Kering ranked most sustainable company in fashion

Luxury French conglomerate Kering has been named the most sustainable company in the luxury and fashion industry and the second most sustainable company in the world across all industries, according to Corporate Knights’ 2019 Global 100 Index.

The luxury goods brand, which boasts names such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, jumped up in the rankings from 47th place in 2018 and 80th place in 2017. In the index, which is considered one of the leading benchmarks for corporate sustainability world-wide according to the Branding Institute, Kering was assessed against 21 key performance factors covering resource management, employee management, financial management, clean revenue and supplier performance.

Kering leads the way in sustainable fashion

Based on these 21 factors, Kering received an overall score of 81.55 percent, beaten only by Danish bioscience company Chr. Hansen A/S with 82.99 percent. Inditex and Adidas were the only two other companies in the luxury, apparel and accessories industry which made the list, coming in 54th place with 64.98 percent and 84th place with 54.2 percent, respectively.

Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability officer and head of international institutional affairs at Kering, said in a statement: “The Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Index stands as a barometer for corporate sustainability and we are proud to be recognized as the most sustainable company in the Luxury sector and in Apparel and Accessories.

“We are also pleased to have placed second across all industries. This reflects our dedication and perseverance to embed sustainability best practices across our business activities and it also acts as a ‘proof of concept’ that a business can achieve financial success while delivering positive social and environmental outcomes.”

The 2019 Global 100 Index analysed some 7,500 companies with revenues of over a billion dollars, and represents the top 2 percent in the world on sustainability performance.

Photo credit: Gucci, Facebook