Burberry in new sustainability commitment

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 25, 2019

Burberry has added two more goals to its sustainability strategy, which will see the luxury brand work towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its direct operations by 95% by 2022.

The British label will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to its extended supply chain by  30% by 2030, it announced on Tuesday. This includes the impact from the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of finished goods.

Both targets are approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) and will be compared to the retailer’s 2016 performance.

Pam Batty, vice president of corporate responsibility at Burberry, said: “For the first time, we are setting targets for greenhouse gas emissions that apply to our extended supply chain, which is a significant addition to our already ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral in our own operational energy use by 2022.”

The new goals join the retailer’s ambition to become carbon neutral in its operational energy use by 2022.

“The fashion industry’s environmental impact is significant and growing,” said Cynthia Cummis, director of private sector climate mitigation at World Resources Institute (WRI), one of the Science Based Targets initiative partners.

“To prevent catastrophic climate change, it’s important that all major apparel and footwear brands set science-based targets and pursue comprehensive strategies to decarbonize their businesses.”