Burberry has pushed back its net zero target by a decade, becoming the latest blue-chip business to water down ambitious climate goals set in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, City AM can reveal.
The high-end fashion firm, known for its trench coats and tartan scarves, made the decision to delay its target to become ‘climate positive’ from 2040 to 2050 after reassessing the business case for its previous goal, it said in its annual report.
“We believe our revised targets reflect a pragmatic response to external factors, while allowing us to maintain a level of ambition in line with our assessment of climate change as a principal risk facing our business,” the company wrote.
In 2021, Burberry had set itself some of the most ambitious climate goals in the fashion industry, pledging to have a net positive impact on the climate by 2040 and to reduce its indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 46 per before the end of the decade.
Jonathan Akeroyd, Burberry’s chief executive at the time, hailed the move as a sign of the group’s “long-standing commitment to sustainability” and “appreciation for nature and the outdoors” in a document outlining the pledge five years ago.
The decision forms part of Burberry’s root and branch overhaul under Akeroyd’s successor, Joshua Schulman, as he seeks to stem years of heavy losses and stuttering performance. As part of the turnaround the group chose to slash as many as 1,700 jobs – a fifth of its workforce – last year as it sought to keep a lid on costs.
Burberry latest of several climate U-turns
In the same financial report, Burberry said restructuring charges brought about by the mass redundancies cost the fashion brand more than £45m last year, on top of £29m in the previous reporting period. But it added that the job losses had already unlocked £80m in immediate cost savings, and helped it return to profitability in 2025.
The decision to U-turn on climate initiatives makes FTSE 100 constituent Burberry the latest in a growing line of household name companies that have watered down their net zero goals set when monetary conditions were looser.
In 2024, ESG posterchild Unilever scaled back its previous pledges on plastic and diversity, saying new goals were “unashamedly realistic”. Oil majors Shell and BP have also abandoned their own transition plans and re-embraced their legacy oil and gas divisions amid pressure from investors. And almost every major American bank has watered down its commitment in response to Donald Trump’s hostile approach to the Democrats’ climate agenda, which he has branded the ‘Green New Scam’.
Burberry top brass said in the report that the firm had “refined its climate targets” after it conducted a review of its legacy goals that “strengthened [its] understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
“This decision, taken by the Board in FY 2025/26, is grounded in our business transformation and in building clear, credible delivery pathways that we know are required to decarbonise our business,” they added.
Burberry did not respond to a request for comment.
