The world’s largest luxury company, LVMH, has pledged to improve its environmental credentials in a bid to keep younger consumers on-side. The company is planning to cut emissions again, and improve its sourcing on materials like animal fur. Despite this forward-looking ethos, owner and CEO Bernard Arnault doesn’t agree with everyone whose championing environmentalism… for one thing, he thinks teenage sensation Greta Thunberg should be more positive.
LVMH’s share price has risen by 38% year to date
Source: Yahoo Finance
At a recent UN summit on climate change, Thunberg berated world leaders, saying they had “stolen her dreams”. There’s no doubt that her speech is arresting – but Arnault thinks she should be more positive. He told journalists at the end of September that her vision “has a demoralising side to it for young people. She’s not proposing anyway, aside from criticism. I prefer positive solutions that allow us to get towards a more optimistic position.”
LVMH said it was on-course to exceed its goal to cover 30% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. It is also on-track to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by the same time. Earlier this year, LVMH was notably absent from an industry pact over the environment spearheaded by rival Kering. Arnault said that there was little reason for a company like LVMH, whose business model was far-removed from the “fast fashion” industry, to sign the pact, adding “we prefer action to pacts.”
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Dominion holds LVMH in its Global Trends Luxury Fund.
Author: Theo Leworthy
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