Marco Bizzarri speaks to students at Federico Marchetti’s ‘Creating A Startup in the Digital and Sustainable Economy’ course at Milan’s Bocconi University
During a special lecture hosted by Marco Bizzarri as part of Professor Federico Marchetti’s ‘Creating a Startup in the Digital and Sustainable Economy’ course at Milan’s Bocconi University, the Gucci President and CEO shared insights on the House’s progress towards being a more sustainable business. Before an international assembly of students, Bizzarri outlined the House’s path toward sustainability, which ramped up when he took the reins seven years ago.
“Everyone talks about sustainability these days. We read about it every day in the papers and on the web and hear about it on TV. However, not many players are fully transparent nor turn these good intentions into facts,” he said, explaining this is the main reason why the eco-conscious, social impact Gucci Equilibrium platform came to fruition, “to give consumers a choice and know more about sustainability practices at Gucci.”
From the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge and regenerative agricultural initiatives to promoting circularity and creating innovative materials like Demetra, Bizzarri detailed the House’s efforts in response to the ongoing environmental crisis.
He also drew upon Gucci’s involvement in bolstering the small and medium sized companies that represent the backbone of Made in Italy, citing the example of the Sviluppo Filiere program in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo. The first chapter of this initiative, launched in May 2020, was designed to help these businesses cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and launch their recovery and growth plans. The second chapter, presented in July 2021, was aimed at aiding in the implementation of ethical and responsible practices throughout the House’s supply chain.
In an engaging Q&A session with students that followed, Bizzarri discussed various topics including shifting consumer perception on sustainability. “Why aren’t consumers focused yet on buying sustainable products?” one student asked. The answer, Bizzarri explained, boils down to a sense of consumer acceptance and the ability to spark emotion with sustainable reasoning. “Challenging the norms and consumer behaviors take time,” he said, “as a company we should aim at having sustainability as a prerequisite for any product we offer while attracting the consumers with our creativity: that is why we are working hard towards implementing our rigorous strategy”.
“If ever there were a company,” reflected Marchetti, “Gucci certainly has the power to find this emotion.”
Click here to have a closer look at the topics discussed by Marco Bizzarri over the lecture.
