His Majesty’s Coronation brings a change in responsibilities for the celebrated environmental champion, but there are signs the new King will continue to be a positive influence on green business.
As the Prince of Wales, His Majesty was a well-known nature campaigner and often outspoken environmentalist who has had an influential role on the business community’s response to the climate emergency.
According to research by charity Climate Outreach, the King ranks among many people’s top five most trusted messengers on climate change, along with the likes of David Attenborough, Chris Packham, Greta Thunberg and his son, Prince William.
In the early 2000s he founded the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) on climate change, which continues to be an important conduit for leading businesses to champion stronger climate action.
More recently in 2021, he launched Terra Carta, a landmark mandate that established a set of principles for the private sector to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Passing on the baton
Leaving the role of Prince of Wales behind brings with it new expectations to play a quieter, more neutral role going forwards. “It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply,” the King admitted last year.
However, that does not necessarily mean the UK has lost an influential champion for green business. His Majesty’s very first public engagement since the Coronation was to open a new laboratory at the University of Cambridge that will help the aerospace and power sectors to achieve net zero.
The Coronation itself was marked by the creation of a series of new government-funded ‘Coronation Woods’ to be planted between 2023 and 2025, as well as plans for 25 new National Nature Reserves across the country.
The King has also indicated that Prince William – already the Founder of the Earthshot Prize for climate innovation – will take up the mantle of environmental campaigning.
Global influence
Even as his domestic role diminishes, the King may still play an important role in influencing the development of the green economy globally, according to Maria Nazarova-Doyle, Head of Responsible Investments at Scottish Widows.
Writing for environmental news website edie ahead of the Coronation, she said: “[King Charles] has pledged to continue to ‘highlight’ causes, even though leading campaigns directly is now out of reach. Paying attention to the themes that the King chooses to champion may help direct investors towards the latest trends in climate and nature solutions.”
