LVMH opens environmental education center in a nature reserve west of Paris

LVMH employees can now look forward to a dream destination for their sustainability training. A 30-hectare nature reserve on the edge of the Rambouillet forest, in the Yvelines region, west of Paris, managed by the Vallée de la Millière association founded by environmental photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. On Tuesday, October 1, through a partnership described as “strategic,” LVMH inaugurated an educational center within the reserve, where its employees will receive training to address the challenges of environmental sustainability and protect biodiversity.

The center is located in the town of Mesnuls and has been owned since 1868 by the Guerlain family, whose brand was acquired by LVMH in 1994. The center was purchased by the Arthus-Bertrand family in 2020, with the aim of turning it into a sanctuary of biodiversity and since then it has been cataloged as a natural area of ​​ecological, wild and plant interest (ZNIEFF). Twenty-eight hectares within the area are conserved exclusively for wild recovery. Among the species that have returned to the area are deer, badgers, dragonflies and various types of birds, such as the cattail-dwelling fan-tailed warbler. The remaining 1.4 hectares house a botanical garden and a biological-pedagogical garden, financed by Guerlain three years ago. The LVMH brand has recently renewed its collaboration for another three years.

LVMH began supporting the Vallée de la Millière association in 2022, allowing it to accelerate the renovation of existing farmhouses in the area, which now house the center's classrooms, a restaurant and a hostel. Arthus-Bertrand stated that the necessary investment amounted to “several million euros”, without giving further details. In 2023, LVMH signed a five-year collaboration agreement with the association, providing advance financing for training courses planned in the period, equivalent to 90 days of classes per year.

Between now and 2026, LVMH aims to train all its collaborators, more than 200,000 people, both in the Millière Valley and through the group's e-learning program and the classes taught by LVMH at the Life Academy, which the group launched in 2023. The de la Millière center is an integral part of LVMH's Life 360 ​​environmental program, focused on circularity, traceability, biodiversity and commitment to climate change. Since 2022, the number of people trained through the program has increased from 30,000 to 70,000.

“This place will foster our connection with nature. Our professions are intertwined with nature, although we are all decidedly urban and tend to forget that behind a dress there are cotton fields, behind a perfume there are flowers and behind a bottle of champagne, there are vineyards,” said Hélène. Valade, head of environmental development at LVMH. “We want to be the creators of a new luxury characterized by a renewed connection with nature. We are also going to organize specific training courses for our suppliers and the venue will be open to the public and also to schools,” he added.

The courses, each for a maximum of 15 to 20 people, will feature a mix of LVMH employees from across the group and its 75 brands, including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon, in order to “promote dialogue and the exchange of opinions”. “The curriculum will consist of sessions of four to more than six hours each, divided between basic training courses on environmental foundations and more advanced courses covering specialized areas such as ecodesign, sustainable sourcing and climate change action.