Burberry has delayed its net zero target by a decade, joining a growing list of major companies that have retreated from climate commitments made during the pandemic era.
The luxury fashion house, renowned for its trench coats and tartan scarves, has pushed back its goal to become “climate positive” from 2040 to 2050 following a reassessment of the Business case for its previous target.
The decision was disclosed in Burberry’s annual report, with the company citing external factors as central to its revised approach to climate ambitions.
“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.
Back in 2021, Burberry had established some of the most ambitious climate goals in the entire fashion industry, pledging a net positive climate impact by 2040.
The 2021 pledge also included a commitment to reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 46 per cent before the end of that decade, targets that were championed by the company’s leadership at the time.
Jonathan Akeroyd, Burberry’s chief executive at the time, described the original pledge as a sign of the group’s “long-standing commitment to sustainability” and “appreciation for nature and the outdoors.”
The climate reversal forms part of a broader overhaul led by Akeroyd’s successor, Joshua Schulman, who has been working to reverse years of heavy losses and stuttering performance at the brand.
As part of that turnaround, Burberry cut as many as 1,700 jobs last year, equivalent to a fifth of its total workforce, in a bid to reduce costs significantly.
The same annual report revealed that restructuring charges from those mass redundancies cost the fashion brand more than £45m last year, on top of £29m from the prior reporting period.
However, Burberry said the job losses had already unlocked £80m in immediate cost savings and helped the company return to profitability in 2025.
The board stated that the 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.”
Burberry is far from alone in stepping back from climate pledges made when monetary conditions were considerably looser than they are today.
In 2024, Unilever scaled back previous pledges on plastic and diversity, describing its new goals as “unashamedly realistic,” in a move that drew significant attention from sustainability campaigners.
Oil majors Shell and BP have both abandoned their own Covid-era emissions targets, replacing them with slower transition timelines that have drawn criticism from environmental groups.
Almost every major American bank has also watered down its climate commitments, responding to Donald Trump’s hostile stance toward what he has publicly branded the “Green New Scam.”
Burberry said it had “refined its climate targets” following a review of legacy goals that “strengthened [its] understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.”
Burberry declined to comment beyond what was included in the annual report.