Carbon Footprint — Operations: How does Balenciaga score?

Balenciaga does not publish standalone emissions data. DitchCarbon (Sept 2025) explicitly states: 'Balenciaga does not report specific carbon emissions figures.' Emissions data is reported only at the parent Kering Group level. Kering's 2024 total reported Scope 1 was ~31,052 tCO2e and Scope 2 (market-based) ~12,428 tCO2e across all brands. No Balenciaga-specific allocation is disclosed. Balenciaga has ~3,300 employees and estimated annual revenue of ~€1.2B (2023), indicating a mid-sized operati

Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain: How does Balenciaga score?

No Balenciaga-specific Scope 3 data is published. Kering group-wide Scope 3 was ~2,116,428 tCO2e in 2024 (down from ~2,508,318 tCO2e in 2023), but no brand-level breakdown is disclosed. Balenciaga's supply chain is primarily Italian-based (81% of Kering suppliers in Italy per Metropolis, Feb 2026) with leather goods and apparel manufacturing. Kering has assessed supply chain emissions at group level and has SBTi-validated targets covering Scope 3. Some awareness of supply chain sources exists th

Emissions Trajectory: How does Balenciaga score?

No absolute emissions trajectory is available for Balenciaga specifically. At the Kering group level, total emissions fell from ~2,552,669 tCO2e (2023) to ~2,159,908 tCO2e (2024) — a meaningful absolute reduction. However, Balenciaga's 2023 revenue declined sharply (from ~€1.39B in 2022 to ~€1.17B in 2023), meaning any emissions reduction may partly reflect reduced business activity rather than structural decarbonisation. Kering reports a 71% reduction in Scope 1&2 since 2015, partly achieved vi

Energy Source: How does Balenciaga score?

Kering achieved 100% renewable electricity across all owned operations in 2022, maintained under its RE100 commitment (confirmed in Kering Sustainability Progress Report 2023 via WWD). This applies to Balenciaga's owned retail and office operations as a Kering subsidiary. The new Balenciaga leather goods factory 'The Plant' in Tuscany operates as a fully all-electric facility with heat pumps and on-site energy generation (Metropolis, Feb 2026). However, this is group-level attainment, not indepe

Nature & Biodiversity Impact: How does Balenciaga score?

Kering, as Balenciaga's parent, has substantive biodiversity commitments that apply group-wide. Kering participated in the SBTN pilot (May 2023–June 2024) and became one of the first fashion brands to adopt science-based targets for nature, including land footprint reduction of 3% by 2030 and deforestation-free leather commitments updated in June 2023. Balenciaga has a CanopyStyle-approved policy to prevent deforestation in its viscose/packaging supply chain (per Good On You, Oct 2023). Kering a

Resource Use & Waste: How does Balenciaga score?

Balenciaga launched a resale service in 2022 in collaboration with Reflaunt, extending the life of pre-owned products. The new 'The Plant' factory uses recycled textile fibres from Balenciaga's own production waste in building materials (Metropolis, Feb 2026). Kering aims to eliminate single-use plastics by 2025 and achieve zero microfibre leakage by 2030. Balenciaga incorporated a new biomaterial (Lunaform) in Summer 2024 and targets 100% metal-free tanned leather in collections. However, Balen

Water Impact: How does Balenciaga score?

Kering launched a Water-Positive Strategy (April 2025) targeting 10 priority water basins, building on its SBTN-validated freshwater target: a 21% reduction in water use in the Arno basin (Tuscany) by 2030, covering direct operations and upstream suppliers (SBTN pilot case study, Oct 2024). This is directly relevant to Balenciaga, whose leather goods production is concentrated in Italian tanneries in the Arno basin. Kering has tracked EP&L water impacts since 2015. However, no Balenciaga-specifi

Targets & Commitments: How does Balenciaga score?

Kering's Net-Zero SBTi targets were validated on 1 November 2024, covering near-term (54.6% reduction in Scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2033 from a 2022 baseline) and long-term (90% reduction by 2050) targets. These apply to Balenciaga as a Kering brand. Kering's original SBTi intensity-based target (50% per unit of value added by 2025) predates the 2024 net-zero validation. The 2024 validation is an absolute target at group level. However, Balenciaga itself has no brand-specific SBTi commitment, and Ker

Transparency & Accountability: How does Balenciaga score?

Balenciaga does not publish a standalone sustainability report. Environmental data is consolidated into Kering Group-level reporting (Kering Sustainability Progress Report and Universal Registration Document). The Fashion Transparency Index scored Balenciaga 41–50% in 2022, indicating moderate supply chain transparency but below leading practice. Kering has a dedicated Chief Sustainability Officer (Marie-Claire Daveu), board oversight, and EP&L public disclosure. However, at the brand level, Bal

Controversies & Red Flags: How does Balenciaga score?

Starting at 8. The November 2022 ad campaign controversy (children with bondage-style teddy bears; Supreme Court child pornography decision documents in a separate campaign) caused major reputational damage. Balenciaga initially sued production company North Six for $25M, then dropped the lawsuit within days amid widespread accusations of scapegoating (The Fashion Law, Dec 2022; multiple sources). The controversy was purely reputational/brand, not environmental. No environmental regulatory fines

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Balenciaga Sustainability Score: 32/100

◌ Pending Review

👗 Apparel (Fast Fashion)FRBelow expectations

~3,300 employees~€1.2B revenueRanked #343 of 503Website ↗

Balenciaga is a apparel (fast fashion) company headquartered in FR. Based on our 10-question rubric, Balenciaga scores 32/100 — rated as below expectations on sustainability for a company of its size and profile.

SINK Score Breakdown

How we calculated Balenciaga's score using our formula: (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale Penalty

Base Impact

Apparel (Fast Fashion) industry ceiling

Performance

42/100

10 questions scored below

Scale Penalty

0.95x

emissions volume multiplier

SINK Score

(0.3 × 15 + 0.7 × 42) × 0.95 = 32

10-Question Rubric Breakdown

Click any question to see the reasoning, sources and community challenges.

2/10

Carbon Footprint — Operations

3/10

Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain

3/10

Emissions Trajectory

6/10

Energy Source

5/10

Nature & Biodiversity Impact

4/10

Resource Use & Waste

4/10

Water Impact

5/10

Targets & Commitments

4/10

Transparency & Accountability

Q10

6/10

Controversies & Red Flags

Community Verification

0 verifications · 0 challenges · Scored using SINK editorial review

Last scored: 9 Apr 2026

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