Kering's Marie-Claire Daveu on sustainability and future
Sustainability seems like a pipe dream, but as the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, it is a reality all businesses must face, including fashion. To understand exactly what this entails, we spoke with Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering’s Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer. She is an ardent champion of the subject matter — powerful, charismatic, and tirelessly fighting for radical change.
Marie-Claire Daveu is no stranger to sustainability. She is, in fact, quite the expert. A graduate of the Paris Institute of Technology for Food and Environmental Sciences, Daveu has an extraordinary resume working for the French government, serving in illustrious positions such as technical advisor to the Prime Minister’s cabinet as well as chief of staff to two Ministers of Ecology. Today, she outlines the eco strategies and ambitions as well as implements the best practices within the Kering Group and its luxury Maisons.
In May, Daveu visited Singapore to announce a three-year research collaboration with the Centre of Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. The goal is to study the nature-related strategies adopted by businesses in the Asia Pacific region, and contribute these insights to the global agenda of sustainability and climate action. Despite her busy schedule, she took the time to sit down with L’OFFICIEL and share more about the state of sustainability in fashion.
Let’s begin with your role.
the French government. My background is that of an engineer, but the fil rouge in my past work lies in sustainability and the environment. So that became my area of responsibility in the company. François-Henri Pinault, our chairman and CEO, really believes in sustainability because, first, it is our ethical responsibility as one of the biggest luxury companies to lead by example. Second, sustainability is great for business. When we think about our products, and beyond that our supply chain and raw materials, most of them come directly from nature. That is why we have to change the paradigm and update our business models to take care of the planet. François has a strong vision, and my role is really to transform his vision into reality.
How has sustainability in fashion progressed since you joined Kering?
It’s interesting because when we first started speaking about sustainability outside of Kering, it was a remote concept for the luxury industry. To most people, it was not an issue, and, to be honest, the topic was not clearly understood. François-Henri Pinault was a true visionary because he was already thinking about it and putting plans in place.
Perhaps six or seven years ago — it’s always hard to pinpoint a specific date — people suddenly became more conscious about climate change. Also, we began to see its impact through the loss of biodiversity and resource scarcity, and how that affected, for example, the quality of raw materials like cashmere. We arrived at the first step, which is to have a common understanding and awareness of the challenges that come with climate change.
Next is to implement action. As part of its robust Group sustainability strategy and in addition to its individual programmes, Kering has led two collective approaches: the Fashion Pact and the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030. We launched the Fashion Pact in 2019 under the umbrella of the French President Macron at the G7, uniting not only big luxury brands like Chanel, but also sporting brands like Nike and Adidas as well as brands like H&M and Inditex (which Zara is under). The Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, on the other hand, is a direct partnership with our friends at Cartier. Through these two initiatives we were able to involve a multitude of brands from different segments, and even the suppliers, to tackle climate change among other key objectives.
“It’s interesting because when we first started speaking about sustainability outside of Kering, it was a remote concept for the luxury industry.”
It takes time and money to enact meaningful change, and fashion has always been slow to act. How do you motivate the Kering brands to adopt more sustainable practices?
We have to first recognise that the starting point is different for everyone. What we are doing through our collective approach is to propose specific programs depending on where the brands are and which category they belong to. The raw materials used in luxury are different from the other segments in fashion, for example. We also open source all our best practices, so the most advanced members in the group can share with the others and offer opportunities to join specific actions. Last year, the Fashion Pact came up with the CVPPA, a Collective Virtual Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy, and it was a way to encourage smaller members to participate because they can have better prices when they are part of the group. As for suppliers, most of Kering’s are based in Europe. And they are true partners, because in luxury it’s not so much about volume but our relationship with them. We provide training and explain the importance of sustainability so that they can develop their businesses, not only for us but for our competitors as well. We also have our Kering Standards that we incorporate in our agreements with them. I fully agree when you say it takes time and money, but we don’t see that as a cost but rather an investment.
Disruption is another powerful driver of change.
Given the issues we are facing, we need both incremental and disruptive innovation. In 2013, we created our own Material Innovation Lab, which is a library of sustainable fabrics located in Milan. The Lab works closely with our suppliers to align their practices with our Kering Standards. We also partnered with Conservation International to create the Regenerative Fund for Nature in 2021, with the goal of transforming 1 million hectares of conventional cropland into regenerative agricultural plots, a process that takes at least three years.
In parallel, we work with startups to promote disruptive innovations. One example is using lasers to produce colour and wear effects in the lab. Another example is Balenciaga’s bio-fabricated mushroom coats, or Gucci’s Demetra leather alternative, both using 100 per cent plant-based raw materials. With Gucci we also launched the Circular Hub in 2023, a large-scale effort at developing a circular economy within the Italian fashion industry. Today, we are working with over 250 startups, with more coming to see us every day because they know we are committed to sustainability.
