Gucci’s 2023 Equilibrium Impact Report showcases significant strides in its commitment to sustainability.
The 2023 Gucci Equilibrium Impact Report underscores the luxury label’s ongoing efforts in both social and environmental domains. “Our 2023 Gucci Equilibrium Impact Report showcases the progress we’ve made over the last year to advance our sustainability ambitions across People and Planet,” reads the Gucci website. The label says its efforts are underpinned by science-based targets and “a new ambitious absolute target”, which reinforce its actions to reduce its footprint, while driving value creation for nature and communities. “A collaborative and innovative spirit propels us forward in our efforts to attain our vision of a modern, responsible and circular luxury for the future,” the label said.
“This report reaffirms our house’s commitment to social and environmental sustainability, which aligns with our dedication to be responsible and accountable in all our actions,” Jean-François Palus, Gucci’s president and CEO, said in a statement to WWD. “Guided by these principles and a respect for people and our planet, in 2023 we continued to advance on the path we embarked upon years ago, introducing new initiatives and achieving key targets that underscore our commitment to transformative change, while simultaneously generating lasting value for communities and nature.”
Gucci reported a seven percent reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol compared to 2021, aiming for a 40 percent reduction by 2035. Gucci also says it achieved a 78 percent reduction in scopes 1 and 2 emissions since 2015. Additionally, it achieved 99 percent traceability for key raw materials and increased the use of sustainable materials, including 100 percent responsibly sourced precious metals, 74 percent organic or recycled cotton, and 75 percent recycled or responsibly sourced viscose. Within its own operations, Gucci has maintained 100 percent renewable energy usage across its directly operated sites, including stores, corporate offices, industrial facilities, and warehouses, in line with the RE100 initiative guidelines. Additionally, Gucci increased its number of LEED-certified sites to 147, marking a 27 percent increase from the previous year.
Internal efforts saw the label recover 546 tons of leather, fabric, and metal through its Gucci-Up program. It also reduced nearly 4 million liters of water and more than 300,000 kW of energy via the Gucci Scrap-less project, which prevented the release of 4,648 tons of CO2. The company has also invested in regenerative farming projects and formed new collaborations to integrate more regenerative materials into its collections.
The label, which introduced a vegan leather Horsebit bag last year with Billie Eilish, says it will debut new regenerative agriculture projects later this year and evaluate the use of materials sourced through the Regenerative Fund for Nature, an initiative by Kering and Conservation International.
It will also debut new denim products made in collaboration with key supply chain partners, using 74 percent cotton from regenerative farming practices and 26 percent post-consumer recycled fibers, all processed in Italy. This initiative has earned recognition from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy at the 2023 CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards. These denim items will include digital product passports and are designed for longevity and recyclability.
“As we forge ahead with our ambition to create a responsible and sustainable business, we are strengthening our efforts to promote circular principles and expanding our portfolio of regenerative agriculture projects to increase regenerative materials in our collections,” Palus said.
Gucci is the first Italian fashion house to earn Certification for Gender Equality and was honored as one of North America’s Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion for the second consecutive year. Gucci also achieved the Universal Fair Pay Check certification and maintained a workforce diversity ratio, with 63.4 percent female employees overall and 57 percent in managerial positions. It also saw employees contribute more than 21,000 volunteer hours across 100 non-governmental organizations through the Gucci Changemakers Volunteering Program.
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