L’Occitane Group and Kering launch €300m Climate Fund for Nature

Luxury fashion firm Kering has partnered with multinational beauty firm L’Occitane Group to launch a €300m (£258m) Climate Fund for Nature.

The ambitious Climate Fund for Nature will mobilise resources from the luxury fashion and beauty sectors to protect and restore nature, with a particular focus on women empowerment.

€140m has already been committed out of the €300m target and the fund will be open to new partner companies to support the scaling up of its positive impacts on the ground. The fund will be managed by Mirova, the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers 100% dedicated to sustainable investing.

As countries and companies step up their commitments to fight the climate and biodiversity crises, the need to scale-up finance and investment in nature-based solutions is now acknowledged as critical. Looking to the future, if the world is to meet its climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation targets, the companies suggest investment in nature-based solutions should at least triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 20502.

The creation of the Climate Fund for Nature initiated by KERING and supported by L’OCCITANE Group will bring significant capital to nature protection and restoration. It combines ambitious commitments, totalling EUR140m out of a EUR 300m target, and will rely on Mirova’s proven expertise on natural capital fund management.

The fund vehicle will start operations as of Q1 2023. With the objective of supporting high-quality projects dedicated to nature protection and restoration, the fund will also support farmers in their transition to regenerative practices, deliver carbon credits, and generate co-benefits for the communities with a specific emphasis on women empowerment.

Eligible projects will mostly take place in countries where the investors source their core raw materials. The projects’ progress will be monitored to ensure they deliver measurable outcomes for nature, climate and livelihoods.

The projects supported will also be required to significantly contribute to women empowerment, by addressing existing gaps related to access to finance, land and training.

Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer of Kering, commented: “The Climate Fund for Nature provides an opportunity for the Luxury Fashion and Beauty sectors to collectively support biodiversity restoration and conservation at scale. Kering is proud to collaborate with Mirova and we welcome the fund’s first partner L’Occitane Group. Innovative financing mechanisms are crucial to channel much-needed investment into nature-based solutions if we are to reverse biodiversity decline by 2030 and, simultaneously, address climate change, which is intrinsically interlinked with nature. We entreat further companies to join this ambitious initiative to contribute to a nature-positive future.”

Adrien Geiger, Chief Sustainability Officer of L’Occitane Group and Managing Director of L’Occitane en Provence added: “With our planet facing a global climate and biodiversity crisis never witnessed before, L’Occitane Group is proud to join forces with Kering and Mirova to scale-up its action against the degradation of nature, which provides the very resources and services we rely on. While reducing our emissions and impacts is our priority, the Climate Fund for Nature will help us go further by supporting projects that encourage regenerative practices, benefiting both nature and communities.”