Three LVMH Group companies support the agroecological transition of the sugar beet industry

Parfums Christian Dior, Givenchy Parfums and Kenzo Parfums, part of the LVMH Group, announce their strategic collaboration with Cristal Union to improve agricultural practices in the beet sector, the source of alcohol for their perfumes.

 

This year, the three Houses are financing a project to support the agroecological transition of 380 hectares of beet crops in the Grand Est region, to produce the equivalent of 45% of their alcohol needs*.

 

This project is based on the Regeneration Index, a tool developed and verified by the association “Pour une Agriculture du Vivant”, to assess the agroecological score of farms and support farmers in their progress.

 

“This collaboration marks an important milestone on the road traced by the LIFE 360 program towards the regeneration of 5 million hectares of ecosystems. Sugar beet plays a key role in the supply chain of the LVMH Beauté business group. Implementing new virtuous production models in this sector represents a key step on the road to achieving our commitments”. emphasizes Hélène Valade, LVMH Group Director of Environmental Development.

 

In addition, for a period of five years, LVMH is financing a Research & Development program with Cristal Union on 12 farms to test new agronomic practices aimed in particular at :

-Reduce nitrogen inputs to beet crops by optimizing plant cover.

-Limiting mineral fertilizer inputs through greater use of organic inputs.

 

“At Cristal Union, we attach great importance to agronomic R&D and to providing tailor-made support to our cooperators as they develop their farming practices. Our collaboration with LVMH, in this new project dedicated to the development of agroecology techniques, is in line with this approach,” says Bruno Labilloy, Agricultural Director at Cristal Union.

 

As part of these trials, the three Houses will be working with Genesis, selected by the LVMH House of Start-ups and awarded a prize at VivaTech for its tool for measuring soil health and quality. Genesis will be in charge of regularly collecting precise, geolocalized information on soils in order to assess the impact of agricultural practices on their health and their contribution to ecosystem functions.

 

* « mass balance » approach