Italian fashion house Gucci has joined The Lion’s Share Fund to support
wildlife conservation by funding the unique initiative to tackle what it
calls “the crisis in nature, biodiversity and climate across the
globe”.
The fund, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a
coalition of businesses and UN partners, aims to raise over 100 million US
dollars per year within the next five years for animal conservation,
biodiversity and climate by asking brands to contribute 0.5 percent of
their media spend every time an animal is featured in their
advertisements.
Marco Bizzarri, president and chief executive of Gucci, said in a
statement: “The Lion’s Share Fund is an important addition to our
conservation strategy. Nature and wildlife provide Gucci with inspired
creation that is an integral part of our narrative through our collections
and campaigns. With the increasing threats to the planet’s biodiversity,
groundbreaking initiatives like The Lion’s Share Fund have the potential to
be transformative by organically connecting the business community with
direct action to protect our natural habitats and most threatened
species.”
“In a similar way, since 2018, Gucci has been totally carbon neutral
across our supply chain and we offset our remaining emissions every year
through REDD+, which protects critical forests and biodiversity around the
world.”
Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, added: “This partnership with Gucci
marks the continuing evolution of this innovative fund, which provides a
unique opportunity for brands across all industries to join forces and help
preserve and protect biodiversity across the globe.
“Wildlife populations are half the size they were just 50 years ago,
and their habitats and ecosystems are destroyed at an unprecedented
rate due to human activity. The Lion’s Share is an idea that is as
innovative as it is simple – and it makes a real impact on wildlife
conservation.”
Animals appear in approximately 20 percent of all advertisements in the
world, yet despite this, animals do not always receive the support they
deserve, explains The Lion’s Share Fund, and its aim is to give brands the
opportunity to take urgent and significant action and play their part in
protecting our planet.
Since the fund’s launch in September 2018, it has already produced
results, by providing grants to boost critical radio systems for law
enforcement officers protecting wildlife in Mozambique’s Niassa Nature
Reserve and helped to decrease elephant hunting rate to zero, and by
providing grants to reserve lands for endangered elephants, orang-utans,
and tigers in North Sumatra in Indonesia.
