Burberry is pleased to announce that its Autumn/Winter 2020 runway show will be certified as carbon neutral as it takes measures to both reduce and offset the carbon emissions tied to the event. Burberry is also creating a Regeneration Fund to support a portfolio of carbon insetting projects to directly tackle the environmental impact of Burberry’s operations.
The new insetting projects will be implemented within Burberry’s own supply chain, working to promote biodiversity, restore ecosystems and support the livelihoods of local producers as well as storing carbon at source and removing it from the atmosphere. To kickstart the programme, Burberry is partnering with PUR Projet to design and implement regenerative agriculture practices with some of its wool producers in Australia. The project will work at farm level to improve carbon capture in soils, improve watershed and soil health, reduce dryland salinity and promote biodiverse habitats.
To reduce the environmental impact of the Autumn/Winter 2020 runway show, Burberry is taking a range of measures including holding the event in a certified sustainable venue, prioritising electric vehicles and not using any air freight. Any remaining carbon emissions will be offset through a savanna fire management project which works to reduce the risk of uncontrolled late dry season wild fires in Australia and mitigate damage caused to ecosystems. Burberry has also reviewed gifting for show guests, opting to collaborate with PUR Projet and their local partner to plant trees in Australia on guests’ behalf to help restore native ecosystems devastated by the recent bushfires.
Pam Batty, VP of Corporate Responsibility, Burberry: “At Burberry we are passionate about creating real change in our industry to build a more sustainable future and I am proud that we can express this through our biggest brand moments like our runway shows. As we look to the future, our move to implement carbon insetting in our supply chain is testament to our restless approach to finding new ways to protect our environment and strengthen our deep commitment to our local communities.”
This approach builds on Burberry’s existing climate commitments approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) which apply to greenhouse gas emissions from Burberry’s operations, covering scopes 1, 2 and 3. The targets for greenhouse gas emissions from Burberry’s operations – scopes 1 and 2 – are consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.
Burberry is already carbon neutral in the Americas region, EMEIA retail stores and UK operations and is on track to achieve its goal of being carbon neutral in its own global operations by 2022.
