Otb reaches sustainability targets ahead of schedule

Renzo Rosso also likes to exercise creativity in finding names for the initiatives of the companies he founded. Starting with the group that 'contains' them all, Otb, an acronym for Only the brave. The Veneto entrepreneur certainly likes English, not only because it allows him to communicate with anyone; we believe it suits him because it is fast, immediate and at the same time imaginative, just like him. Two other examples: the name given to the long-term commitment to sustainability, Be Responsible, Be Brave, and the name given to the person in charge of sustainability, who is not an officer, as in most other companies, but an ambassador, and the role is entrusted to Andrea Rosso, first son-in-law of the founder of Otb, which today owns the brands Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor&Rolf and the companies Staff International and Brave Kid.

"A great deal of my time and effort is dedicated to being an ambassador of sustainability not only to suppliers, institutions and any other external stakeholder, but also and above all to the people who work in the group,' explains Andrea Rosso. 'The change we want to see in others we must first implement in ourselves: it is a philosophical maxim that can be applied to private life and work'. A cultural approach, certainly, but one that has started and over the years has been confirmed by economic data and figures, amply illustrated in Otb's Sustainability Report 2025, which can be consulted by all at www.otb.net/sostenibilita. "Our commitment is only increasing, along with our investments. I have never considered sustainability a cost or a marketing technique, however honest and transparent,' Renzo Rosso emphasises. 'We believe in it because we believe in the future, our own and that of the younger generations, and because we think that we can always improve, as people and as companies. Research and technology give us increasingly powerful tools to increase environmental and social sustainability; it is up to us, however, to add that exquisitely human element that is creativity, just as Andrea is doing, stimulating everyone in the various brands to be part of a virtuous circle'.

Coming to the numbers, the Report lists many: the supply of electricity from renewable sources in the group's operations has reached 100% in Europe and 81% globally, exceeding the 2025 target approved by the international standard Science based targets initiative (Sbti). Otb has also reduced its direct emissions by 50% compared to 2019 and 29% of the materials used in the various brands' collections are certified as having a reduced environmental impact, an achievement that has allowed the group to exceed the target set by the Fashion Pact of achieving 25% use of low-impact materials by 2025.

Alongside environmental sustainability, there is also social sustainability, entrusted to the Otb Foundation, set up in 2005 and which, in turn, has always had a creative approach: in 2025, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Ministry of Education to raise awareness among young people on bullying and gender-based violence, the Inflatable Hospitals project of Doctors Without Borders was supported, and an initiative was launched to provide access to cryopreservation programmes for the group's employees. Since 2006, the foundation has implemented more than 380 projects, helping to improve the lives of over 380,000 people worldwide. "We look at the present and the future at the same time," say father and son almost in unison. In the long term, the group aims at creating economic value, the foundation at creating social value'.

People continue to represent the heart of Otb's strategy,' explains Renzo Rosso, 'which in 2025 has further strengthened its commitment to developing a business model that is also attentive to social impacts along the entire value chain. "We continued to invest in the growth of people through training, development and talent management programmes and to promote global campaigns and initiatives on DE&I (diversity, equity & inclusion) issues". In 2025, the group recorded a 54% female presence in management roles and, thanks to its DE&I achievements, obtained gender equality certification for Otb and Diesel for the third year running. The group also pursued a training programme, started in 2024 and implemented with the support and teaching of professors from the SDA Bocconi School of Management, which involved brand and group managers. The course included interactive sessions focused on the integration of sustainability in the business and the identification of concrete actions to be implemented in the various Group realities, with the aim of strengthening skills and awareness on these issues at managerial level. At the same time, during the year, moments of sharing and training were promoted for all g employees, through various sessions held by Andrea Rosso. On these occasions, Otb's sustainability journey, the results achieved and the main future challenges were presented, helping to spread a culture of sustainability at all levels of the organisation.