The Fashion Pact, a non-profit coalition founded in 2019 to promote sustainability in the fashion industry, has launched the European Accelerator, a new initiative designed to drive collective action towards decarbonising the fashion supply chain — starting in Italy.
The Accelerator brings together several leading luxury houses, including Chanel, Ermenegildo Zegna, Kering, Moncler and Prada, to collaborate on data sharing, capacity building and financing sustainable transformation within the manufacturing ecosystem.
According to estimates, the European fashion industry will need to invest US $ 4.8 billion by 2030 to meet its decarbonisation targets. However, in Italy — a hub for luxury production — high levels of debt and economic strain mean that such investments are financially unfeasible for nearly 58% of suppliers. The absence of harmonised sustainability reporting standards further complicates accurate assessment of manufacturers’ environmental performance.
The European Accelerator will operate through three interconnected work streams. The first involves the creation of a standardised questionnaire to collect data on energy use, water consumption and waste generation. Developed in collaboration with Quantis, an environmental consultancy under the BCG Group and incorporating input from Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), the tool was tested with 74 Italian suppliers across the value chain. It is now being made available to all brands on a voluntary, non-exclusive basis.
A committee of experts will regularly update the questionnaire to align it with evolving regulations and best practices.
The second work stream will focus on enhancing manufacturers’ technical capabilities, identifying ways to improve operational efficiency and facilitating the adoption of renewable energy sources.
The third will tackle the financing gap, developing mechanisms to help suppliers access capital for cleaner technologies and long-term sustainability investments.
Through these coordinated efforts, the Fashion Pact aims to create a shared, scalable model for sustainable transformation that can be replicated across Europe’s broader fashion ecosystem.
