Electricity and Control February 2021

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The ‘Terra Carta’ – mainstreaming sustainability in business

A s part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative launched by HRH 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, The Prince recently unveiled the Terra Carta (Earth Charter) – which offers the basis

ambitious but practical action, aimed at building a truly sustainable future. The charter 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. In targeting a global private sector and multi-

of a recovery plan to 2030 that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation. It provides a roadmap 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. As The Prince this year marks 50 years of campaigning for the environment, speaking at the One Planet Summit in Paris in January 2021, HRH made an urgent appeal to private sector leaders around the world to join this endeavour and to give their support to the Terra Carta . Supporters already include Bank of America, Unilever, BlackRock, EY, AstraZeneca, Schroders, BP, Heathrow Airport and Sir Jony Ive. In line with global agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Terra Carta outlines ten areas for action and comprises nearly 100 actions for businesses to pursue as they refocus and rebuild, adopting new ways of operating. It aims to encourage and provide a framework for each actor to accelerate their respective transition journeys. 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

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. 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 pace of change and continuous progress being achieved around the world. Speaking at the One Planet Summit, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales said: “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 mobilise the innovation, scale and resources that are required to transform our global economy.” 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 towards 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. The SMI has created a Natural Capital Investment Alliance to develop Natural Capital, to help the initiative arrive at a common language on Natural Capital Investment so it can start putting money to work and improve the flow of capital. The alliance will work to increase capital allocation actively 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.

For more information visit: www.Sustainable-Markets.org

32 Electricity + Control FEBRUARY 2021