STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEW

Kering’s nexus approach of sustainability

Interviewing Rachel Kolbe Semhoun, Head of Sustainable Sourcing and Nature Initiatives at Kering

By Benjamin Teisseire

In view of the finite world we live in and the obvious over-exploitation of its resources, preserving natural resources is becoming increasingly crucial for all businesses. How does Kering apprehend this challenge?

My team is really focused on what the Group does in terms of biodiversity and nature-related subjects. Our goal is to maximize our raw material sourcing from regenerative production. It is an on-going process and it also relates to extraction of gemstones and gold. Kering introduced its Environmental Profit & Loss Accounts 12 years ago. It helped us understand our dependencies and our impacts, both negative and positive. This double materiality approach is now being pushed by CSRD, but that really marked the beginning of Kering’s trajectory towards a more responsible business model. In 2020, Kering devised its Biodiversity Strategy considering our responsibility in our value chains for cotton, wool, leather and cashmere, which are our biggest commodities. We made two major commitments to have a net-positive impact on biodiversity: regenerate, not just preserve,  one million hectares of farms and rangelands in our supply chain landscapes and protect one million hectares of critical, ‘irreplaceable’ habitat outside of our supply chain, in « biodiversity hot spots », as they are often referred to, which are important for the world’s resilience in general, not just for Kering. In 2021, we created the Regenerative Fund for Nature with Conservation International, as managing partner. The Fund supports innovative approaches to agricultural production by working with nature, not against it, to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture while helping local communities thrive.

We also launched this year the Kering Generation Award X Jewelry’ to scout and promote innovative and more sustainable initiatives in that field as well. As our Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, states: “Biodiversity is intrinsically linked to our business, and the need for holistic integration with nature through a strategically-driven approach is critical for our entire industry, and beyond.”  Our global goal on nature is no net loss on nature by 2030, but we always integrate the social dimension of our actions. All our projects are long term and we always envision sustainability as a way to help both nature and people, business and communities.

Very often, the attention seems to focus on carbon emissions and fossil fuel use, how does water and the growing pressure on its availability affect Kering’s businesses?

We are actually looking into this very closely and we issued our first Water-Positive Strategy at the end of April 2025 with the goal of having a net positive impact on water by 2050. I think it has a very important role to play because water is more visible than referring to climate or even nature in general. Water incidents touch everyone, everywhere, whether it is floods, mud-slides, drought, food or health security. Focusing on water raises awareness and pushes for a more collaborative way. When the UN conducted their global risk analysis the findings were that 96% are linked one way or another to water! At Kering, our double materiality analysis, conducted with Deloitte and Ernst & Young, revealed risks accounting in the hundreds of millions, due to possible little access (or even none), to potential tripling of prices of certain commodities or other disruptions in the value chain. Concretely, we have had a production plant in Northern France that had to slow its activity to a minimum for a while because of a severe winter drought. Impacts and risks are real. It is already happening. Sustainability used to be a « nice to have » approach of business. Not anymore. Now it is a matter of resilience of business models that we need to reinvent.

Can you tell us what the basic principles of your Water Strategy are?

We have started three keys programs. The first is Water-Positive Raw Materials: Centering the Group’s raw material sourcing on materials that alleviate pressures on nature and water, such as recycled fabrics and innovative alternatives, while simultaneously increasing the volume of materials from regenerative agriculture leading to pollution reduction and watershed replenishment. 

Second, our Water-Positive Stewardship Program: Elevating water stewardship in Kering’s direct operations and supply chain and collaborating with strategic suppliers to tackle shared challenges. Kering will leverage best practices and innovative technologies, such as resource recycling and reduced chemical usage, to promote water efficiency and improve the quality and quantity of water used where the Group operates. 

Finally, our Water Resilience Labs: it will be established in each of Kering’s 10 priority water basins by 2035 to drive water-positive impacts. Through collaboration and collective action with regional stakeholders, including suppliers, other companies and sectors, local communities, indigenous peoples, and public authorities, the Climate-Nature-Water nexus approach will be adopted to regenerate and replenish healthy freshwater ecosystems in water-stressed hotspots. The first Lab will be launched in autumn 2025 in the Arno Basin in Tuscany, home to many of the Group’s tanneries and supplier tanneries. It is a key water basin globally, as suppliers for other luxury and fashions brands, as well as for processing and manufacturing sectors, are also located there. Overall, the Labs will create momentum for a water-positive paradigm shift, from land to sea, consequently gaining resilience for all actors in these regions. Our goal is to expand this to 10 major water basins in the next 10 years.

Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering emphasizes the importance of this chapter: « The need for responsible corporate water stewardship to stay within the planetary boundaries has never been more urgent. It is crucial that water commitments evolve from a reductions-only approach to become water-positive, regenerating and replenishing water and ecosystems associated with all business activities. »

The Valencia floods catastrophe that just happened typically shows how everything is interconnected. It happened because soils had suffered a severe drought that degraded their quality and prevented them from absorbing all the excess water. This was amplified by the fact that there is not enough vegetation (trees, grass, plants), the green infrastructure as we call them, to hold the water either and create a balanced rainfall pattern.

In your view, what are the essential steps needed to build a water-positive and resilient future for any business?

The first key is to have that nexus, holistic approach considering that all aspects are intertwined, climate change, water, land and communities. The second is to always try to think in terms of nature-based solutions. The third aspect is to have a collaborative approach within the industry, but also across sectors, with other industries. This is the only way we will achieve resilience. The scale of the risks makes it only manageable collectively.

The luxury industries have a significant impact on water resources. What do you see as the necessary systemic changes required for the luxury industry?

The luxury industry is no different than the rest of the business world in its dependency towards nature. It needs to have the same holistic approach, whether you consider fashion or any other industry involving extraction of raw materials. The industry has to involve all its stakeholders, its supply chains, the communities impacted, in order to achieve a truly global approach. It is the only way we will gain resilience. We also have to go beyond an impact reducing vision onto a net positive one. I believe it is also important for the human psyche. Sustainability is not about creating constraints to mitigate risks, it is about creating a desirable world where nature and everyone thrive.

We are increasingly seeing business cases which demonstrate that, beyond risk management and resilience, these positive approaches create value for businesses. Knowing your impacts, your supply chain and working on it in a positive way will strengthen ties with it, bringing stability, reducing risks, both physical and reputational, and contributing positively to nature’s and communities health and well-being. When you start showing the usefulness of the work for everyone, it gains traction. And, once again, only through a collective effort will we be able to achieve a big positive impact. Together we can gain a better understanding of the global picture, measure positive and negative impacts more precisely, monitor them thoroughly, share progresses and, in the end, act at large scales.

Can you share concrete examples of such initiatives or partnerships that are already producing results?

There are many concrete examples of Kering’s strong vision and commitment to promoting sustainable practices. On the regenerative side, Kering has been working with local actor Solicaz in French Guiana in order to develop nature-based or bio-inspired solutions to restore the soils in artisanal gold mining areas. In 5 years, Solicaz has planted more than 800’000 trees on mine sites. We are developing a Mina Verde label which guarantees that the gold extraction of a site is truly made eco-responsibly.

On Houses’ side, what Boucheron has been putting in place for its gold sourcing shows how a jewellery power house can also achieve great results when the governance is committed to sustainability. In 2025, the company will use 95% recycled gold and the 5% remaining will come from 100% verified eco-responsible artisanal and small mines. Moreover, since last year, Boucheron has introduced a new eco-designed packaging for all its jewellery pieces. The new jewelry case is made of just two materials, both natural and recyclable: aluminum and wool felt.

Innovation is also key to achieve results and once again Boucheron is at the forefront with, for example, the introduction of Cofalit®* on Boucheron’s iconic Jack in 2022. Made by applying a unique vitrification process to a certain type of industrial waste, this material reaches the end of the line in terms of recycling and is considered an “unrecyclable” material. The fruit of a creative and technical challenge, the Cofalit®* used in the Maison’s creations required many months of research and transformation to be worked according to jewelry codes. La Maison takes up the challenge, adding value to what is, in essence, no longer useful, and making it precious. 

As always, collective efforts are crucial. This is also why, since its launch in 2022, Kering has been a major player in the Watch and Jewellery Initiative 2030, alongside its co-founder Cartier, and many other luxury powerplayers. This shows the Group’s commitment to purpose-led collaboration aiming at a common goal. The next big chapter, after Diversity and Inclusion, Climate change and Biodiversity, is to devise a Water Strategy tool for other members and companies in the industry to address this key issue. But no matter how you look at it, climate change, biodiversity and water scarcity are intrinsically interlinked, this is the reason Kering has adopted a nexus approach of the issues and firmly believes global collaborations are essential to accelerate and succeed.