Prince Harry and Princess Meghan Markle announced this week on the Archewell website that they plan to reduce the net zero carbon footprint of all their business activities by 2030. The pledge was made after Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Camilla Parker Bowles attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland this month. Although Harry and Meghan did not attend COP26 in person, they were clearly inspired by the goals set forth there: "As world leaders convene at COP26 to commit to solutions to the climate crisis," all of us in Archewell, led by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, share a commitment to a more sustainable future by becoming net zero by 2030," the statement began.

Archewell's website states that they will reduce carbon emissions in areas such as "what we eat and how often we eat it, transportation and how often we use it, daily commuting, electricity/heating use, and dependence on large industries that cause problems." They also included a link to Net Zero Climate, an organization that offers solutions for everyday carbon reduction.

The Sussexes, along with Harry's nonprofit Travalyst and their "sustainable investment platform," Ethic, along with independent consultants, will "make a series of choices over time to make their footprint as small as possible, while ensuring high-quality carbon removal projects to compensate for the remaining emissions," they write.

The company states that it and its co-founders, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are committed to achieving net zero by 2030. We have made positive choices to offset and balance this carbon footprint, but we know that with the tools provided by our partner organizations, we can all do better." [The term itself was coined by oil company British Petroleum (opens in new tab) to shift the focus of climate change to individual choices rather than the fact that just 100 companies are responsible for nearly three-quarters of global carbon emissions (opens in new tab) The announcement is a major step forward for the world's most powerful corporations. This announcement shows that the world's most powerful family is fully committed to climate change action, taking the lead in this area and setting an example for other clans to follow. The Sussex family has enormous political power, and taking such a step shows that they are willing to use it for change.

This announcement also comes after Prince Harry and Princess Meghan made headlines last year for their seemingly unnecessary private jet trips (as Harry chose to fly private jets to and from polo competitions); Archewell's list of sectors to curb emissions includes "travel" widely discussed, but we will have to wait for these changes to be made to see how private jets are specifically incorporated.