Big On Green

Jean-Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai, takes the Swiss watchmaker on a sustainable journey for a better tomorrow.

- Asaph Low

I want to begin with a personal question to you, Mr Pontroué. Can you recall an impactful moment you witnessed or experienced that spurred you to embark on this sustainable journey for Panerai? It started with Mike Horn, who is one of our ambassadors. He was the very first one to let us know about the speed of pollution development in the world, especially in the areas where you will never go, such as the North Pole or the Himalayan mountains. If we as people who can do something don't act, then there is no hope; thankfully Mike is someone who can shake the foundations and make you think differently. Living in Switzerland, it's a country where you have a lot of mountains and lakes, so you are very quickly connected to nature and the Swiss love to protect nature more than everywhere else in the world. That was something personally close to my heart and for a brand like Panerai which has enjoyed waves and oceans for years, it's part of our mission, to also take an active role in that battle against pollution.

How would you measure or define the success of the Panerai Ecologico framework? By numbers, it's not only about intention even though it's very nice but it's all about numbers. For instance, by 2023, 100% of all packaging are recycled materials; by 2025, 100% of our steel will be eSteel. Electricity in the manufacture comes from solar cells and hot water from geothermal sources. So it's measured quantitatively with lead time.