Gucci is the latest luxury house to double down on their efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of running an international fashion brand, announcing today that it is now completely carbon neutral.
In a statement, the brand claimed that it’s offsetting all their annual greenhouse gas emissions through four critically important REDD+ projects (which support forest conservation around the world).
“A new era of corporate accountability is upon us and we need to be diligent in taking all steps to mitigate our impacts, including being transparent and responsible for our GHG emissions across our supply chains,” said Marco Bizzarri, President & CEO of Gucci. “Gucci will continue to work in a smart and strategic way to avoid and reduce our impacts, while simultaneously investing in innovation as a driver for sustainability.
“However, in my view, this is just not enough nor will it happen fast enough given the sustainability challenges we are up against in our industry and the reality of our global climate and biodiversity crises. To address the need for urgent solutions, Gucci is setting an ambitious new precedent through our carbon neutral commitment. This is based on a clear strategy to ensure we account for all of our GHG emissions across our supply chain, act to first avoid, reduce and restore, and then offset the unavoidable emissions through important REDD+ projects.”
The announcement is the latest step Gucci has taken to become the world’s leading environmentally-friendly fashion house. In 2015 they outlined a 10-year sustainability strategy, and have committed to the utmost transparency when it comes to their emissions and output. By 2020, Gucci aim to use 100% renewable energy in their factories (they currently sit at 70%).
Clearly the fashion industry has a long way to go and no time is that more evident than in the middle of fashion month, with all the international travel it entails. But Gucci’s announcement today is a step in the right direction, and one the planet — and the industry — desperately needs.