Burberry today announces its biodiversity strategy to support global conservation efforts. Through this plan, Burberry will take action to protect, restore and regenerate nature, helping to slow further global warming as part of the transition towards the 1.5°C pathway set out in the Paris Agreement.
Building on Burberry’s recent commitment to become Climate Positive by 2040, the luxury Company’s biodiversity strategy will expand the scope of its current initiatives, applying a nature-based approach in its own value chain and in areas of greatest need beyond its operations.
The biodiversity strategy encompasses three focus areas:
From our partners:
- Protecting and restoring nature within and beyond Burberry’s own value chain through projects supported via the Burberry Regeneration Fund.¹
- Expanding support for farming communities, intensifying existing efforts around farm-level certifications and training where Burberry sources raw materials.
- Developing regenerative supply chains, applying regenerative and holistic land management practices to grazing or farming systems.
This year, Burberry completed a biodiversity baseline assessment in partnership with The Biodiversity Consultancy to determine its highest ecological impacts. It highlighted that leather, cashmere and wool have the most significant impact on biodiversity as well as accounting for a high proportion of Burberry’s carbon footprint. Burberry will apply Nature Based Solution Principles and Guidelines that it developed in partnership with The Biodiversity Consultancy to projects funded via its Regeneration Fund, ensuring natural ecosystems are protected, restored and regenerated.
Beyond its value chain, Burberry is the first luxury brand to sign up to the LEAF Coalition with an investment in what is expected to become the world’s largest public-private initiative providing results-based finance to countries committed to making ambitious reductions in tropical deforestation. Through a partnership with the Savory Institute’s Land to Market programme, Burberry is also facilitating the regeneration of the world’s grasslands in the leather supply chain and the livelihoods of their inhabitants. Both programmes will play an important part in global regeneration and conservation efforts.
Aligned to the “ARRRT” framework, the strategy covers four impact areas that build upon Burberry’s long-established programmes:
- Avoid: continuing efforts within Burberry and across its extended supply chain to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity, conservation or the environment.
- Reduce: reducing Burberry’s impact on biodiversity through the responsible sourcing of key raw materials and ensuring key materials are traceable, certified or recycled by 2025.²
- Restore & Regenerate: restoring ecosystems within Burberry’s own value chain, working with key partners such as Land to Market at the Savory Institute and the Sustainable Fibre Alliance.
- Transform: accelerating solutions to drive change and protect vulnerable ecosystems beyond Burberry’s own value chain through our active participation in The Fashion Pact and UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action.
¹ The Burberry Regeneration Fund was established in 2020 to accelerate low-carbon future solutions and invest in nature-based projects.
² Burberry will ensure all key materials are 100% traceable by 2025 e.g. sourcing more sustainable cotton, leather and wool, as well as recycled polyester and nylon.
“Climate change is not just a future environmental risk, it’s a socioeconomic crisis that is impacting millions around the world today. Protecting, restoring and regenerating nature is key to safeguarding the planet for generations to come, and we must be ambitious in our intentions and action-oriented in our approach. Burberry’s biodiversity strategy will not only address impacts in our own extended operations, but also help to create new systems to reduce biodiversity loss in the world’s greatest areas of need, making a meaningful contribution to global conservation efforts.”
Dr. Gerry Murphy, Chair of Burberry
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