LVMH and Chanel have reached a significant agreement on corporate social responsibility (CSR), coordinating supplier-level reporting and audit schedules.

On corporate social responsibility (CSR), two of the largest luxury goods companies in the world reached a significant agreement. At the supplier level, LVMH and Chanel will coordinate on CSR reporting and audit schedules. In addition, among other new efforts, LVMH will support its suppliers by introducing LVMH Circularity, which will repurpose unsold products from various group houses in new projects. The program is called Life 360 Business Partners.

The agreement is only applicable to suppliers in order to allay worries about competition. More specifically, sourcing and supplier verification are two areas where LVMH and Chanel will collaborate. Although the agreement's specifics are still being worked out, both businesses hope to develop a common audit mechanism to save suppliers from having to perform the same tasks repeatedly. The Chanel/LVMH program will involve education and other efforts to bring suppliers to the table as partners, in addition to financial support and co-investment.

The two groups share the same definition of luxury, according to Antoine Arnault, Head of Image and Environment at LVMH, and they "strongly believe that we will need to work together to move faster."

This week, at the LVMH 360 event, Chairman Bernard Arnault stood on stage and reaffirmed the company's belief that decisions about the environment may have a business impact.