On the occasion of the ChangeNOW summit, LVMH announces a partnership on biodiversity with the Vallée de la Millière association and aims to train all its employees in environmental challenges by 2026.

LVMH is once again actively participating in the international ChangeNOW summit on solutions for the planet, which will be held from May 25th to 27th at the Grand Palais Ephémère in Paris. This event will be an opportunity for the Group to unveil a new biodiversity partnership with the Vallée de la Millière association established by the world-renowned photographer, filmmaker and environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Participating in various panels, LVMH will highlight several of its environmental policy commitments, including new ones in the area of employee training. The Group will also be represented by its wines and spirits division, Moët Hennessy, a true pioneer in environmental matters, which Houses will focus on the Living Soils program, targeting soil conservation.   

As part of the ChangeNOW Summit, Hélène Valade, Environmental Development Director of LVMH Group, and Pierre Louette, Chairman and CEO of Les Echos Le Parisien Group, will be speaking at a session on “Corporate Transformation” on Friday, May 26th from 12:00 to 1:15 pm. Both will discuss how companies can promote change from within by encouraging the development of sustainable development initiatives. 

This joint discussion will be an opportunity to unveil a new partnership between the LVMH Group and the Vallée de la Millière association, a biodiversity haven created in 2020 by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, President of the GoodPlanet Foundation, of which Guerlain is already a sponsor. Located one hour from Paris on the edge of the Rambouillet forest, this 30-hectare site includes a reserve, an educational garden called “Jardin des Partages” built on the principles of agroforestry and permaculture, and several buildings designed to welcome the public. 

This site is scheduled to open in 2024. As part of this partnership, the LVMH Group employees and stakeholders will be able to use this facility located in nature throughout the year, for training and awareness-raising activities. The aim is to have trained all Group employees in Environmental Fundamentals by 2026, and to make each of them a player in change. The rest of the time, La Millière will be open to the general public, particularly schoolchildren, and scientists. 

Through this partnership, LVMH intends to contribute to educating as many people as possible about the challenges of biodiversity. The Group has committed to help renature the site for the next five years, explore regenerative agriculture and train as many people as possible to ensure they are aware of ecological issues and the challenges around protecting biodiversity. 

“We are very happy to support the Vallée de la Millière association. This reserve is an exciting laboratory for regenerative farming techniques and environmentally friendly practices that we are committed to developing in order to enable sustainable luxury. At LVMH, we are convinced that we can shift the lines from within – a conviction we share with Yann Arthus-Bertrand – by making our employees true stakeholders in our environmental policy. This is why we have made it a priority to integrate environmental issues into all the Group’s businesses. To do this, training is key: it gives meaning and enables change. By 2026, we aim to have trained 100% of our employees in environmental fundamentals, an objective that will now be included in our LIFE 360 roadmap.” Hélène Valade, Director of Environmental Development for the LVMH Group. 

“The Vallée de la Millière association was created to protect and conserve, at all costs, a 30-hectare estate in the heart of the Yvelines department on the outskirts of the Greater Paris region, a rare wetland area with a wealth of biodiversity. The objective is to be able to re-learn the living world around us.  

Without a long-term sponsor, we would not have been able to carry out this unprecedented pilot rewilding project, which could serve as an example and encourage others throughout France. Thanks to LVMH, the Association will be able to welcome schools free of charge from 2024 to educate the youngest about the protection and beauty of wildlife, as well as scientists and NGOs to observe, exchange and analyze the evolution of the site. This support will also allow the Association to acquire all the necessary equipment and to surround itself with a solid team to carry out its objectives of raising awareness and educating the general public as well as the daily management of the biodiversity reserve.” Yann Arthus-Bertrand, photographer, filmmaker, and ecologist. 

Alexandre Capelli, Environmental Deputy Director at LVMH, will also lead a session entitled “Fostering Collaboration” scheduled for Thursday, May 25th from 4:15 to 5:30 pm addressing one of the objectives of the Group’s environmental strategy: the circular economy benefiting creativity. He will be speaking alongside Romain Brabo, co-founder of Nona Source, and Alice Audouin, President of Art of Change 21. 

In addition, the LVMH group will be represented at the ChangeNOW Summit by its wine and spirits division, Moët Hennessy, a true pioneer in environmental matters. Throughout the event, the division’s companies – Hennessy, Ruinart, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot – and their partners, will focus on soil conservation. In line with the World Living Soils Forum created in June 2022, the Moët Hennessy companies will present a rich program at their booths: solutions that respect the environment and biodiversity, workshops, etc. Several artistic collaborations will take place during the event, including “Habitats,” an installation by NILS-UDO showing Ruinart’s commitment to biodiversity, and Hennessy’s “Cultivating our Forests, Cultivating our Future” exhibition, which invites viewers to rediscover the precious role of forests for our planet.  

Berta de Pablos-Barbier, President CEO of Moët & Chandon, Laurent Boillot, CEO of Hennessy, Jean-Marc Gallot, CEO of Veuve Clicquot, and Sandrine Sommer, Chief Sustainability Officer at Moët Hennessy, will speak on various panels throughout the event.