Lorenzo Bertelli: Sustainability Key at Prada

MILAN — “Sustainability is a long-term goal, it’s difficult to be sustainable in the short-term, and often humankind reacts when it’s cornered, but it’s important to take one step at a time and to continue to talk about sustainability,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, head of corporate social responsibility at the Prada Group, who takes this to heart and has consistently worked to reinforce the luxury group’s commitment to sustainability.

In the latest step in this ongoing development, Prada has appointed two new independent non-executive directors, Pamela Culpepper and Anna Maria Rugarli, selected for their professional background in environmental, social and governance, or ESG.

The appointments also signals the upcoming establishment of an ESG board committee led by Bertelli, Culpepper and Rugarli.

The committee will be supporting the board in its sustainability assessments and decisions with regards to the three courses of action at the basis of the group’s ESG strategy: people, environment and culture.

“You can’t buy these kinds of skills. Several environmental and diversity and inclusion issues have already been tackled by the group, but I felt these needed to be formally addressed within a more structured organization,” Bertelli told WWD. “I’ve grown a lot and educated myself but this not my only job. I wanted to be able to have a profitable exchange with someone who has made this a life choice and these are two fantastic profiles. It’s a crucial step for us.”

After an extensive research, Prada selected Culpepper and Rugarli, who bring the board up to a total of 11 members, increasing the number of independent directors — five in total — and the number of women to five, noted Bertelli.

They bring extensive knowledge in ESG topics and have held leadership positions in multinational companies, which will allow Prada to accelerate its sustainability projects, according the executive.

Culpepper is cofounder of Have Her Back LLC, a female-owned, female-led culture consultancy focused on advancing equity for all.

She was the chief human resources officer at Cboe Global Markets Inc., which she joined from Golin, where she was the company’s chief people officer. Before that, she held various leadership roles with PepsiCo. Inc., including chief global diversity and inclusion officer, and vice president human resources for Quaker Foods and Snacks.

Rugarli is corporate sustainability vice president at Japan Tobacco International. She initiated and launched Nike’s sustainability and CSR programs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and was with the company for 12 years. She then led VF’s Circular Economy strategy at global level as well as sustainability, purpose, and diversity, equity and inclusion strategy at regional level for 10 years.

Speaking about the fashion industry in general, Bertelli said “there are some delicate issues that need to be treated with urgency and it’s difficult to find the right people to help telegraph this message, which can be virtuous but not yet translated into reality.”

While he is personally very concerned about global warming, Bertelli believes every issue must be carried forward at the same time, “implementing and formalizing processes that need to respond more precisely to specific questions and detailed investigations by dedicated organizations and be made public in an objective way.”

Prada already publishes a CSR annual report and last year, Prada further committed to corporate social responsibility, reaffirming its objectives and starting a process to measure its carbon footprint after years of investing in the construction, refurbishment and efficiency of the industrial facilities, as well as in photovoltaics and renewable energy.

Bertelli took on his current role in addition to head of marketing in January 2020 and, after spearheading the fur-free policy and the Re-Nylon collection, he has extended the use of the regenerated nylon to ready-to-wear, footwear and new accessories, completely converting to regenerated nylon by the end of 2021.

Prada continues to explore materials deriving from alternative processes and sources, and asked about the use of leather, Bertelli admitted this is “a delicate issue, we are working with the pipeline to reduce emissions, but consumers still want real leather, so the mindset of people need to be changed and to realize it’s important to slowly consume in a more responsible way on a daily basis.”

Prada, which is part of the Fashion Pact, during its Capital Markets Day in November revealed that its greenhouse gases emissions reduction targets had been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative and that its goal was to reach net-zero emissions in 2050. Bertelli pointed out that, in 2022, Prada is beginning its carbon-neutral scope 1 and 2, aiming at a 29 percent cut in GHG emissions by 2026, and a 42 percent reduction by 2029.

Bertelli has been spearheading a campaign within the Prada company called “Drivers of Change,” believing any small step is important. “There are many things that may not seem so relevant that we can do together to really make a change,” he concluded.