In addition to its carbon-neutral measures already in place since 2018, Gucci is now focusing on its new Natural Climate Solutions Portfolio strategy based upon initiatives aimed to protect forests and biodiversity, safeguard and restore mangroves from deforestation, invest in regenerative agriculture within the maison’s supply chain, and incentivize farmers to shift to regenerative practices more broadly through carbon farming. The company also wants to increase the use of renewable energy, further focus on sustainable sourcing and encourage new consumption models.
“We want to be part of the solution for nature and climate by mainstreaming practices and systems that will transform nature from being a victim of climate to becoming an actor to change climate, which will ultimately determine the future of our planet,” said Marco Bizzarri, Gucci’s president and CEO, who also participated the World Economic Forum Davos 2021 on January 27.
Protecting forests
As part of its annual Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) account, Gucci states that it has reduced its total GHG emissions by 18% between 2018 and 2019, and is committed to additional goals including protecting and regenerating critical forests and farming landscapes around the globe. To achieve this it has collaborated with specialized partners such as Conservation International and Southpole in several Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Honduras and Patagonia.
Gucci wants to identify and scale up regenerative agriculture projects within its sourcing regions, with the aim to source regenerative raw materials for its products. Going beyond its own supply chain, Gucci tries to incentivizing farmers to switch to regenerative agriculture through “carbon farming” and has directly funded regenerative projects for wool and leather globally covering 3,075 hectares, allowing for the capture of approximately 25,000 tons of CO2 over the next five years.
As an example, Gucci has funded wool growers in Patagonia to enable them to convert to regenerative grazing on 1,800 hectares of grasslands, which will promote oil health, water quality, increased biodiversity, animal welfare best practices and carbon sequestration for the long term.
Renewable energy
Under its holistic climate strategy, Gucci has continued to focus on avoiding and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain. In 2019, it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain of 266,000 tons of CO2 (706,125 tons of CO2 over the last two years) through specific actions carried out through its supply chain within activities such as the use of renewable energy as it switched to green energy, avoided 59,000 tons of CO2 and reached 83% renewable energy for its stores, offices, warehouses and factories and aims to reach a 100% target for 2022.
It extended its sustainable processes and manufacturing efficiencies, such as metal-free tanning and reducing waste from manufacturing.
Sustainable sourcing
It has increased the use of sustainable sourcing and incorporating organic fibers in its collections by reducing of 179,000 tons of CO2, advancing its goal to source 100% sustainably by 2025.
It has also increased the use of recycled and regenerated materials across nylon, cotton, cashmere, polyester, precious metals, plastic and packaging to support a circular economy, with savings of 13,000 tons of CO2.
Introducing new consumption models
It launched Gucci’s first collection, Gucci Off The Grid, under its new Gucci Circular Lines, entirely made with eco-friendly materials such as recycled, regenerated, biological and obtained from sustainable sourcing. In addition, it created new circular business models such as its preloved Gucci digital shop in partnership with the RealReal e-commerce platform.
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