LVMH & UNESCO: How Luxury Leads on Sustainability

Luxury goods giant LVMH, has entered a five-year partnership with UNESCO, building on joint actions for biodiversity conservation that began in 2019. 

The expanded collaboration, titled ‘For the Beauty of the Living’, will see the globally-renowned luxury firm support UNESCO’s educational, scientific and cultural programmes. 

As part of the ongoing agreement, a new project focused on the sustainable management of marine areas will also be conducted with the Tiffany & Co. Foundation.

“Preserving together the beauty of the living is the objective of this strengthened partnership,” explains Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

“Within UNESCO-designated sites we are developing with LVMH nature- and culture-based solutions such as agroforestry or craftsmanship for the benefit of local communities around the world.”

Strategic priorities for conservation and business

According to LVMH, the partnership is centred around three main priorities from 2025 to 2029: supporting sustainable economic models, measuring environmental and social impacts, and strengthening skills and knowledge. 

Local initiatives will receive support based on community needs and regional specificities, particularly within the framework of actions already undertaken in the Amazon and Africa. 

The collaboration will assess the combined benefits of sustainable and nature-positive practices, with LVMH and UNESCO looking to promote them and contribute to international work on the development of Nature Certificates. 

To strengthen skills and knowledge, the partnership aims to promote sustainable practices like agroforestry and regenerative agriculture through education, research and skills-based sponsorship. 

This will involve cooperation with UNESCO University Chairs and the Learning Planet Institute.

Antoine Arnault, Image and Environment Director of LVMH, says: “Proud of the actions carried out locally under the first partnership with UNESCO, LVMH is pleased to formalise this new chapter.

“In connection with local stakeholders such as breeders and farmers, LVMH intends to continue its role as an integrator and facilitator in shaping this renewed relationship with living systems."

Ocean science and marine ecosystems

The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, part of the LVMH group, is contributing to the collaboration by supporting ocean sciences through its “Delivering a Healthy Ocean” initiative. 

The Foundation’s goal is to support the development of sustainable management plans for marine areas using a combination of scientific and local knowledge while strengthening international cooperation. 

This initiative aims to build a network of decision makers and experts across at least 10 countries and promote tangible solutions for protecting marine ecosystems. 

LVMH notes that this aligns with the objectives of the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which is led by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission from 2021 to 2030.

Measuring partnership impact and results

The agreement extends an initial collaboration between LVMH and UNESCO’s “Man and the Biosphere” programme, which began in 2019. 

This programme targeted eight biosphere reserves in the Amazon region across Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, covering nearly 30 million hectares. 

These areas are home to 1.3 million people, including numerous Indigenous communities. LVMH states that more than 80 initiatives directly benefit over 1,000 families and young people.

So far the partnership has contributed to:

• Establishing participatory governance in the eight biosphere reserves
• Training and equipping more than 200 people in forest fire prevention, which involved local communities and youth networks in management committees
• Developing income-generating activities not linked to deforestation such as meliponiculture (farming stingless bees) in Peru and cacao production through agroforestry in Ecuador

Individual LVMH brands including Maisons have also contributed. 

Christelle Capdupuy, Chief Sustainability Officer at Louis Vuitton, says on LinkedIn: “Proud to be part of LVMH, committed to restore five million hectares of biodiversity in the world, especially through our partnership with UNESCO, dedicated to sustainable management of biodiversity.” 

Guerlain launched the “Women for Bees” initiative with UNESCO to support over 120 women beekeepers in eight countries, and Christian Dior Couture partnered with UNESCO to strengthen community initiatives for biodiversity in Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. 

LVMH reports that almost 18,000 people have indirectly benefited from support for ecotourism and agroforestry as well as for the production of cocoa, coffee, crafts, and honey. 

This new “For the Beauty of the Living” partnership forms part of LVMH’s broader LIFE 360 environmental strategy.