

The Kering Standards are the fruit of a several years research, both internally and in collaboration with external experts and NGOs. They are founded on internationally recognized principles and research, and where no regulations currently exist, Kering has defined sustainability standards of our own that set the bar high and are applicable across the luxury sector.

The Standards are specific and requirement based, with “Minimum Requirements” representing what is necessary in the immediate and “Additional Conditions” which are the actions to be implemented by 2025. As of 2018 onwards, Kering will assess all new suppliers for adherence. Kering will also work with current suppliers who have challenges in meeting the criteria within these sustainability requirements, in order to make this transition together.

Continuing in this vein, Kering will launch a Vendor Rating system to continually evaluate all suppliers’ performance. Following this, a new Suppliers’ Platform will be developed to offer suppliers technical support and training on the Kering Standards, whilst also enabling them to share best practices.

“We are redesigning our business to continue to thrive and prosper sustainably into the future, while at the same time helping to transform the luxury sector and contributing to meet the significant social and environmental challenges of our generation.”

François-Henri Pinault