Case study: How Mulberry is driving deeper employee engagement around its net-zero journey
Crista Buznea
About Mulberry
Established in Somerset in 1971, Mulberry has grown to become the largest maker of luxury leather goods in the United Kingdom. With a contemporary take on British heritage and a focus on responsible craft, the brandâs ambition is to create progressive luxury which is made to last.
Issue
From its beginning in 1971, sustainability has been fundamental to the Mulberry ethos. In 2021, Mulberry celebrated its 50-year anniversary, and used that milestone to affirm its commitment to keeping these values at the heart of the brand, with the launch of the Made to Last Manifesto. The Manifesto laid out an ambitious commitment to transform the business to a regenerative and circular model by 2030, encompassing the entire supply chain from field to wardrobe.
The manifesto is also underpinned by a bold commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, across scopes 1, 2 and 3. All emissions associated with Mulberryâs UK operations and purchased leather are balanced through verified carbon credits from the World Land Trust, but the team at Mulberry knows that this alone is not a long-term solution.
So for the last three years, the team has worked closely with the Carbon Trust to analyse and assess data from across the business and supply chain to establish a rigorous baseline to underpin their carbon reduction strategy.
Mulberry has aligned their approach with the new Forestry, Land Use and Agriculture (FLAG) sector guidance published by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) in 2022. They submitted proposed reduction targets to the SBTI in February 2023 and hope to have them approved and announced in 2024.
Mulberry is already seeing some amazing success by investing in renewable energy. They achieved a 9.5% reduction in UK greenhouse gas emissions across scope 1 & 2 over the last year (to April 2024). And a 360kW solar photovoltaic array installed at its Somerset factory will generate ten times more renewable electricity than the outgoing system â around 60% of the electricity needed to power the site each year. As raw materials sourcing represents 32% of Mulberryâs emissions, the brand is also committed to pioneering a hyper-local, hyper-transparent regenerative leather supply chain.
These commitments demand a reimagining of how the business operates, which requires each and every employee globally to engage with and share the brand vision. Fostering a culture of sustainability, where each employee understands how their day-to-day work contributes to the success of Mulberryâs net zero target, will be necessary to achieve these goals.
Solution
Mulberry was already well on top of its climate obligations, but in working with Ecologi it aimed to go beyond mitigating its business and leather footprint, ensuring that sustainability is part of every employeeâs journey. The partnership helps develop deeper understanding, ownership and commitment around Mulberryâs 2035 net-zero target, among employees right across the business.
For example, every new employee is welcomed and introduced to the topic of climate change and the businessesâ net-zero 2035 goal with the planting of one extra tree in Mulberryâs virtual âWelcomeâ forest.
Additionally, every quarter the team calculates the carbon impact from all flights taken across the business and balances this amount by investing in carbon avoidance projects with Ecologi. This works alongside a new travel policy, which asks all business travellers to examine their environmental impact when planning work trips.
Mulberry also commits to ongoing reforestation by funding tree planting to mark significant internal milestones, celebrations and events, including their annual Festive Advent Calendar and retail training days.
Each of these initiatives is used as an internal communications opportunity to educate employees on Mulberryâs climate journey. Both the Ecologi virtual forest and Mulberryâs internal communication platform are used to share information across the business. The team regularly shares sustainability communications covering various topics to help broaden colleaguesâ knowledge.
Our very own Head of Commercial Operations, Charli Adamson, was also invited into Mulberryâs London office in early 2024 to present to the Made to Last Ambassadors â Mulberryâs internal network of sustainability champions. Charli showcased Ecologiâs suite of products and explained how the partnership is supporting Mulberryâs climate journey.
Outcome
Since 2022, Mulberry has funded the planting of 1,300 trees and avoided 568 tonnes of CO2e â equivalent to 436 long haul flights.
Mulberryâs work with Ecologi has allowed the team to further support internal communications for their Made to Last strategy, as part of a net-zero future. Fundamentally the partnership has helped to develop better employee understanding around net-zero and drive engagement in Mulberryâs net-zero 2035 target.
Data from the HR department shows that almost every candidate who Mulberry interviews for a role mentions sustainability as part of the interview process.
Head of Sustainability, Rosie Wollacott Phillips, said: âOur Made to Last Manifesto lays out our ambitious commitment to transform the business to a regenerative and circular model, and to become net-zero by 2035. Weâre working closely with our partners on meaningful environmental and social projects to offset our carbon impact, while implementing our radical reduction strategy. Our partnership with Ecologi has supported employee understanding of our net-zero journey, from the first day employees join Mulberry with our tree planting scheme for new starters, to internal celebrations and travel.â
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