The Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), an Italian fashion organization, is collaborating with the United Nations Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) to launch a joint environmental, social, and corporate governance due diligence and corporate sustainability reporting framework for the fashion industry.

According to the CNMI and EFI, the sustainable framework will give stakeholders access to a system that will introduce sustainability throughout the supply chain through serious due diligence processes aimed at spotting, eliminating, and mitigating environmental, social, and corporate governance risks.

Simone Cipriani, head and founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, said that an ESG Due Diligence and Corporate Sustainability reporting strategy allows the fashion sector to discuss sustainability consistently and transparently. It also allows consumers and investors to make well-informed decisions.

The framework will also serve as the foundation for the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, which will recognize businesses based on their performance in terms of environmental, social, and governance criteria for the first time.

Carlo Capasa, president of the CNMI, said that having a huge communication event on sustainability is not enough: they also need to focus on the hard aspect of sustainability: the scientific underpinning that lies behind such a glamorous event.

The announcement was part of the Milan Climate and Fashion Talks event, which included discussions on fashion sustainability and how the fashion sector can help reduce the consequences of climate change, as well as recommendations to the Italian government in advance of COP26.