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. Water is an essential component of the Group's activities, for Wines and Spirits, Perfumes and Cosmetics, but also for its Fashion and Leather Goods divisions. 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. In the Fashion and Leather Goods sector, for example, 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, including a 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. It also aims to use 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.

Lvmh has also introduced manufacturing processes that consume less water, such as water recycling systems in our distilleries and Loro Piana’s workshops, and it aims to continue the regenerative agriculture programme initiated in 2021, which aims to improve soil quality and thus its capacity to capture and retain water. Finally it also aims to raise customer awareness through environmental labelling of its 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).

Photo: The rainwater retention basin at Domaine Chandon, California - Lvmh