GBB ZERO
Editor’s LETTER
he traditional ‘welcome’ is perhaps not the best way to introduce this one-off publishing project that has been a year in the making. Exploring the disastrous reality of what will happen if we don’t all commit to fighting climate change is not a jolly conversation to invite you to join. But it is a vital one, and we hope this edition represents a rallying cry to the luxury industry to unite and pledge its commitment to Race to Zero. To coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), we invited 26 luxury industry leaders to talk honestly about the challenges they faced as they began changing the ways they did business. Many were initially anxious talking about sustainability, afraid of being accused of greenwashing. Almost all claim to be very far from perfect. Others admit to feeling overwhelmed by publicly committing to cut their emissions – but did it anyway. We are therefore by no means presenting a collection of congratulatory pats on the back. Instead, we are attempting to broaden the conversation by sharing the stories of 26 brands at varying stages of their journey towards zero emissions. We chose some of them in partnership with Walpole, the official body for the luxury sector, whose Sustainability Manifesto inspired us. No company has paid to be featured, because all the CEOs who took part wanted to share freely what knowledge they have, to inspire others to start the process. Smaller brands have as much to offer as big ones. As Andrew Keith, MD of Selfridges, says, we will not solve this gigantic, complex problem without diverse voices (p92). Osman Yousefzada, creator of his eponymous multidisciplinary design label, suggests that the industry produces 6 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO
FROM ABOVE: Fashion with purpose; Christopher Raeburn is a brand that delivers on sustainability, says Lucy Siegle; even Bentley has pledged to be end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030; designs by Osman Yousefzada
