King Charles hires Sadiq Khan's former environment chief for new royal role
The King has stepped up his efforts to reduce the Royal Household's impact on the planet by hiring a new Head of Sustainability.
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The King has stepped up his efforts to reduce the Royal Household's impact on the planet by hiring a new Head of Sustainability, who previously worked for the Mayor of London.
It is understood the new role has been created to help the Household's work towards its net zero target.
Ruth Knight was the policy lead for the London Green Spaces Commission, established by Sadiq Khan in 2019.
Since then, Ms Knight has also been employed in other environmental and sustainability roles at the Greater London Authority, which the Labour mayor is in charge of, as well as English Heritage.
Buckingham Palace previously claimed to be placing "environmental sustainability at the very forefront of all we do".
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Following her appointment to The Royal Household last month, Ruth wrote on LinkedIn: "I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Head of Sustainability at The Royal Household".
Buckingham Palace previously claimed to be placing "environmental sustainability at the very forefront of all we do".
A recent advertisement for a similar position said: "[The Royal Household is] dedicated to reducing our impact on the planet, with immediate action focused on reducing our carbon emission and energy usage, and achieving a carbon zero state."
It is understood King Charles' environmental targets are "ambitious", and "unique challenges" could cause problems because of the historic infrastructure at occupied royal palaces.
His Majesty has been a passionate champion of looking after the planet for future generations for more than half a century.
At the COP28 UN Climate Change Summit in Dubai last year, King Charles warned world leaders the planet remains "dreadfully far off track" in key climate targets and called for "transformational action" to prevent lives and livelihoods being impacted by the changing climate.
Delegates agreed to "transition away" from fossil fuels for the first time at the end of the climate conference.
The King also used his annual Christmas message to stress the importance of living in harmony with nature.
For the first time, a living Christmas tree was used as the backdrop, decorated with sustainable ornaments including hand-turned wood, dried oranges, glass baubles, pine cones and paper.
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His Majesty has been a passionate champion of looking after the planet for future generations for more than half a century.
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Buckingham Palace said the tree would be replanted after the broadcast.
As Prince of Wales, the King also drove forward his vision for "sustainable stewardship" of the Duchy of Cornwall - a private estate that provides an income to The Duke of Cornwall (The Prince of Wales) and his family to fund official, charitable and private activities.
Today, the Duchy aims to protect the biodiverse ecosystems and natural resources located in its vast lands.
It is thought the new Head of Sustainability will be tasked to "engage colleagues" to gain their "full support to make significant changes" and help raise awareness of environmental issues.
Historically, work on environmental targets was largely set within the Property Section at Buckingham Palace, but the new role was created due to the increasing importance of Sustainability.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
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