A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the inaugural Terra Carta Seal Awards, COP26, Glasgow

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be with you today at these inaugural Terra Carta Seal Awards and at this inaugural Terra Carta Action Forum at COP26.

Ever since we started the Sustainable Markets Initiative, back in Autumn 2019, I have been keen to find a way to recognize companies that were genuinely working towards transition and to the regeneration of Nature, and to encourage them along their journey.

In this regard, I am incredibly grateful to Toby Heaps, C.E.O. of Corporate Knights, for partnering with us to ensure that we identify those companies that are among the most sustainable in the world, and, of course, to Sir Jony Ive, who has been utterly marvellous in helping to design this Seal after many conversations, very often on-the-line when he was in some unknown part of the world, about what we are trying to achieve for Nature, People and Planet.

The Terra Carta Seal recognizes private sector companies which are leading their peers in creating genuinely sustainable markets.  It also allows consumers to see which companies are taking genuine actions in the right direction.

I am delighted to say that forty-four companies have been awarded the inaugural Terra Carta Seal across a wide range of global industries.  The Seal is being awarded to companies which hold a leadership position within their industry and have credible transition roadmaps, underpinned by globally recognized, scientific metrics for achieving net zero by 2050 or, frankly I hate to say, considerably earlier.

The Terra Carta Seal uniquely acknowledges that each industry faces its own particular challenges in its transition to a sustainable future and they are all at different stages of their journey.  Here, all industries and all companies must be supported as they take the critical steps required to move in a more positive direction.

On this special occasion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to offer you all my most sincere congratulations on your Awards and also to invite you to join the “Coalition of the Willing” through my Sustainable Markets Initiative, so that, together, we can accelerate our collective efforts to achieve a 1.5 degree target – or lower –, restore biodiversity and benefit the lives and livelihoods of current and future generations.  Above all, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am hoping that the Sustainable Markets Initiative will continue to do all it can to accelerate the trajectory towards a more sustainable future, harnessing the power, speed and knowledge of the private sector to promote a circular economic system which incorporates social, economic and ecological costs and benefits.

Thank you for all your efforts and for your involvement in these Awards.