LVMH teams up with Unesco to fight deforestation in the Amazon

LVMH unveiled its new biodiversity plan to tackle deforestation in the Amazon, in collaboration with the UNESCO MAB (Man and the Biosphere) initiative.

The project is part of the conglomerate’s LIFE 360 program (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment), which aims to reduce the conglomerate’s environmental effects by rehabilitating 5 million hectares of natural habitats while protecting animal welfare by 2030.

LVMH claimed that natural raw materials such as flowers, grapes, cotton, leather, stones, and plants are used extensively in its products across all of its Maisons.

LVMH image & environment, Antoine Arnault stated in a press release that Luxury is at the intersection of nature and imagination. They need nature to craft their high-quality goods, and nature must be renewed and safeguarded. Being the world leader in luxury, LVMH has pledged to make biodiversity conservation a top priority and to lead by example.

The organization announced that it would not use raw materials from areas where deforestation or desertification is a high risk, such as the Amazon.

LVMH proposed a budget of 5 million Euros to assist with reforestation and restoration of degraded lands, as well as preventing and strengthening fire and water pollution management in biosphere reserves in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru, to help protect Amazon rainforest habitats.

The initiative will also include projects that concentrate on agroforestry cropping systems and sustainable harvesting of forest products, as well as creating sustainable jobs and alternative sources of income in local communities in the Amazon Basin that do not require deforestation.