Kering becomes first fashion brand to adopt science-based nature targets

Kering has been announced as the first fashion brand to adopt nature-based targets, joining Holcim and GSK as the first three companies in the world to have their targets validated by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) scheme.

Kering, a global luxury group, includes several renowned brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen. It has now set science-based targets for freshwater and land use, while pharmaceutical giant GSK and building materials & solutions provider Holcim are focusing on freshwater. Last year Kering joined LVMH, L'Occitane, the H&M Group and 17 other global companies in a year-long trial of the first science-based nature targets aimed at orienting corporate efforts around the protection and restoration of nature[i].

Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer at Kering has said: “Setting and adopting science-based targets for nature was the next necessary step to complement and enhance Kering’s long-standing efforts to protect and restore biodiversity. Land and water are critically interlinked, and we are proud to be the first company in the fashion industry, and across all sectors globally, to adopt both land and freshwater science-based targets for nature”[ii].

In a press release Erin Billman, Executive Director of the SBTN, said: “With global nature loss accelerating at an unprecedented rate, it’s clear that urgent, decisive action is required from governments and business alike to reverse and halt this trend. For companies, this means understanding their material impacts and dependencies on nature and taking ambitious science-based action to address and mitigate those impacts. Our corporate pilot has shown that science-based targets for nature are both feasible and valuable, closing a critical gap in corporate sustainability”[iii].

The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), which is a collaboration of leading non-profit and mission-driven organisations around the world, aims to provide guidance on setting science-based targets for all Earth systems. They work together to empower businesses and cities, aiming to help define a clear pathway to ensure sufficient effort is made across the value chain to address impacts and dependencies on nature[iv].

First corporate adopters set out their pledges

As part of the announcement, the three brands have set out their pledges which are summarised as follows:

·         Kering has set a target to reduce freshwater use in one of its top-priority basins by 21% by 2030, with plans to set similar targets for other material. The target applies to the Group’s direct operations, including Kering owned tanneries and factories, and upstream suppliers. Kering has adopted all 3 categories of targets covered in SBTN’s Land including a land footprint reduction target of 3% by 2030 from a 2022 baseline, which goes beyond SBTN’s requirements (0.35% per year). Kering also has landscape engagement targets to substantially improve ecological and social conditions, through regenerative agriculture, in sourcing landscapes covering 695,500 hectares by 2030. Further, building on its 2023 goals, the Group has made a commitment to be 100% conversion-free and deforestation-free for downstream leather sourced from Europe by 2025 and globally by 2027.

·         GSK has set company goals on both climate and nature, which includes a commitment to be water neutral in its operations in water-stressed regions by 2030. GSK has set an SBTN validated freshwater quantity target for its direct operations in India. It has committed to reducing its freshwater net withdrawal in its direct operations in the Upper Godavari basin in India by 100% by 2030 (compared to an average 2018– 2022 baseline). To deliver this target, the company is reducing freshwater use at its manufacturing site in Nashik, enhancing water replenishment through nature restoration, as well as driving collective action with local stakeholders to address shared water challenges.

·         Holcim with its granular water data for its direct operations, was able to set an ambitious target to reduce freshwater withdrawals in its direct operations, The business has set a freshwater quantity target, to reduce its freshwater withdrawals in its direct operations in the Moctezuma basin by 39% by 2030 (compared to an average 2022– 2023 baseline)

·          with plans to expand this approach to other priority basins. The company is already engaging with suppliers to collect geolocation data and gain more traceability for science-based target-setting[v].

SBTs for nature are gathering momentum

In response to pilot learnings, the SBTN says that it has strengthened its methods to address challenges with the feasibility and complexity of target validation requirements, providing updated methods which were published in July this year. As a result, more than 150 additional companies– through SBTN’s Corporate Engagement Program and its service provider program– are now preparing to set science-based targets for nature. According to the SBTN, the new target validation service, hosted by the Global Commons Alliance Accountability Accelerator, will help to speed this up by enabling companies to submit targets and have them validated, ensuring their targets are robust and in line with what science requires[vi].

References

[i] As human impact upon nature reaches an all-time high new science-based targets for its protection are released to empower and support businesses

[ii] SBTN October announcement release - v Oct 25.docx

[iii] SBTN October announcement release - v Oct 25.docx

[iv] The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) - Science Based Targets Initiative

[v] Ibid

[vi] Ibid

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