OTB Group released its 2022 sustainability report Monday, distilling its commitment to environment, product sustainability and people.
The group owns labels Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Viktor & Rolf and Marni, among others. The news coincided with Diesel’s newest recycling project in collaboration with the United Nations’ Industrial Development Organization. Its focus is on recycling fabric scraps with a factory partner in Tunisia, with hopes to expand by year-end.
Sustainability callouts include its founding membership in the Web3-centric Aura Blockchain Consortium, alongside LVMH, Prada and Cartier, and the Re.Crea Consortium focused on end-of-life management alongside Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. The group boasts signatory status in the Fashion Pact (including goals such as implementing bio-based plastic packaging) and ZDHC Foundation’s Roadmap to Zero Programme (referencing water and chemical management), among others.
Emissions is a focal point. Last year, 52 percent of the group’s energy came from renewable sources, on track with its goal to source 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. By 2050, the group plans to be net-zero, as aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative. So far, OTB has only reduced its carbon footprint by 5 percent since 2019. As reported, Scope 3 represents 97 percent of the group’s emissions, and last year the category accounted for 468,422 carbon dioxide equivalents (up from 372,395 CO2e in 2021). The group’s reduction across Scope 1 and 2 represented an 11.9 percent reduction.
Supplier relations are another standout priority. Through its CASH project, the group demonstrated its support for faster payments to 65 Italian suppliers (representing 32 percent of its Italian sourcing) in 2022. Supported by BNP Paribas, the program helped get payments, totaling more than 450 million euros, to suppliers faster with 86 percent of receivables transferred via this method. The aim is to expand the project.
Future-proofing its charitable aims is another endeavor, per the report. Social justice-focused philanthropic arm OTB Foundation recently added a new funding pillar — emergency situations — in a welcome step amid the climate emergency. In a hyper-localized approach, the group supported 20,000 beneficiaries (70 percent in Italy) last year.
In its latest report, OTB did not specify precise diversity, equity and inclusion breakdown of its board or U.S. staff. But for 2022, 65 percent of its 6,200 employees were women. Last year, in part due to the Great Resignation, the group reported 25 percent turnover in staff. The turnover was also accompanied by growth. With partnerships such as the one with Scuola dei Mestieri training school, however, the group is looking to increase hiring retention. Last year, 77 percent of the training school participants were recruited by OTB companies.
“We are really proud of the steps being taken by OTB and our brands to adopt an increasingly responsible approach, right from the initial product design stages,” Renzo Rosso, OTB Group chairman and founder, said in a press statement. “Our teams’ awareness continues to grow, and they are implementing sustainability in every corporate function, because sustainability is a state of mind. Now it’s time to speed up these processes, not just as a group but as an industry, because I feel strongly that the sustainability challenge has to be won together.”