Prince Charles: Expert warns work needs to be 'redistributed'
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The 72-year-old environmental campaigner issued the call as his father Prince Philip, 99, enters his 16th night in hospital. The Duke of Edinburgh's condition is "slightly improving", according to Charles' wife, Camilla. The Prince of Wales has written a piece for Waitrose's free weekly newspaper.
He praised the company as the first retailer to sign up for his ambitious Terra Carta initiative.
Charles wrote: "I have been so encouraged by the enthusiastic global corporate response to this call to action - there seems to be a real sense of the fierce and urgent necessity to act before it is literally too late.
"When I heard the John Lewis Partnership was to become the first retailer to sign up, I was particularly delighted.
"Not only are John Lewis and Waitrose Royal Warrant holders but, of course, Waitrose is home to Duchy Organic, the company I started more than 30 years ago to show it was possible to produce high quality food working in harmony with nature, one of the principles that lies at the heart of the Terra Carta."
© Getty ImagesPrince Charles opens New Waitrose & Partners Studio 2019
© Getty ImagesWaitrose store in Windsor November 2020
In January, Charles urged companies to join what he calls the "Terra Carta" - or Earth charter.
The Earth Charter initiative aims to persuade the private sector to adopt sustainable practices and invest 10 billion dollars (£7.3 billion) in planet-saving "natural capital" by 2022.
In his foreword to the Terra Carta, Charles said "As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of nature must represent a step-change in our 'future of industry' and 'future of economy' approach."
Charles says the call to action strives to "defend, strengthen and work with the power of nature for the very benefit of every man, woman and child in the world."
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© Getty ImagesPrince Charles and Camilla visit Waitrose during celebration of Duchy Originals products 2009
He described the appeal as a "very practical recovery plan".
The prince was delighted that the supermarket whose organic range Waitrose Duchy Organic was originally founded by the prince as Duchy Originals in 1990, had become involved.
He wrote in the Waitrose piece: "I have been so encouraged by the enthusiastic global corporate response to this call to action - there seems to be a real sense of the fierce and urgent necessity to act before it is literally too late.
"When I heard the John Lewis Partnership was to become the first retailer to sign up, I was particularly delighted.
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© Getty ImagesPrince Charles at Waitrose 2011
© Getty ImagesThe Queen, Duke Of Edinburgh, Charles & Camilla Visit Poundbury Waitrose 2016
"Not only are John Lewis and Waitrose Royal Warrant holders but, of course, Waitrose is home to Duchy Organic, the company I started more than 30 years ago to show it was possible to produce high quality food working in harmony with nature, one of the principles that lies at the heart of the Terra Carta."
The John Lewis Partnership has vowed to slash carbon emissions in its operations to net zero by 2035.
They have also pledged to stop using fossil fuels in their transport vehicles by 2030.
Charles added: "It is that sort of step change in approach that will make the difference.
© Getty ImagesPrince Charles unveils plaque at Waitrose in Bracknell 2019
"It is also what consumers increasingly expect, particularly in the area of packaging, where I know the Partnership is always striving for new solutions."
The prince also added that we have no choice in order "to guarantee our future."
Some other world-leading organisations that support the Prince's Earth Charter Initiative include Eurasion Resources Group, Bank of America, HSBC and BP.