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King of Sustainability

Blog
James Marshall
26 Apr 2023

It is 53 years since King Charles, at the age of 21, made his first public speech on the environment, including many of the issues the world faces today, in 2023. He talked about the horrifying effects of pollution and referred to the forms of pollution as cancer; oil pollutes seas, destroys beaches and kills 1000s of birds. In 2020 the then Prince Charles launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The SMI provides a platform for CEOs from a range of fields to join forces and create sustainable economies that generate long-term value through the balance integration of natural, social, human and financial capital. Alongside addressing environmental challenges, King Charles has also advocated for a more sustainable approach to planning and designing homes and communities that enhance and add to the social, natural and built environment.

In 2021 a year after SMI, the KING launched the Terra Carta, a guiding mandate for the SMI that provides a proposed set of principles for 2030 that puts Nature, People and the Planet at the heart of global value creation. More information about Terra Carts can be found here. King Charles has not only set up the SMI, but he has also done the following things for the environment.

Duchy Organic

Have you bought Duchy Organic from Waitrose? In the 1980s, the King started transforming his estate Highgrove in Gloucestershire, into a haven for organic produce and created Duchy Organic. All profits made go towards charitable causes via Charles' own foundations.

COP26

In 2023, King Charles was involved in the UN's Climate Change Conference COP26. At the opening ceremony, he spoke in front of world leaders, calling for urgent action:

"I can only urge you, as the world's decision-makers, to find practical ways of overcoming differences so we can all get down to work together to rescue this precious planet and save the threatened future of our young people."

Smaller Royal Carbon Footprint

Not only does the King launch large-scale initiatives, but he has also made changes to his life to reduce his own personal impact on the environment. For example, he has installed solar panels at his official residence, Clarence House, switched to biomass boilers in Birkhall and had his Aston Martin converted to run on bioethanol which is made from cheese and wine!

Biodegradable ambassador – Wool

King Charles is the patron of the Campaign for Wool. Its purpose is to educate about the benefits of wool which naturally biodegrades so it doesn't accumulate in our oceans or landfills.

We royally invite you to join us for our Net Zero webinar series to see how you can support sustainability in your procurement processes.

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Author

James Marshall

Sector Marketing Manager, Public Sector

YPO