Courtesy Chanel
The 800-year-old Cambridge University is normally better known for academic excellence than looking chic. But a recent tie up with fashion house Chanel aims to burnish both partners in terms of their sustainable reputations. By James Teo.
Cambridge, UK. May 2021. “For over 800 years, the University of Cambridge has been at the forefront of driving change,” explained Clare Shine, Director at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). And Cambridge is keen to help push further progress with tie ups with industry organisations – in this case towards sustainable management practices. “This agreement (with Chanel) extends our track record of building leadership capability, advancing knowledge and delivering real-world solutions,” added Shine.
“Delivering positive outcomes for people and the environment”- CISL’s Clare Shine. Courtesy CISL.
CISL was set up 30 years ago to promote what it calls a “rewiring” of conventional economic frameworks in business. “Our Rewiring the Economy framework shows how the economy can, through focused collaboration between business, government and finance institutions, deliver positive outcomes for people and the environment,” it says. Since then it has collaborated with the likes of LandRover, Unilever, Heathrow Airport, Sainsbury’s, Coca-Cola, Nestle and more to “help young sustainability entrepreneurs achieve scale for impact” in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This latest collaboration is a new direction for the university, notes Andrea d’Avack, Chief Sustainability Officer at Chanel. “Sustainability is one of the critical challenges facing our society today and it is a key strategic priority for Chanel,” he explained. D’Avack noted that the partnership reflects key pillars of his company’s business direction.
Chanel’s d’Avack says sustainability is a critical challenge. Courtesy Chanel.
“Using research and insights that deepen our understanding (we can) finding tangible solutions that positively impact our supply chain and wider communities,” he noted “This … will help to embed a sustainability mindset that accelerates change.”
The partnership will see a customised education programme created for Chanel management and operational teams that will help expand company knowledge on things like biodiversity and climate change, and the sustainable use of materials and resources. In addition, Chanel has committed to sponsoring individuals from under-represented backgrounds so they can join CISL’s Masters in Sustainability Leadership programme.
“This is a really important partnership with Chanel,” said Shine. “Many of the solutions required for truly sustainable economies and societies do not yet exist. We believe that this research-backed initiative will help efforts to … inform leadership and best practices, and inspire responsible businesses around the world.”
The link-up will see CISL a series of what it calls ‘innovation sprints’. These will be based on key business issues and will call on the expertise of Cambridge University to accelerate sustainable innovation on specific products and processes. This will include researchers from its Institute of Manufacturing, the Cambridge Judge Business School and its climate-change initiative, Cambridge Zero.
Coco Chanel - looking to push further. Courtesy Chanel.
Chanel, not previously seen as a sustainability pioneer, has nonetheless stepped up to the mark with its recent business practices. It banned the use of fur in 2018, and in March 2020 it released the ‘Chanel Mission 1.5°’. This was a commitment to “play our part in … enrolling the future of our company in a more sustainable world” and to aim for helping to limit global temperature increases to 1.5° Celsius through new approaches to its role.
Chanel said its ‘overarching aim’ is to promote real world sustainability solutions to its business and societal challenges, and to help avoid carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.
“We are not just setting targets of what we are able to do,” said d’Avack, “we are stepping out of our comfort zone to push ourselves further.”