Communities

Central to our goal of positively impacting 500,000 by FY 2025/26 is our flagship Burberry Inspire programme, which serves as the cornerstone of our efforts in supporting young people.

Burberry Inspire is a global initiative dedicated to providing safe spaces for young people to explore their creativity, develop new skills and build a more positive future. With a focus on young people aged 10-24, the programme champions the mission of The Burberry Foundation, and brings all youth-focused activity conducted by both the Foundation and Burberry Group Plc together under a single identity.  

Supported by a network of partnerships with youth-focused organisations in nine regions across the world, the programme is designed to create impact at both a global and local level, and offers skill development in a variety of fields – from sports and the creative arts to entrepreneurship and STEM-related skill development.

 Discover more about Burberry Inspire here

Our Community Champions are a global network of Burberry colleagues that help their peers to use up their annual volunteering days and make a positive impact in their communities by organising and promoting local community projects.

Currently, we have 115 Community Champions globally, with each member facilitating volunteering and fundraising activities, raising awareness of important causes, driving projects with Burberry’s charity partners, and initiating new local non-profit partnerships that support our Burberry Beyond agenda.

In 2023, the work of one of our community champions in the UK led to Burberry being recognised with the ‘Force for Good: Company of the Year’ award by SmartWorks. In the US, another community champion ranked 10th for fundraising in the New York City Aids Walk after organising for over 50 individuals to participate in the charity event.

Being a part of our community champions network also presents a unique opportunity for Burberry colleagues to support causes they care about whilst also building relationships with other teams and extending their skill development beyond their role.

We are committed to protecting the communities that our global colleagues and customers are a part of by responding to humanitarian needs. 

From repurposing our global manufacturing sites to create PPE for the fight against COVID-19, to supporting emergency relief funds for natural disasters and conflicts across the world, people are at the heart of our business.

In FY 2023/2024 alone we responded to the escalating conflict in Israel and Gaza by contributing to The British Red Cross appeal and supporting the provision of vital humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the crisis. This assistance enabled the British Red Cross to provide essential items, clean water, medical procedures, emergency cash, and power support to hospitals, benefiting over 300,000 people. 

We also supported The British Red Cross in September 2023 when northern Africa was struck by two devastating natural disasters: an earthquake in Morocco and catastrophic flash flooding in Libya. Our donations supported search and rescue operations and provided vital assistance to those affected. Furthermore, we matched any colleague donations to these relief efforts, doubling the impact of our support to the relevant British Red Cross appeals.

In 2020, we launched a partnered programme with the British Fashion Council to support creative communities by donating excess fabric to students.

In FY 2023/24, we donated more than 28,500 metres of excess fabric to over 30 universities and creative institutions - including Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art. Designed to provide a blueprint for brands and colleges to work together and offer practical support for future talent, the BFC Student Fabric Initiative helps students to embed circularity into their creative process and enables creativity in a way that is positive for the environment, education and the collections of future creatives.

In conjunction with the donation project, all students are also given an opportunity to submit a design proposal that can be realised with excess material to the BFC Student Fabric Initiative Competition. Finalists are then selected by brand donors to showcase their complete garment at the Institute of Positive Fashion Forum, giving them a platform to present their work to industry professionals and the chance to win a cash prize.