Brand owner: Kering
Head office: London, UK
Sector: Luxury brands
Categories :
Free Tags: YSL, Yves Saint Laurent, Saint Laurent, Bags, Shirts, Pullover, Suits, Jackets, Jeans, Dress, Shoes
| 1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? |
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Kering (brand owner of Saint Laurent) aims to build a Group-wide Environmental Profit and Loss Account (EP&L) and to use the results and conclusions to reduce its environmental footprint, which includes carbon emissions (page 46). | Source |
| 2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual absolute carbon footprint of its 'own operations' (Scope 1 & 2) and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years? |
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Kering disclosed their emissions of 2011 and 2012. Compared with 2011, there was a rise in carbon emissions of 1.8% in 2012 (page 67-68). | Source |
| 3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its absolute ‘own operations’ carbon emissions by at least 20% within the next 5 years? |
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Kering had set the target to reduce carbon emissions resulting from the production of products and services by 25% in 2016 (base year 2012), while accounting for the growth of their business. The remaining emissions from scope 1 and scope 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol will be offset annually (page 46). | Source |
| 4. Does the brand (company) also have a policy to reduce/compensate carbon emissions generated from the product supply chain that is beyond own operations (Scope 3)? |
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Kering has set a target that all luxure good producers must have done an environmental profit and loss (EP&L) by 2016. However, Kering does not yet communicate a concrete policy to reduce the carbon emissions in the supply chain that is beyond own operations (page 46). | Source |
| 1. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials? |
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Kering states that it is currently working on the traceability of raw materials, for instance with an emphasis on production of leather (page 72). However, the percentage use of preferred materials in relation to total production is not reported yet. | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 25% of its volume? |
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See remark for environmental policy question 1. | Source |
| 3. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 50% of its volume? |
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See remark for environmental policy question 1. | Source |
| 4. Does the brand have a clear and effective policy to avoid the use of leather that originates from cattle farms in deforestated Amazone areas? |
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Kering states it's Luxury Division brands mainly use cowhide sourced from Europe, principally from France (page 72). However, the company does not account for all the leather use. | Source |
| 5. Does the brand (company) have a clear and effective policy to minimize environmental pollution of chromium and other harmful substances from leather tanning processes, e.g. by waste water treatment or by vegetable tanning? |
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Kering states that water discharge does not represent a significant direct impact for it’s operations. Brands have nonetheless introduced specific measures that go further than regulatory requirements (page 71). What these specific measures are is unclear. | Source |
| 6. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures to make the footwear? |
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Kering has pledged to ensure that all hazardous chemicals will be phased out and eliminated from the production by 2020 (page 47). | Source |
| 7. Does the brand (company) have a clear target to phase out PVC in their products, and has the brand already achieved a PVC phase out level of more than 90%? |
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Kering mentions that all its collections will be PVC-free latest by 2016. However, information regarding the achievement of an PVC phase out level of more than 90% is not available (page 47). | Source |
| 8. Has the brand (company) a clear and effective policy to minimize the use of solvents based chemicals in their shoe production, and has the brand already achieved a level of average max. 40 grams of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions per pair of shoes? |
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No specific policies were published yet by Kering about minimizing solvents based chemicals. Sustainability information should be easily accesible for consumers to make responsible choices. | Source |
| 9. Does the brand (company) sell footwear or footwear with base materials that have an environmental certification? |
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Neither Gucci Group/PPR nor Yves Saint Laurent mention to sell footwear or footwear with base materials that have an environmental certification on its website. Sustainability information should be easily accesible for consumers to make responsible choices. | Source |
| 1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace? |
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Kering is supporting member of SA8000 (page 77). All these standards are covered by SA8000 Code of Conduct. | Source |
| 2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary and paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage? |
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See remark for labour conditions question 1. | Source |
| 3. Does this Code of Conduct include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining? |
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See remark for labour conditions question 1. | Source |
| 4. Does this labour conditions policy also apply further down the production chains, at least covering the leather production or the animal farms? |
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Kering states that some of its brands perform audits on tier 2 suppliers. Saint Laurent is not mentioned. Also it is not clear, whether leather production facilities or animal farns are actually tier 2 supplier (page 78). | Source |
| 5. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers, that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume? |
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Kering states that some of its brands publish a list of their suppliers (page 78). Saint Laurent is not mentioned. | Source |
| 6. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labor conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labor conditions? |
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Kering is a supporting member of Social Accountability International (SAI, page 75) and the international logistics platform for its Luxury brands have obtained SA 8000 certification (page 78). However, it is not clear what percentage of Saint Laurent´s supplier/annual volume are currently certified. | Source |
| 7. Do independent civil society organizations like NGO's and labor unions have a decisive voice in this collective initiative or in these certification schemes? |
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See remark for labour conditions question 6. | Source |
| 8. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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Kering reports carrying out 3,464 audits in 2012 (page 79). However, there is no comprehensive reporting on the results of their labour conditions policy related to Saint Laurent. | Source |
| 9. Has the brand’s labor conditions policy resulted in a ‘compliance level’ of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a ‘monitored level' of at least 80%? |
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See remark for previous question. SA8000 seems substantially covered for Kering, though the percentage on total volume is not clear and the report does not give any details on the supply chain. | Source |