Sustainability as an investment: Kering’s strategy focuses on water

Water not only covers three-quarters of the globe, but has also shaped the technological evolution of humankind: the Mesopotamian and Egyptian irrigation systems, the silk mills of Bologna, and Leonardo da Vinci’s hydraulic engineering. Today, it is crucial for the data centres that power AI and which, according to a recent UN study, will consume an amount of water equivalent to that required to sustain the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa – over 1.3 billion people. Water, which is increasingly essential, is also becoming ever scarcer, and is therefore fiercely contested between countries and industries: these are the issues to be discussed in Rome, from today until 2 October, at the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, organised by the Italian One Water Committee in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Water Institute in Marseille, where over 100 conferences and meetings are scheduled and 5,000 participants and more than 40 foreign delegations are expected. The session hosting the CEO Water Summit, which this morning will bring together the heads of companies and institutions, will also be attended by Marie-Claire Daveu, an engineer who has served as Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering since 2012. She has an extensive track record and a passionate commitment to promoting a scientific and measurable approach (read: no greenwashing) to sustainability, dating back to her work with French institutions 20 years ago, when the term ‘sustainability’ was first beginning to feature in public debate.

Known for having developed various tools to measure its impact, the group led by Luca de Meo presented an ambitious plan last April: the Water Positive strategy, a roadmap drawn up as part of its Global Water Strategy, through which it commits to achieving a net positive water impact (“Net Positive Water Impact”) by 2050, with measurable results by 2035. This strategy was launched in Italia, specifically in the Arno river basin, where Kering collaborates with many of the district’s tanneries (see *Il Sole 24 Ore* of 29 April): among the objectives of the Arno Basin Water Resilience Lab, for example, in addition to reducing water consumption and improving efficiency, the restoration of wetlands and reforestation, which will enable the absorption of nearly 4,000 tonnes of carbon and the reduction of floodwater flows by 34 million cubic metres: “This is not a task we can undertake alone,” says Daveu. We need to involve all stakeholders, competing companies, local institutions and universities. Today, the approach to water management must encompass all industries. Sustainability is not a cost, but an investment, a generator of added value. Of course, the metrics used to assess it are not the traditional ones, starting with time. For example, since 2013 we have been investing in tanning processes free from chromium and heavy metals, seeking alternatives that can guarantee the same quality with a lower environmental impact.”

De Meo has devoted a significant part of the ReconKering strategy – also unveiled last April – to sustainability objectives, as the group works to revitalise itself following years of decline: ‘It’s all interconnected, conceived as a trajectory,’ continues Daveu. Water management is linked to the management of the natural environment, an ecosystem for Italian know-how, which is fundamental for us, given that we manufacture the vast majority of our products here (78 per cent of European production, which in turn accounts for 87 per cent of the total, ed.). Our suppliers are not just suppliers; they are partners on this journey.”

Cross-industry cooperation on water management could also prevent the much-touted and feared ‘wars’ over water: ‘AI is consuming a great deal of it, it’s true, but significant progress is also being made. And artificial intelligence itself is a great help when, for example, it manages to predict order volumes, thereby avoiding overproduction. So, once again, it promotes the efficient management of resources. I believe that, even more so than water, energy may become the scarcest resource. As far as we’re concerned, if we use more AI, we’ll need to be able to offset its resource usage in other areas of our operations. Adaptability is the key to ‘change management’ – knowing how to manage change, ultimately to protect the brand’s reputation, attract investors and meet customer demands. Because today, rather than sustainability, we need to talk about the resilience of our business, and a business’s performance is also determined by its impact on the environment, people and animals.”

Kering’s long and extensive experience in the sector will also be at the heart of the new Kering Academy for Excellence, which is due to be inaugurated tomorrow in Milan: “It will be interesting to see how change management will give rise to, or help shape, new professional roles.”