Kering has launched the Water Resilience Lab — Arno Basin, a platform designed to coordinate long-term action to regenerate and replenish Tuscany’s Arno Basin. The initiative was presented in Florence at Palazzo Medici Riccardi during commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the 1966 flood caused by the Arno River.
Developed with nonprofit environmental organization Conservation International and Etifor, a certified B Corp and University of Padua spin-off, the Lab brings together public and private institutions, companies, universities, scientists and financial stakeholders. Its objective is to replace fragmented responses with coordinated measures based on shared scientific analysis.
The initiative focuses on the basin’s exposure to water scarcity, drought, flooding and pollution. Kering sustainability and institutional affairs chief Marie-Claire Daveu said the project reflects the need for collective action to address climate change, nature loss and water-related risks.
LVMH was the first company to join the Lab at its highest level. Burberry, Assicurazioni Generali and other organizations are also contributing to and funding the project. LVMH Group environment development director Helène Valade said the initiative supports the company’s LIFE 360 environmental strategy by combining collaboration, scientific innovation and ecosystem regeneration.
The Lab’s work is based on the relationship between the health of the Arno Basin, local communities, ecosystems and the economic activities that depend on them. It also aims to develop public-private co-financing mechanisms and financial tools that could make the basin an international reference for investment and a model that can be adapted to other river basins facing water stress.
During the presentation, the Lab outlined a roadmap developed with its multisector advisory board and based on a Nexus approach linking water, nature, climate and society. The analysis was carried out by Etifor with researchers from the University of Florence’s DAGRI and DICEA departments in 2025, covering the basin’s hydrological, ecological and socioeconomic conditions.
Six areas were identified as the first locations for nature-based restoration projects, which have already begun: Villa Petriolo, Ombrone — Bisenzio; Altopascio — Lake Sibolla; Pisa — Era Basin; Usciana — Pescia River; and the Arezzo — Chiana Valley areas. These locations include important manufacturing, cultural, craft and tourism districts in Italy.
The initiative comes as Tuscany faces increasing water-related risks. The region is expected to experience more than 50 days of heat stress annually by 2030, while flooding in 2023 caused an estimated €1.89 billion in damage, according to data from the Regional Institute for Economic Planning of Tuscany.
Sources: WWD.