Kering opens its first water resilience lab in Italy to protect supply chains

Kering has turned a historic flood‑prone basin into a testing ground for industry‑wide water resilience, opening its first Water Resilience Lab in Italy’s Arno Basin. The move signals a new era in which luxury brands claim a net water‑positive future by 2050 and embed nature‑based solutions into their supply chains.

In 1966 the Arno River burst, smashing Florence’s historic centre and leaving a legacy that still echoes in the region’s flood‑management policies. Decades later, the 2023 Storm Ciarán triggered a state of emergency, inflicting €1.89 billion in damage. One of the hardest‑hit suppliers was Prato‑based Beste Group, whose headquarters sits on the Bisenzio River bank. A €7 million machine, bought the month before, was destroyed, and the company had only 60 % insurance coverage. The flood halted production for three weeks and exposed the limits of conventional risk mitigation.

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Rachel Kolbe Semhoun, head of sustainable sourcing and nature initiatives at Kering, read the story in Vogue Business and recognised that “nobody can make resilience happen by themselves.” She argued that collective investment in upstream nature infrastructure would be the real safeguard. The idea sparked a group‑wide strategy that has now materialised in the Arno Basin lab.

“Most of fashion’s strategic raw materials rely on water,” explained Kering chief sustainability and institutional affairs officer Marie‑Claire Daveu. “To ensure resilience and business continuity we have to support the regeneration and replenishment of the key basins where we operate.” The lab’s three pillars – governance, finance and a portfolio of nature‑based and industrial projects – are designed to be transferable to the nine other priority basins, including France, Spain, Türkiye, Mongolia, India, Peru, Argentina, South Africa and Australia.

Governance that unites stakeholders

The Arno Basin lab brings together public institutions, businesses, academia, the scientific community and financial actors. Local partners include the Northern Apennines River Basin Authority, ANBI Toscana and ANCI Toscana, while national‑level bodies such as the University of Florence and environmental consultancy Etifor provide research backing. Conservation International, co‑founder of Kering’s Regenerative Fund for Nature, adds a conservation perspective. LVMH and Burberry have also joined the effort, underscoring a sector‑wide commitment.

Financing resilience beyond philanthropy

Daveu noted that “philanthropy will never be enough to support the needed investments for real resilience.” The lab’s financial model seeks to incentivise change without relying heavily on charitable contributions, aiming to make nature‑based resilience a viable investment for private and public capital.

Nature‑based projects that count

The lab identified six key intervention points where investments can generate the greatest impact: Villa Petriolo, Ombrone/Bisenzio, Altopascio/Lake Sibolla, Pisa/Era Basin, Usciana/Pescia River and Arezzo/Chiana Valley. In each location, “multi‑sectorial and private‑public consensus has been a real game‑changer,” said Daveu.

According to Kering, retaining 48 million cubic metres of water in the Arno Basin could cut future flood damage by approximately €157 per cubic metre. The lab’s roadmap is built on volumetric water benefit accounting (VWBA), Science‑based Targets for Nature (SBTN), and a basin‑specific methodology developed by the University of Florence. These tools allow the company to quantify water stewardship impacts in comparable units, a critical first step toward standardised reporting across the industry.

Climate pressures and supply‑chain resilience

Tuscany is expected to see over 50 days of heat stress each year by 2030, tightening water availability. The lab’s strategy is therefore a direct response to a growing set of climate‑driven risks that threaten the very raw materials – wool, leather, cotton – upon which luxury brands depend. By investing in upstream nature infrastructure, Kering aims to secure water supplies for its suppliers and reduce exposure to future shocks.

For the luxury sector, the Arno Basin lab is more than a symbolic gesture. It is a concrete blueprint for embedding nature‑based resilience into supply chains, a tangible step toward a net water‑positive future, and a model that could reshape how industries manage climate risks. As Kering and its partners move from planning to action, the world will be watching how a historic flood‑prone basin can become a beacon of sustainable resilience.