February 11, 2020: Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the world’s leading luxury fashion brands, with a renowned reputation for creativity, innovation and Italian craftsmanship. It has joined The Lion’s Share Fund, a unique initiative raising much-needed funds to tackle the crisis in nature, biodiversity and climate across the globe. The Lion’s Share was established in June 2018 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with FINCH, Mars, Incorporated, Nielsen and BBDO as founding members.
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Led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a coalition of businesses and UN partners, the Fund aims to raise over $100 million per year within the next five years for animal conservation, biodiversity and climate by asking brands to contribute 0.5% of their media spend every time an animal is featured in their advertisements. Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO of Gucci, said,: “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.”
Launched in September 2018, the Fund is already having an impact, providing a grant to improve critical radio systems for law enforcement officers protecting wildlife in Mozambique’s Niassa Nature Reserve and helping reduce the elephant poaching rate to zero, and providing a grant to help secure land for endangered orangutans, elephants and tigers in North Sumatra in Indonesia. Animals appear in approximately 20 per cent of all advertisements in the world, yet despite this, animals do not always receive the support they deserve. The Lion’s Share gives brands the opportunity to take urgent and significant action and play their part in protecting our planet.
