Focus
The Office of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall publishes its 2008 Annual Review
29th June 2008
The Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall cut its carbon footprint by 18 per cent last year after a switch to “green” electricity supplies and further reductions in travel-related emissions. Click here to visit the Document Downloads section to view the Annual Review.
The Household’s environmental impact is reported in the latest Annual Review, which is published today. The figures show that carbon dioxide emissions were 2,795 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2007-08, compared to 3,425 tonnes in 2006-07.
This has led the Household to raise its medium-term carbon reduction target. Having initially aimed to cut emissions by 12.5 per cent between 2007 and 2012, the Household now aims to reduce emissions by 25 per cent over that period.
The carbon footprint figures are included in the Household’s Sustainability Account which details greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage and other environmental impacts. Published for the first time, the Account follows the adoption of a connected reporting framework developed by The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project, an initiative he set up in 2006 to help companies and public sector organisations embed sustainable practices in their operations and report their sustainability performance.
As well as explaining the Household’s environmental impact, the 2008 Annual Review shows that The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall undertook 671 joint and solo official engagements during the year, hosted more than 8,000 people at events at royal residences, and traveled almost 37,000 miles at home and abroad in the course of their work on behalf of the country.
The Review also reveals that in 2007-08 The Prince helped to raise, directly or indirectly, £122 million to support the work of his 19 core charities, which as a group represents the UK’s largest multi-cause charitable enterprise. In addition to his charities, The Prince has set up six social enterprises which donate the profits from their businesses to charity.
Their Royal Highnesses’ work to support the UK’s Armed Forces is another key feature of the 2008 Annual Review. Between them The Prince and The Duchess undertook 58 military engagements during the year. The engagements ranged from visits to regimental barracks and medal presentation ceremonies for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, to meetings with senior military staff and remembrance services.
The Review also includes reports on several new initiatives set up by His Royal Highness during the year, including The Prince’s Rainforests Project, which aims to help stabilise global warming and protect the world’s food supply by curbing tropical deforestation, and the British Asian Trust, a new charity that supports employment projects and social enterprises in South Asia and the UK.
As it does each year, The Review details how the work of The Prince and The Duchess is funded. Their Royal Highnesses do not receive a Civil List or a Parliamentary Annuity, but use the income from the Duchy of Cornwall to pay for their official activities, supported by The Queen’s Grant-in-Aid funding to provide assistance with official travel, property and communications.
The Prince’s income from the Duchy of Cornwall in 2007-08 rose by 7 per cent to £16.3 million. He chooses to spend well over half of his after-tax income in support of his official and charitable work.
As in previous years, the Annual Review explains The Prince of Wales’s role by breaking it down into three principal elements.
- Undertaking royal duties in support of The Queen
- Working as a charitable entrepreneur
- Promoting and protecting what is best about Britain.
- Introduction - click here
- Special Features - click here
- Supporting The Queen - click here
- Charitable Entrepreneur - click here
- Promoting and Protecting - click here
- Income, Expenditure and Staff - click here