It's time to start thinking about making your graduate collection environmentally-friendly. Luxury fashion conglomerate Kering – home to brands such as Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney –  has partnered with London College of Fashion to encourage sustainable fashion design among its students.

Every year, the company will award €20,000 (about £15,762) study grants to two students who prove their eco credentials as part of the Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion. The winners will also land an internship with Kering brands. The yearly competition is open to all third-year BA and MA students reading fashion design, management and communications.

CEO Franҫois-Henri Pinault readily acknowledges that the link between sustainability and luxury fashion might not be immediately obvious."But I would argue that by the very nature of our industry’s innate creativity and ability to set trends, fashion can be a powerful player in illustrating new and appealing solutions to a more sustainable world," he wrote in a Telegraph op-ed inaugurating the partnership. 

Kering brands have improved their approach to sustainability, with Gucci introducing a way to tan leather without resorting to heavy metals and Stella McCartney famously producing ethical collections without using animal furs or hides.   

Pinault added: "In my view, nothing is more important than providing the framework to educate and inspire the next generation to act and become the change-makers we will need to address our future challenges. And if we get this right they will emerge with a creative talent directed not only at creating beauty, but showing us all how beauty, design, creativity, innovation and sustainability can co-exist."

So what are you waiting for? Time to get serious about going green.