The Green Prince

The Prince of Wales has launched a new green project: Costing the Earth - Accounting for Sustainability. He is hoping to convince big businesses to assess the environmental impact of their products through new accounting measures. The Prince told the audience, which included everyone from Tony Blair to Al Gore (on video), that the nation was running up the "biggest global credit card debt in history". He added: "We are consuming the resources of our planet at such a rate that we are, in effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time”.

The project will develop a range of accounting principles to help organizations measure sustainability, include it as part of their decision-making processes and so report their performance more consistently. The prince will lead the way by labeling his range of organic food products, Duchy Originals, with details of greenhouse gases emitted in their production and distribution. On a personal level, he is determined to reduce his carbon footprint further. He has said that he will commute to London from his country house by scheduled trains and will no longer use private jets and helicopters. He will be using Jaguar cars adapted to run on biodeisel fuel and has asked staff in London to travel by bicycle wherever possible. Now there is green leadership.