Case study: Kering uses Forest 500 data to take action against deforestation

Global luxury retailer, Kering, whose brands include Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, detail the actions they have taken to reduce their impact on deforestation and as a result, improve their Forest 500 score.

Global Canopy’s Forest 500 identifies the 350 companies and 150 financial institutions with the greatest exposure to tropical deforestation risk, and annually assesses them on the strength and implementation of their deforestation and human rights commitments.

Kering, whose brands include Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga have been included in the Forest 500 since 2014. The company has significant influence on tropical deforestation through their sourcing of leather and pulp and paper (both for packaging, and pulp-based fibres).

Between 2021 and 2022, Kering improved their score for Reporting and Implementation by 17 percentage points, the largest increase of any company in the Forest 500.

Kering was able to do this by conducting assessments related to forest-risk for their leather, and pulp and paper, sourcing and reporting on deforestation occurring in their supply chains.

The company also strengthened its approach on engagement, from blacklisting non-compliant suppliers to engaging with suppliers with a time-bound threat of exclusion from the supply chain (including working with suppliers to bring them into compliance and actually reduce deforestation).

In addition, Kering reported volumes of pulp and paper used in total, and the proportion of which is compliant with their deforestation commitment, they joined a collaborative initiative focused on pulp and paper (Canopy Planet), and strengthened their implementation of their commitment on labour rights.

This case study was originally published in the Forest 500 report.

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