New Environmental Targets: Driving force behind LVMH Supply Chain Sustainability

This past week, LVMH Group Environmental Department amended its previous environmental goals set in 2012 regarding supply chain sustainability.  

The new initiative was named “Life 2020”, which will serve as a roadmap for sustainable development- boosting environmental performance in all business units associated with LVMH Group.

LVMH Group Environment Director Sylvie Bénard remarked that the group plans to take the next step in environmental excellence. “For this reason, [LVMH] we plan to double our internal carbon funds as of next year and thus reduce even more rapidly our greenhouse gas emissions.”

Efforts for reducing GHG emissions will focus, in specifics, on the supply chain activities that create emissions; from initial sourcing efforts all the way to end production and consumption.

Working together with multiple ‘green supply chain initiatives’, LVMH looks to improve it’s environmental responsibility in various verticals. For example, “LVMH Group intends to have 70 percent of leather used sourced from Leather Working Group (LWG) certified tanneries” (Scarano 2017).

By taking a holistic approach to supply chain sustainability, LVMH will focus in on addressing potential supply chain risks (in regards to environmental impact) before they materialize. Sourcing more sustainable materials is just the first step in the cycle of improving overall supply chain sustainability.

The global clothing industry has had increased stakeholder pressures, in recent years, to provide quality products with sustainability in focus.

LVMH’s overhaul displays that answering the demands on sustainable development come from- the top-to-bottom- operationalizing of sustainable change, not just positive PR coverage.

“The LVMH Group will also make its sites and stores more sustainable, with an improvement of at least 10 percent in environmental performance indicators. By reducing energy and water consumption, in addition to recycling waste and boosting energy efficiency by 15 percent, the LVMH Group can continue to foster a more sustainable future for the industry” (Scarano 2017).

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