Becoming a ‘ green activist ’ and creating the COPs His love for the environment sparked at the young age of 20 – in 1968 . The thenyoung prince shared his first speech on the environment , seven years before geoscientist Wallace Broecker coined the phrase ‘ global warming ’.

Yet , His Majesty continued to share his concerns about the environment and two years later , when he was 22 , he chaired a meeting of The Countryside at the Committee for Wales , at Bangor University , Wales . Through this meeting , His Majesty introduced the Countryside Award Scheme , which later became known as The Prince of Wales Countryside Award . While announcing the award , he said : “ The idea is that it will be presented to both voluntary and statutory organisations which have promoted projects that are a distinctive contribution towards improving the general quality and beauty of the environment in Wales .”

This passion continued into the 70s and 80s when he called for a balanced approach to living while pioneering many sustainable ventures , such as advocating organic farming and becoming a patron of The Campaign for Wool .

Over two decades later , in 1992 when the world was finally ready for His Majesty ’ s ideas , he hosted a conference on the Royal Yacht Britannia , in the Amazon River delta . This

sustainabilitymag . com 23