Burberry introduces carbon insetting and carbon neutral LFW runway

Burberry revealed that its runway show at London Fashion Week this evening was a carbon neutral production. At the same time it announced that it was creating a Regeneration Fund to support a portfolio of "carbon insetting" projects to directly tackle the environmental impact of the British luxury house'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.

Burberry AW20

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.

Burberry AW20

In order to reduce the environmental impact of the AW20 runway show, held at Olympia, London, Burberry took 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.

Burberry AW20

Pam Batty, VP of Corporate Responsibility, Burberry said: “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.”

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.

Burberry AW20

The London Fashion Week show was described by chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci as a tribute to the early years he spent in London studying fashion at Central Saint Martins. He left London to pursue his career becoming creative director at French house Givenchy before returning to London in 2018 to take up his current role.

"Moving back to London recently - a city I first discovered as a young student - gave me a real sense of nostalgia. It was the place where I learnt to be myself and a city where I gained the confidence to be the man that I am today. I have this strong feeling of pride when I think about the early days of my career, when I was an emerging designer still learning my craft and taking inspiration wherever I could find it.

Burberry AW20

"The memory of this special and formative time in my life is what has influenced this collection – from the places I visited and the people that surrounded me to the music that inspired me. It is this side of my personal journey that I wanted to blend with the codes and language that I have started to define here at Burberry," he said.

"Named Memories" builds upon the fashion house’s rich heritage and signature cues – from the Burberry beige colour palette and trench coats to classic tailoring and duffle coats – juxtaposed with new, modern silhouettes, prints and fabrications.

Burberry AW20

The show was staged on a mirrored catwalk in the historic London exhibition hall, and included an array of trench coats, car coats, duffle coats and equestrian-inspired quilted jackets, alongside long collarless coats, tailoring, jodhpurs and fluted skirts – all in textural contrasts and new prints.

Tisci also used the occasion to introduce the new Olympia bag collection,  featuring a shoulder bag in three sizes and a crossbody bag. A supersized Pocket Bag, Society holdall and duffle bag in plaid also feature.