Bottega Veneta and sustainability

We engage both internal and external stakeholders to foster a culture of sustainability within our company and throughout the luxury sector. Internally, we raise awareness and knowledge through regular sustainability training programs and empower our employees to contribute to the brand’s sustainability agenda through tools, goal setting, and incentives. Externally, we ensure best sustainability practices across our supply chain.

In 2021, Bottega Veneta launched the Green Atelier app, an internal tool that aims at evaluating the sustainability of our products based on five indicators related to materials (traceability, conformity to Kering standards and environmental impact) and suppliers (advance chemical management and working conditions). Through the app, we ensure that all employees have access to detailed sustainability data, speak a common language, and are informed and empowered to make decisions in line with the highest sustainability standards.

10% of the Bottega Veneta annual employee bonus is dependent on sustainability targets. These targets were set across every department since 2019 and reflect the daily operations of each team to encourage inclusive engagement.

More than 99% of Bottega Veneta’s direct suppliers are based in Italy. This commitment to local craftsmanship also enables us to keep a moderate manufacturing footprint.

All our suppliers are required to comply with Kering’s Sustainability Principles, Code of Ethics, Product Restricted Substances List (PRSL), and Statement on Modern Slavery. All our operations are monitored pursuant to the SA8000 certification management system, the leading certification on workplace standards and practices.

To ensure full compliance, we follow rigorous monitoring of our suppliers with audits conducted by specialized teams. Every year, we offer training seminars tailored to each product category and designed to impart best sustainability practices and insights.

We also train and accompany our suppliers to phase out hazardous chemicals following strict requirements beyond standard regulation. Suppliers must adhere to our Product Restricted Substances List (PRSL) to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals, as well as the MRSL (Manufacturing Restricted Substances List). Through Kering, Bottega Veneta is also part of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) initiative.

In alignment with Kering, we are committed to an ambitious impact reduction program. This includes the reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in absolute terms by 2035, meaning that regardless of how much we grow our business, we will reduce our impact. This commitment involves clear goals, rigorous measures, and pioneering innovation at each stage of our supply chain and across our operations, production, stores, offices, and ateliers.

Our commitment begins with the careful selection of raw materials, prioritizing the most sustainable and durable solutions as defined by Kering’s Standards & Guidance for Sustainable Production.

Located in an 18th-century villa, our main Atelier in Montebello Vicentino has been LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum-certified since 2014.

During the renovation of the original villa, we meticulously preserved existing building structures, reusing over 75% of the original materials. We sourced additional materials locally with 100% wood used in the project certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Eco-friendly measures focus on water conservation, reduced artificial lighting, and energy efficiency. Highlights include 1,200 square meters of solar panels on the villa roof, a rainwater-recycling system, and ground-source heating and air-conditioning to minimize emissions.

Our specialist Shoe Atelier in Vigonza, inaugurated in 2023, is also LEED platinum-certified. The atelier includes measures to reduce its environmental impact such as solar panels, recycled materials in construction, initiatives to support local biodiversity, and the preservation of natural habitats.

Since 2022, all Bottega Veneta new stores and refurbishments are at least LEED gold certified. We use 100% renewable electricity for all European and American locations and buy renewable energy certificates in other locations where electricity from renewable sources is not available for structural reasons.

Bottega Veneta’s Milan headquarters comprises two sites at the Palazzo San Fedele and Via Privata Ercole Marelli, with a total of 440 square meters of solar panels. Both sites use 100% renewable electricity and feature several energy and water-saving measures including high-performance presence sensors, lighting regulators, and rainwater collection systems.

Introduced in 2014, the 2,400 square meter eco-food garden at Via Privata Ercole Marelli supplies the company canteen with fresh vegetables and herbs, ensuring hyperlocal ingredients are featured on the daily menu, while providing Bottega Veneta employees with a tranquil outdoor space. Constructed with entirely recyclable or reusable materials, this urban food garden incorporates a minimally invasive lighting system and a water reuse system drawing from a rainwater underground tank.

We follow Kering’s Green Fashion Shows guidelines for all Bottega Veneta shows. Our sustainability measures include reuse and repurposing of show materials, renewable energy use, low carbon transport solutions, and sustainable catering.

Born out of the passion of a collective of artisans, Bottega Veneta is defined by its extraordinary, innovative craft. This craft builds on centuries of remarkable leatherwork in the Veneto region and relies on the talent and dedication of highly skilled artisans. We consider it both a social and cultural responsibility to nurture this heritage and community. Today, we employ 1800 artisans in the Veneto and engage in multiple training, upskilling, and reskilling initiatives to foster this regional dynamism, promote Made in Italy excellence, and transmit our unique savoir-faire from one generation to the next.

In 2022, Bottega Veneta launched the Certificate of Craft, an expression of our commitment to outstanding artisanal quality and our guiding ethos of value over volume. The certificate offers complimentary care ser-vices on iconic Bottega Veneta products, advocating for the long-term use and enjoyment of our exceptional craft.

Bottega Veneta employs 1800 artisans in the Veneto region. We consider it both a social and cultural responsibility to nurture this local craftsmanship, thereby promoting the dynamism of the Veneto region, protecting Made in Italy heritage, and transmitting our unique savoir-faire to new talents.

We founded our first leatherwork school in 2006 at the Scuola d’Arte di Vicenza. Over the years, we have also partnered on training courses and programs in leather goods and textiles with IUAV University in Venice, Centro di Formazione Professionale Giovanni Fontana in Chiampo, and Istituto Professionale Montagna near Vicenza.

In 2023, we deepened our commitment to artisanal training with the launch of Accademia Labor et Ingenium. The academy builds on Bottega Veneta’s integral connection to the traditional “bottega” or “workshop”, where a collective of artisans honed their skills and transmitted knowledge from one generation to the next. The name derives from the brand’s founding values, as seen in its original company crest: Labor et Ingenium, “Craft and Creativity”.

Based between the Bottega Veneta atelier in Montebello Vicentino and a dedicated new space at the brand’s manufacturing site at Povolaro Dueville, Accademia Labor et Ingenium serves as a permanent workshop, where Bottega Veneta employees, new hires, and external students can learn from master artisans through training activities, events, and courses. A central pillar of the academy is a comprehensive training program for 50 students a year, with guaranteed employment at Bottega Veneta on completion of the course. This program is led by a community of master artisans and promotes a combined curriculum of manual work and creative experience.

Since 2020, Bottega Veneta works with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide training, mentoring, and employment opportunities to refugees. Working together with UNHCR and local NGOs, we have welcomed refugees from five different origin countries into training programs at the Accademia Labor et Ingenium, and employment at our Veneto ateliers and manufacturing sites. We are proud to have been twice recognized with the Working for Refugee Integration Award in 2022 and 2023.

In December 2021, Bottega Veneta launched "Bottega for Bottegas", a solidarity project to share our love of craft and to support smaller-scale artisans who had been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have continued this project each festive season since, giving over our advertising spaces, website, newsletters, and store windows to a selection of other “Bottegas” who share our commitment to excellence and exemplify our core values of creativity, craft, and community.