Burberry refinances its revolving line of credit with a sustainability-linked loan of 360 million euros, coordinated by Lloyd’s Bank. The intervention is part of the luxury maison’s strategic goal: to become climate positive by 2040.
Goal
That’s why Burberry has accelerated the reduction of emissions along its supply chain to 46% by 2030 and 100% by 2040, ten years before the deadlines set by the Paris Agreement. “Linking funding sources to sustainable initiatives will help guide this process, not just in the luxury industry but economically in general,” said Julie Brown, Burberry’s chief financial officer. Burberry was one of the first luxury houses to issue a sustainability bond as early as September 2020.
Bill in New York
In New York too, fashion pushes the pedal towards sustainability. In recent days, the “Fashion sustainability and social accountability act” bill was presented to the New York State Assembly, according to which the fashion companies operating in New York and invoicing more than 100 million dollars per year, regardless of the place of origin, they would be obliged within one year to track and communicate their environmental impact on at least 50% of their value chain on the Internet, from raw materials to logistics, measuring which part has the greatest social impact and environmental issues in terms of carbon emissions, chemical and water management, energy consumption and living wages. In addition, they will have to share their production volumes and analyze how much cotton or polyester they consume.
Penalties of up to 2% of the annual turnover are foreseen for offenders.
New York is the first US state to ask for official data on its climate and social impacts to be communicated and gives a breakthrough by opening the door to similar regulations in other countries. In Germany, France, the UK and Australia, for example, due diligence regulations focus only on human rights.
