Tuesday 15 June 2021
Burberry pledges to be ‘climate positive’ by 2040
Burberry has made a commitment to go further than its current 2040 net zero target and become “climate positive” over the next two decades.
The luxury brand aims to reduce emissions across its extended supply chain, with a 46% target for 2030, aligned with the 1.5°C pathway set out in the Paris climate agreement.
Burberry has also pledged to invest in programmes that protect and restore natural ecosystems that remove carbon from the atmosphere and fund climate resilience projects through the Burberry Regeneration Fund, established in 2020 to support a portfolio of verified carbon offsetting and insetting projects.
Its inaugural insetting project sees the brand partnering with PUR Projet to implement a regenerative agricultural programme with wool producers in Australia, with the project working at farm level to improve carbon capture in soils, strengthen watershed and soil health and promote biodiverse habitats.
In addition, Burberry has announced its support for the Fashion Avengers, a coalition of global fashion organisations that have come together to inspire action towards achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
All of Burberry's events, including shows and presentations, have been certified carbon neutral since 2019 and the company has reduced its market-based emissions by 92% since 2016, on track to meet its target of becoming carbon neutral across its own footprint by 2022.
It currently sources 93% of its electricity from renewable sources and is on track to achieve its target to use 100% green power in its own operations by 2022.
Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer at Burberry said: “Burberry was built upon a desire to explore nature and the great outdoors and they have remained our inspiration for more than 150 years. Drawing on this heritage of exploration and driven by our creative spirit, today, we are setting a bold new ambition: to become climate positive by 2040.
“As a company, we are united by our passion for being a force for good in the world. By strengthening our commitment to sustainability, we are going further in helping protect our planet for generations to come.”
