Charles gives green investment fund his royal seal of approval

THE Prince of Wales has given his royal seal of approval to a new environmental investment fund launched by Swiss fund manager Lombard Odier.

Prince Charles (pictured) is backing the Natural Capital Strategy fund, which will invest in companies which are tapping into renewable natural resources.

It will plough savers’ money into businesses which rely more on bio-materials, use waste as a resource, create renewable energy and use ‘regenerative’ practices in farming, forestry and fishery to protect the natural environment.

The creation of the fund is the latest move by Prince Charles in his drive to put ‘green’ issues at the top of the global agenda. As the fund launched yesterday, he said: ‘We need to accelerate our efforts and set the course for a sustainable future rooted in a new economic model – in other words, a circular bioeconomy that puts nature and the restoration of natural capital at the centre of the entire process. If we are to drive global economic growth, it is imperative that we value and invest in our natural capital.’

Hubert Keller, managing partner of Lombard Odier, said the fund had identified an ‘untapped investment opportunity’.

Prince Charles created the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) in 2019, as a forum to bring together some of the world’s most influential business leaders and encourage them to channel more money into sustainable technologies.

The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance is part of the SMI and helped develop the new fund. Founding members include Astrazeneca and Bank of America.

It aims to connect investors with companies and governments which are creating a ‘circular bioeconomy’, where the world lives off natural resources which can be replaced and which do not harm the planet.