Laurent Claquin, President,Kering Americas
The event was part of the excellent Leaders In Sustainability series by ISSP Greater NYC (International Society of Sustainability Professionals) and was hosted by NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Laurent Chaquin (left) and Tensie Whelan (right)
Ahead of the Sustainability Curve: Kering Americas
Mr. Claquin shared many examples of how Kering Americas is setting the pace for sustainability in the luxury fashion industry, including:
- Charter and Code of Conduct – Sustainability has been integral to both company documents since the Nineties
- Part of Annual Reviews – Kering Executives are rated each year on how well they achieved the company’s sustainability goals
- EPNL – Environmental Profit And Loss Index (A unique app developed by Kering used to determine the environmental impact of their products).
- Responsible Sourcing – raw materials used in Kering products are responsibly sourced, e.g., their diamonds are 100% traceable to certified mines
- “Vegetable Leather” – Stella McCartney, one of the Kering Companies, uses a plant-based leather for many of their product lines.
- Recycling Fabric – The company recycles by removing the polyester from used fabrics and reusing the cotton
- Less Water / Fewer Chemicals – are metrics in much of the company’s production.
- R&D To Grow Leather From Stem Cells.
Q. What Got You So Interested In Sustainability?
When asked the above question by Mark Wolf, one of the co-founders of ISSP NYC, during the Q&A, Claquin gave a surprising and memorable answer:
A. “I was once on one of the Greek Islands in the Mediterranean around 30 years ago, and I wanted to order locally-caught fish for dinner that night. The restaurant on the island had fish from many other countries, but none from their own waters. And when I went diving the next day, I saw why — there were no fish in the waters around the island! I realized then the urgency.”
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