Innovating the present for a sustainable future

Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, and Eleonora Rizzuto, CSR Director Bvlgari Group & LVMH Italia come together to talk about sustainability and how it has become an integral part of the brand’s DNA.

Why is sustainability at the heart of Bvlgari’s creation?

Jean-Christophe: I think everything starts from our mission purpose: sharing the joy of crafting the gems and flowers of Nature. Our skilled artisans glorify elements created over millions of years, the very essence of Planet Earth. Our mission is to magnify that natural beauty by turning it into creations that will last forever - like a beautiful necklace. Therefore we are obsessed with sustainability and protecting nature.

Eleonora: Yes. Sustainability is one of our main subjects, capable of mixing business with social elements, the environment and philanthropy. It is the one language that unites it all. And we embarked on this meaningful journey with our shareholders, our consumers and our suppliers.

How do you implement sustainability?

Jean-Christophe:  It starts upstream, obviously. We don’t just want our sourcing of gems or flowers to be ethical, we want our environmental footprint to be sustainable. For example, with gold – 100% of it is recycled. We prefer gold that was excavated years ago because there are already tons of gold in the world.

Eleonora: That’s right. We are the first jewellery company in Europe to have obtained the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody Certification, which means that our gold supply chain is ethical. We carry out sustainability audits, which means we have continuous conversations with local communities and stakeholders. The key is balancing local and global aspects of sustainability.

Jean-Christophe: Yes. Let’s consider flowers. We partner with a sustainable jasmine flower producer in India, which allows us to not only develop amazing fragrances, but also to promote a form of local agriculture that doesn’t damage the soil through hyper productivity. This creates a solid, durable, sustainable environment for both the farmers and the flowers. We have a growing demographic, so we must make sure that what we do today - growing jasmine - will still be possible a century from now.

Logistically speaking, how do you go about it?

Jean-Christophe: In several ways. Regarding buildings, for instance, we built one of the largest factories in Europe four years ago, and it immediately received the LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certification, a worldwide environmental standard in the industry. It means our environmental footprint is minimum.

Elsewhere, we have already worked on existing buildings to reduce energy consumption too by using new lighting technologies. Also, all our Bvlgari Hotels are going plastic free. You won’t find traditional plastic toothbrushes, but recyclable wooden toothbrushes. At the bar, the straws are made from paper, not plastic. And we eliminated plastic bottles in our offices too.

Why is sustainability at the heart of Bvlgari’s creation?

Jean-Christophe: I think everything starts from our mission purpose: sharing the joy of crafting the gems and flowers of Nature. Our skilled artisans glorify elements created over millions of years, the very essence of Planet Earth. Our mission is to magnify that natural beauty by turning it into creations that will last forever - like a beautiful necklace. Therefore we are obsessed with sustainability and protecting nature.

Eleonora: Yes. Sustainability is one of our main subjects, capable of mixing business with social elements, the environment and philanthropy. It is the one language that unites it all. And we embarked on this meaningful journey with our shareholders, our consumers and our suppliers.

What are the Maison’s sustainability plans moving forward?

Jean-Christophe: In Los Angeles we are working on the first ever boutique that is totally self-sustainable. Basically, it will consume only the energy it generates. It will have a zero footprint.

For transportation, we are working with some companies to co-finance the exclusive use of electric vehicles. Another major project is packaging as we must ensure the whole value-added chain is as sustainable as possible. By the end of 2021, Bvlgari’s packaging will have no plastic. This will eradicate tons of plastic from our supply chains.

Eleonora: Yes, and we have mentioned ethical gold earlier. We work for the continuous improvement of social and environmental practices also for the diamonds and coloured gemstones supply chains.

Jean-Christophe: So, you see there are tangible examples — going from upstream mining to downstream delivery - that prove how central sustainability is to the company’s culture, priorities and investments. We want the company to continue its path to innovating the present for a sustainable future.