OTB Reports 50% Emissions Cut, Expands Renewable Energy Use Worldwide

OTB’s sustainability scorecard is starting to look less like a promise and more like a ledger. The group said renewable electricity reached 100% across its European operations and 81% globally, while Scope 1 and 2 emissions fell 50% versus 2019. For a company whose portfolio includes Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf, those are the kind of numbers that matter because they can be measured, not just mood-boarded.

The harder read is what sits behind the gains. OTB said 29% of its materials now come from lower-impact alternatives, a useful step that still leaves most of the raw material stream outside that zone. A year earlier, the group said total emissions across Scope 1, Scope 2 market-based and Scope 3 fell 31% versus 2023, renewable energy had reached 100% in Europe and North America at directly managed sites and 70% worldwide, and certified materials accounted for 24% of total purchases. Preferred cotton, including organic, regenerative and recycled fibers, made up 62% of raw materials purchased in 2024, up 31% year over year. That is real movement, but it also makes clear where luxury still lives: upstream, in fiber choices, mills, dye houses and the long supply chain most shoppers never see.

OTB launched its “Be Responsible. Be Brave.” strategy in 2021 and built it around three pillars, The New Fashion System, Protecting Our Planet and Brave Together. The umbrella is broad by design, covering lower-impact collections, decarbonization, circular business models, biodiversity, inclusion, equality and community impact. The company says its sustainability reporting is voluntary, not required by regulation, which gives the numbers more weight than a compliance exercise usually does.

Renzo Rosso called the results “the outcome of the work of the 7,000 people in our Group,” and the scale is hard to miss. Andrea Rosso serves as sustainability ambassador, while OTB Foundation’s Brave to Care volunteering program involved more than 130 employees, eight solidarity projects in Italy and more than 700 volunteer hours. The group also said more than 53,000 training hours were delivered in 2024, more than 1,000 employees received sustainability training, and Staff International’s fourth School of Trades placed more than 85% of its students within the group. In a luxury sector that still loves the language of intention, OTB is making the more convincing case: accountability begins with electricity contracts, sourcing ratios and training hours, the unglamorous mechanics that decide whether a brand is actually changing or just sounding responsible.