As part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, HRH The Prince of Wales, announces the ‘Terra Carta’ – a charter that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector

The Terra Carta sets out a ten-point action plan for businesses reflecting HRH’s year convening ‘coalitions of the willing’ across industries around the world

HRH The Prince of Wales’s urgent appeal comes as The Prince marks 50 years of campaigning for the environment; Marking a year since HRH announced his Sustainable Markets Initiative (Sustainable-Markets.org) at Davos, the Terra Carta (Sustainable-Markets.org/Terra-Carta) offers the basis of a recovery plan to 2030 that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation; Designed by former Chief Design Officer at Apple, Sir Jony Ive, the Terra Carta sets out a ten-point action plan for businesses reflecting HRH’s year convening ‘coalitions of the willing’ across industries around the world; Supporters include Bank of America, Unilever, BlackRock, EY, AstraZeneca, Schroders, BP, Heathrow Airport and Sir Jony Ive; One of Terra Carta’s actions will be initiated today in Paris, with the creation of a Natural Capital Investment Alliance targeting $10 billion by 2022.

As part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, launched by The Prince of Wales in January 2020 at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, and following his call for a ‘Marshall-like Plan for Nature, People and Planet’ during Climate Week in September 2020, As part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative launched by HRH The Prince of Wales last year, The Prince has unveiled the Terra Carta (Earth Charter)– which provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future; one that will harness the power of Nature combined with the transformative power, innovation and resources of the private sector.

Speaking at the One Planet Summit in Paris, The Prince is making an urgent appeal to private sector leaders around the world to join this endeavour and to give their support to the Terra Carta.

In support of global agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Terra Carta outlines ten areas for action and comprises of nearly 100 actions for business as the basis of a recovery plan that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation. The Terra Carta aims to encourage and provide a framework for each actor to accelerate their respective transition journeys.

The Terra Carta has been designed by Sir Jony Ive (the former Chief Design Officer at Apple) and his new team at LoveFrom. In addition to the 17-page charter, the team created a summarium — a single page optimized for both digital and print.

The Terra Carta is based on a series of recommendations developed over a year of HRH convening ‘coalitions of the willing’ among global business leaders across industries in almost every sector, challenging them to identify ways to set our planet on a fundamentally more sustainable trajectory. Together, they have developed a charter of ambitious, but practical action aimed at building a truly sustainable future.

Today, I am making an urgent appeal to leaders, from all sectors and from around the world to give their support to this ‘Terra Carta’ – to bring prosperity into harmony with Natur
The Terra Carta further aims to unlock the catalytic potential of consumer demand, and to drive investment into solutions (Nature-based and engineered) that address the climate and biodiversity crises.

Over the next ten years, the Terra Carta will be updated and reported on annually by HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative in order to reflect the rapid pace of change and continuous progress being achieved around the world.

Speaking at the One Planet Summit, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will say:

“Today, I am making an urgent appeal to leaders, from all sectors and from around the world to give their support to this ‘Terra Carta’ – to bring prosperity into harmony with Nature, People and Planet over the coming decade. I can only encourage, in particular, those in industry and finance to provide practical leadership to this common project, as only they are able to mobilize the innovation, scale and resources that are required to transform our global economy.

“The ‘Terra Carta' offers the basis of a recovery plan that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation – one that will harness the precious, irreplaceable power of Nature combined with the transformative innovation and resources of the private sector.”

Welcoming the launch of the Terra Carta, Brian Moynihan, SMI Co-chair and Chairman and CEO Bank of America and Founding Partner of SMI said:

“The Terra Carta is a comprehensive roadmap for the private sector to help drive toward a sustainable future. By integrating sustainability into our operating models the private sector can marshal the resources that will be needed to reach the climate, biodiversity and development goals. HRH Prince of Wales’s leadership and commitment has created a spirit of possibility that business leaders are proud to join.”

One of the actions in the Terra Carta has already been initiated today. The Prince’s SMI has created a Natural Capital Investment Alliance to develop Natural Capital to help us arrive at a common language on Natural Capital Investment so that we can start putting money to work and improve the flow of capital. This Alliance will work to actively increase capital allocation in this direction targeting $10 billion by 2022. It will also aim to expand the flow of Natural Capital investment through corporate offsetting and carbon pricing prospects. Founding partners of the Alliance are HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management, Lombard Odier and Mirova.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Sustainable Markets Initiative.

