Since we launched the Walpole British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto in 2020, supporting our members to be leaders in sustainability has become a fundamental part of Walpole’s mission. In that time, we have seen strong progress and ambition across the Walpole membership in all four pillars of our Manifesto. The level of collaboration through our regular working groups has been transformative in the prioritisation of sustainable business practices and accelerating the pace of change across the British luxury sector. Thank you to every member who has participated in our work so far.
As we prepare to launch a new chapter of our sustainability work, we wanted to give you an update what we’ve learned to so far – and what you can expect next.
> Is sustainability a key part of your brand's mission? Enter the sustainability category for our upcoming Walpole British Luxury Awards to be in with a chance of your work being recognised in front of the wider sector. Entries close on Friday 6th September. More information here
According to our most recent Walpole member survey 90% of members now rank sustainability as a top three corporate priority, sitting alongside profitability and innovation. In addition, a focus on DE&I has increasingly become top-of-mind over the last two years. Members cited changes in consumer behaviour, regulation and leadership focus as having driven this increased prioritisation.
Across the Walpole membership, the majority of Walpole members have now implemented sustainability strategies following the launch of the Walpole British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto in 2020, with over 100% having appointed an executive responsible for sustainability or created internal, cross-functional working groups, reporting to the CEO or board. More specifically, greenhouse gases and carbon footprint, responsible sourcing, innovative material usage, and human rights are the main areas of focus – and 63% of members have now set Net Zero targets, with one fifth having signed up to Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
Above are just a few highlights from the survey which has helped inform our work with McKinsey & Co. over the past six months as we have developed the second phase of our sustainability strategy and work. Combining the insights from this survey, feedback from 40-plus expert interviews and discussions in our working groups, we have been working with McKinsey & Co on four key areas to support our members moving into the future. These are:
During September and October, we will be sharing this work with our members through a series of virtual sessions (co-hosted with McKinsey & Co) and sharing insight from our member businesses. These sessions will be open to both the members in our sustainability working groups and to the wider membership. We’d love for you to be part of these conversations. Please join on the following dates:
To join these sessions, please email [email protected]
Through our survey and interviews we have had incredibly positive feedback about our working groups, over 150 members have been involved in the 80 sessions and we are hugely grateful to all of those that have been involved. In the next stage of our sustainability work our working groups are moving to become topic focused sessions, which will be open to all members, and these will be schedule from January and taking place virtually on a monthly basis.
Further information on the working groups, topics and speakers will be shared in the autumn.
> If you would like any more information on Walpole's sustainability work, please email [email protected]
