Major brands sign “Waste to Wealth” Commitment at Summit attended by HRH The Prince of Wales

Business in the Community -The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, brought together 200 leaders from business, government, academia and civil society at the Waste to Wealth Summit yesterday (22nd November 2018).

Leaders will commit to actions in a Waste to Wealth Commitment that will help collectively double the nation’s resource productivity and reduce avoidable waste by 2030.

HRH The Prince of Wales delivered a keynote address at the Summit in which he addressed the urgent need to tackle the resource issue in the UK and explained why business is best placed to meet this challenge.

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also delivered a speech in which he detailed how the government will support businesses which are stepping up to this challenge.

The summit was hosted by event partner Veolia, at Veolia Southwark’s integrated waste management facility in London.

Over 40 leading businesses signed the Waste to Wealth Commitment before the Summit including Bupa, Heineken, Iceland, Lloyds Banking Group, Marks & Spencer, PwC, Sky, Thames Water, Toyota, Unilever and Veolia.

By signing the Waste to Wealth Commitment, businesses recognise the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conclusion from October 2018.

“As the impact on our natural world is spiraling out of control, it has never been more pressing to assemble leaders of industry to agree a way forward. We still have the chance to balance the scales - but this depends on a colossal effort of business,” said Gavin Graveson, Executive Vice-President, Veolia UK and Ireland.

“The next generation could look back at the magnitude of mistreatment our environment has received or how we were its saviours. The value from and importance of waste needs to be realised if the UK is to become a beacon of green light and resource powerhouse.