All over the world, we see that people — younger people especially — are becoming more sensitive about whether or not a brand is involved in sustainability.
How will the push for sustainability in fashion impact clients?
It’s a delicate question. All over the world, we see that people — younger people especially — are becoming more sensitive about whether or not a brand is involved in sustainability. But the traditional clients who are older do not question that; they trust that when they buy a bag from Bottega Veneta or Saint Laurent, they are buying a level of quality in which sustainability is inherent in the product. Beyond that, we also see that when it comes to attracting the best talents, reputation and results surrounding sustainability are increasingly important. When values are aligned, it creates a sense of cohesion within the group. So for us it is a much broader approach.
You’re in Singapore for “Nature in the City“, a forum on urban biodiversity. What has biodiversity got to do with fashion?
When you see a jacket, you have to keep in mind that it’s not only about its design and quality. You need raw materials to make it, which comes from nature. From ecosystems and their biodiversity. Fashion arguably has a greater impact on biodiversity than on climate change. The first step is to be conscious of that. At Kering we developed the Environmental Profit and Loss account to measure not only carbon emissions, water consumption, and pollution, but also effects on biodiversity.
Also, if we want to tackle the issue of climate change, biodiversity is part of the solution. I spoke about regenerative agriculture — it’s a great way to capture carbon in the soil and reduce chemical fertilisers. And I’m always impressed by how Singapore has managed to combine a city with nature. You have nature everywhere! That’s something we don’t see in many urban spaces, so it’s interesting. We’ve partnered with NUS Business School to study how Asia Pacific businesses are tackling climate change, and from there we hope to develop strategies on ESG (environmental, social, and governance), green energy, green finance and so forth.
How do you prevent sustainability from being sidelined when there is no shortage of crises in the world today?
The key is to put sustainability at the heart of your strategy and to have the support of top management. You can’t implement it in one year and stop in the next when the global situation becomes uncertain. It does not work that way. As soon as you stop, it’s finished. And it will cost more to restart. Thanks to François-Henri’s clear vision and our specific KPIs and sustainability reviews, everyone in Kering knows that sustainability is not an option. It’s also to show that sustainability is not a constraint but an opportunity. If you do it simply to tick the box, that’s not helpful. But if you use the opportunity to reassess your business and find creative solutions to consume less energy or water or raw materials, it’s a great way to reduce costs. At the end of the day, it’s about changing mindsets and elevating our brands.
Sustainability at Kering is a group effort. Here’s a quick snapshot of each of its luxury houses’ recent efforts at going green.
At Gucci: Circularity is a main ambition, with manifold ways of achieving it. There’s Gucci Vintage and Gucci Preloved with Vestiaire Collective to extend the life of Gucci products. Demetra is an animal-free innovative material developed in-house by Gucci’s own artisans. Leftover materials, including Demetra are reclaimed through the Gucci-Up program and upcycled. Most progressive of all is the establishment of the Circular Hub in Tuscany (with the support of Kering), the first large-scale circular economy initiative dedicated to helping transform the Italian fashion industry. Gucci’s Denim Project, conceived through this platform, was awarded the prestigious Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy in 2023 at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, with a collection dropping in 2024.
At Boucheron: CEO Hélène Poulit-Duquesne decrees: No pack is the new pack. And so the traditional jewellery box packaging is reinvented with only two natural, traceable and recyclable materials: lightweight aluminium and wool felt certified by the Responsible Wool Standard. The new eco-design features a pattern with finely sculpted emerald shapes representing Place Vendôme seen from above, a beloved symbol of the Maison, and can be repurposed for myriad uses: a desk accessory, a mini planter, even a pet bowl!
At Balenciaga: In the Summer 2024 collection, a maxi bathrobe coat is constructed from LunaformTM, an animal and plastic-free textile developed specifically for the brand by American biomaterials startup Gozen. The same collection also debuts a partnership with motorsports performance apparel manufacturer Alpinestars in an upcycled jacket made from deadstock leather racing gear.
At Saint Laurent: Since Fall 2022, iconic pieces of Le Vestiaire feature exclusively responsible and organic materials. In addition to the Le Monogramme line of small leather goods where trimmings are made with offcuts, there are Econyl backpacks and upcycled leather wallets and card cases as well.
At Bottega Veneta: High-quality surplus materials inspired the Reserve Series, an ongoing collection of bags, small leather goods and decorative objects handcrafted exclusively from offcuts found in the house’s reserves.
