LVMH announces an ambitious water efficiency plan to reduce the Group’s overall water consumption footprint by 30%

Under the dual pressure of demographic change and the consequences of global warming, water is now a resource under stress. It is subject to restrictions on use and requires the adoption of specific action plans, such as the one announced by the French government in March 2023.

In this context, and as an extension of the energy sobriety plan unveiled by LVMH last September, the Group is announcing its water conservation plan, on a global scale, ensuring concerted management of this precious natural resource for its activities.

An essential component of the Group’s activities, such as Wines and Spirits, water is also essential to its Perfumes and Cosmetics, as well as to the raw materials for its Fashion and Leather Goods. It is, in fact, a strategic resource that contributes directly to the high quality of the products developed by LVMH, and it is therefore the Group’s responsibility to act
to preserve it.

In line with the LIFE 360 program, controlling water consumption is an integral part of LVMH’s environmental policy, which annually measures the water consumption footprint of its activities. Hennessy, for example, which has been working for many years to reduce water consumption in its manufacturing processes, plans to reduce the water consumed by its distilleries by 26% between 2019 and 2022. In the Fashion and Leather Goods sector, Loro Piana has reduced its water consumption by 25% over the same period, in particular thanks to the deployment of wastewater recycling equipment in its main factory.

In December 2022, LVMH was recognised for its leadership in transparency and performance on climate, forest and water protection by the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), a leading global not-for-profit environmental organisation, with the award of a triple A for the first time.

Given the urgency of the water situation in France, but also in many regions of the world, LVMH is increasing its ambition and adding a new commitment to its LIFE 360 global environmental strategy: reducing the Group’s overall water consumption footprint by 30% by 2030.

To achieve this objective, several measures are implemented:

• Continuous improvement in the measurement of the water consumption footprint throughout the Group’s value chain, using pressure indicators and geolocation to deploy specific action plans in areas suffering from water stress, restoring to the natural environment what is borrowed from it, and supporting local communities;
• Using the most efficient technologies for reusing treated wastewater and recovering rainwater on the Group’s production sites and in its value chain by supporting partner breeders, growers, and winegrowers;
• The introduction of manufacturing processes that consume less water, such as water recycling systems in our distilleries and Loro Piana’s workshops;
• The continuation of the Group’s regenerative agriculture programme initiated in 2021, which aims to improve soil quality and thus its capacity to capture and retain water;
• Raising customer awareness through environmental labelling of our products.

At the end of 2023, the Group will also unveil a qualitative target for reducing its water consumption footprint to improve the quality of discharges into natural environments. This target will be validated by a Group’s partner, the SBTN organisation (Science Based Targets for Nature, the equivalent of SBTi for the Climate).