Terra Carta launch film: bit.ly/3nGgBIc
Terra Carta: bit.ly/39pY1P4

About the Sustainable Markets Initiative :
The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) [(Sustainable-Markets.org] aims to lead and accelerate the world’s transition to a sustainable future by putting Nature, People and Planet at the heart of our global value creation. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales launched the SMI at the World Economic Forum 2020 Annual Meeting in Davos and has convened global leaders from across public, private and philanthropic sectors, challenging them to identify ways to accelerate and bring economic value int harmony with social and environmental sustainability.

Since its launch last year, with HRH’s leadership, the SMI, co-chaired by Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, has hosted more than two dozen industry roundtable discussions, bringing hundreds of business leaders together. The SMI has also: engaged with country leaders to support their transition efforts; launched a network of Chief Sustainability Officers; supported the launch of a Natural Capital Fund; and, has launched RE:TV, a content platform showcasing the most inspiring business innovations and ideas for a sustainable future through films curated by editor-in-chief, HRH The Prince of Wales. The Terra Carta will serve as the guiding mandate for the Sustainable Markets Initiative.
About the Terra Carta:
Devising its name from the historic Magna Carta, which inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people over 800 years ago, the Terra Carta (Sustainable-Markets.org/Terra-Carta) aims to reunite people and planet, by giving fundamental rights and value to Nature, ensuring a lasting impact and tangible legacy for this generation. The Terra Carta is a response to HRH’s call during Climate Week, in September 2020, for a Marshall-like Plan for Nature, People and Planet.

Commitments of the Terra Carta include:

• Commit to rapidly accelerating the world’s transition towards a sustainable future.

• Recognize that ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, on land and under water, requires that climate, oceans, desertification and biodiversity be treated as one common system and addressed simultaneously.

• Acknowledge that we need to make health our goal; individual health, community health, economic health and the health of our Natural resources (e.g. soil, air and water).

• Recognize the importance of ‘local’ – local traditions and culture, local products, local jobs and local sustainability – and how these ‘locals’ connect and support each other in the wider tapestry of regional and global systems.

• Acknowledge that Nature underpins the inherent prosperity, wellbeing and future of all people and the one planet we share. Further, that the restoration of the natural world is of common benefit to all humankind irrespective of borders.

• Acknowledge that the required global trajectory is a sustainable one, where the private sector has a critical role to play. To accelerate along this trajectory, a ‘future of industry’ and ‘future of economy’ approach must be taken.

• Take into account the need to ensure a skilled workforce and cadre of leaders that are prepared to participate in a fair, equitable and just transition towards a sustainable future.

• Recognize that to scale sustainable solutions and investment, cross-border and longer-term ‘mega’ projects need to be explored underscoring the importance of public, private and philanthropic collaboration.

• Acknowledge the need for net zero commitments to be achieved by 2050 or sooner. Setting more ambitious timelines, such as 2035, emphasizes and catalyzes immediate action, continuous innovation and improvement.

• Undertake to collaborate, share knowledge and ideas to propel the world towards sustainability at a faster pace through public, private and philanthropic collaboration.

In targeting a global private sector and multi-industry audience, not all actions of the Terra Carta will apply equally to all industries, businesses or investors. At the same time, to reach a sustainable future, the systems-level shift required relies on the leadership, resources and interdependence of knowledge and ideas to propel the world towards sustainability at a faster pace through private, public and philanthropic collaboration.

Initial Supporters of the Terra Carta include: AstraZeneca, Unilever, BlackRock, Fidelity International, Bank of America, freuds, Sir Jony Ive/LoveFrom, Refinitiv, State Street Corporation, Manyone, Heathrow Airport, Coutts, IIGCC, Schroders, EY, BP, Signify, State Street Corporation, Pollination, Lombard Odier, Mirova, Drax Group, Eurasia Resources Group, EFI, Compass Group, ReNew Power, Polymateria, CCm Technologies, Lanzatech.