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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have pledged to make their nonprofit Archewell reach net zero emissions by 2030. The announcement comes as part of their “long-standing commitment to the planet, both together and prior to their union.”
On November 2, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took to Archewell Foundation’s official site to make the statement, which was released during Cop26, the global summit bringing together more than 100 countries to discuss solutions for climate change. This also marks the first time for a pledge of this nature to be made by members of the British royal family. However, the conference did see a special message delivered by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
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“We are a young company, but today, Archewell joins our co-founders in committing to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030,” read Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s statement. It went on to explain the various ways in which daily life activities contribute to our carbon footprint, including, “what we eat and how often we eat it, our transport and the frequency of it, our daily commute, our use of electricity/heating, our reliance on big industries that contribute to the problem.” Archewell aims to reach net zero by “making a series of choices over time to make that footprint as small as possible, while compensating for any remaining emissions through high-quality carbon removal projects.”
The statement continued: “As an organization, we will work with an independent consultant to track all Archewell-related activities from our inception (internet use, commutes, and electricity in home offices, for example) to understand our collective footprint. Using 2022 as our baseline year, they will develop a plan for Archewell that aligns with the latest guidance from leading organizations, like the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), while offsetting remaining emissions until we achieve net zero in 2030 and beyond.”
Aiding Archewell in their goal are Travalyst, the Prince Harry-founded sustainable tourism platform, and Ethic, a sustainable investment and asset manager. Last month, the couple announced their new roles as “impact partners” with Ethic. “We believe it’s time for more people to have a seat at the table when decisions are made that impact everyone. We want to rethink the nature of investing to help solve the global issues we all face,” they had stated. “Our impact partnership with Ethic is one of the ways we put our values in action.”
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