Sustainability Statement
Founded in 1894 by John Barbour, in South Shields in the North East of England, J Barbour & Sons Ltd is a 5th generation family-owned British company built on the founding principles of quality, attention to detail, durability and being fit for purpose. Sustainability is one of our key business values.
Responsible Business
A principled family-owned business that operates with integrity, and proactively manages its sustainability performance.
The Living World
Seek to protect nature including animals, wildlife, ecosystems and agricultural systems.
Carbon & Climate
Implement means of mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Circularity & Resource Management
Support circularity, minimise waste and use resources efficiently.
Water
Use water efficiently and protect water quality.
Chemicals & Pollution
Minimise and manage pollution risk and the use of hazardous substances.
Wellbeing, Safety & Human Rights
Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and the provision of safe, healthy and happy working environments.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity
Build and support inclusive and diverse communities where people are valued, heard, and given equal opportunities.
Flourishing & Prosperous Communities
Support our local communities, understand priorities and needs, and collaborate with others to help tackle sustainability challenges.
We are working to uphold these nine commitments across our Products, our People & Partnerships and our Business
Delivering our commitments
We are delivering on our commitments through 10 key projects and performance is monitored via a range of KPIs.
| Responsible Business | The Living World | Carbon & Climate | Circularity & Resources | Water | Chemicals & Pollution | Wellbeing, Safety & H... | Equality, Diversity & I... | Flourishing Communities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| product and services | |||||||||
| Build on the success of our Wax for Life programme to enhance circularity (design, longevity and/or end of life) across all product categories by FY2030. | |||||||||
| Identify preferred materials and enhance uptake of these year on year. | |||||||||
| Reduce packaging per garment, increase the use of recycled content and maximise packaging recyclability year on year. | |||||||||
| People & Partnership | |||||||||
| Develop and deliver a new ED&I Strategy from FY2024, including key deliverables and timelines, covering all Barbour employees. | |||||||||
| Grow Barbour programmes to support staff health, safety and wellbeing, and learning and development year on year. | |||||||||
| Develop and continue partnerships with demonstrable benefits, aligned with our sustainability commitments. (Minimum of two partnership projects delivered annually). | |||||||||
| Responsible Business | |||||||||
| Develop and uphold a new Barbour Code of Ethics from 2024. and implement training accordingly. | |||||||||
| Publish and achieve SBTi verified near and long-term carbon reduction targets, including net zero by 2050. | |||||||||
| Enhance transparency of our supply chain, uphold Barbour’s Supply Chain Code of Conduct, and improve the environmental performance of our supply chain year on year. | |||||||||
| Publicly share information on our sustainability activity, product credentials and performance against our sustainability commitments. | |||||||||
We recognise that both sustainability and our business are continually evolving, and that our sustainability commitments and actions will therefore grow and develop too. We remain engaged with our stakeholders and best practice organisations and will continually review our Sustainability Strategy accordingly.
Governance
Our Sustainability Statement and supporting objectives, targets and activity are overseen by our Sustainability Group, chaired by our Managing Director, Steve Buck.
Signed 
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