Sustainability has become a key pillar for the strategies of fashion and luxury companies, which have made great strides by achieving important goals that were unthinkable just a few years ago.
The IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo supports and guides companies in the sector through this metamorphosis.
Attention to the fashion industry's environmental footprint and social responsibility is at an all-time high, since consumers, especially Millennials and Generation Z, no longer buy products of a certain brand based solely on their intrinsic function. These consumers share the values and aspirations of their chosen fashion house, thus subjecting it to a constant analysis of its impact on the environment and/or its relationship with its employees, suppliers and with civil society in general.
Francesca Diviccaro, Head of Industry Retail & Luxury and Erica Abisso, Head of ESG Advisory, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, describe the multiple issues to which the sector is committed, specifically:
- decarbonisation: monitoring the carbon footprint of operations and the value chain, which on average accounts for over 95% of a company’s total footprint.
- the adoption of Circular Economy practices with the aim of extending the useful life of products and reducing the use of resources: importance of the selection of renewable, recycled and recyclable raw materials, together with initiatives addressing packaging sustainability, of which there are several notable examples in the Italian luxury industry.
- careful water management: commitment to an efficient consumption of water resources, especially during the garments' washing and dyeing phases.
- safeguarding the supply chain sustainability: a trend with a strong social impact, in order to favour suppliers by paying attention to the employees' well-being.