Prince William visits Europe’s largest climate tech hub as he continues to show his commitment to green ventures ahead of next month’s Earthshot Awards ceremony in Singapore

• The Prince of Wales headed to the Sustainable Ventures office in London   
• READ MORE: Kate Middleton almost crashes into post while playing wheelchair rugby with taped-up fingers from previous hand injury

The Prince of Wales has continued to demonstrate his commitment to green initiatives with a visit to Europe’s largest climate tech hub, Sustainable Ventures, in London.

William, 41, joined a series of discussions based on figuring methods to scale up small sustainable businesses earlier today.

The father-of-three met with staff members from SatVu and appeared to listen intently as they spoke about their work efforts on advancing thermal imagery.

At one point, it appeared as though William managed to lighten up the heavy conversation, as the group were photographed in a moment of laughter.

Elsewhere during the day, William checked back in on a 2023 finalist of his EarthShot Prize competition, ENSO, a clear air-focused company.

The Prince of Wales visited Sustainable Ventures earlier today, Europe’s largest climate tech hub

CEO of Sustainable Ventures, Andrew Wordsworth, greeted William upon his arrival.

In his role, Andrew has worked to empower eco startups, helping with factors including investments, innovation, and workspace.

The pair appeared to be in an animated conversation as they entered the London-based office.

For the occasion, the royal looked dapper in a black suit, which he matched with a crisp blue shirt.

The visit follows William’s pledge to sustainable initiatives in the lead up to his EarthShot Prize awards, which is set to take place in Singapore next month. 

Prince William founded the awards in 2020, saying he wanted to turn ‘current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism by celebrating the people and places driving change’.

Every year between 2021 and 2030, an awards ceremony will honour winners in the prize’s five categories, each of which tackles a particular environmental issue. Every winner is given £1million to support and scale their work. 

Announcing the destination of the Earthshot Prize ceremony in May this year, Prince William said: ‘The Earthshot Prize is all about showing the world that solutions to some of the biggest environmental challenges we face are out there. 

William, 41, joined a series of discussions based on figuring methods to scale up small sustainable businesses

The father-of-three met with staff from SatVu, a company focused on advancing thermal imagery 

William was greeted by several people across numerous green businesses throughout the day

The royal seemingly lightened up the deep conversations as he shared a joke with staff members

CEO of Sustainable Ventures, Andrew Wordsworth (pictured), greeted William upon his arrival and took him on a tour of the London-based office 

‘After two years of discovering impactful ideas and innovations, I am delighted that The Earthshot Prize is travelling to Singapore, where the ground-breaking solutions of our 2023 Finalists will be celebrated.’

William has said that Earthshot was inspired by John F Kennedy’s Moonshot programme which challenged America to put man on the moon and helped launch the Moon landing in 1969.

Last year’s winners included a British start-up, Notpla, which uses seaweed to make packaging.

The ceremony last year, which was held in Boston, was attended by both of the Wales. 

However, this year, the Princess of Wales will not attend Prince William’s Earthshot Awards ceremony because she wants to be at home to support Prince George during his exams.

Kate, 41, will not travel to Singapore with her husband in November, and will instead stay with her eldest son George, 10, and his siblings Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, at the family residence in Windsor.

The father-of-three met with staff members from SatVu and appeared to listen intently about their work efforts on advancing thermal imagery

The Prince seemingly got on very well with staff members from SatVu- as they were photographed laughing 

William lightened up the heavy conversations learning about small businesses with cheerful laughter 

The father-of-three was seen with a wide smile across his face while he joined a discussion on scaling up startups 

The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, Rebecca English, has had confirmation that the royal won’t be attending the glitzy event. It is understood ‘Prince George has exams that week and she wants to be at home to support him.’

The mother-of-three attended the previous two Earthshot Awards in Boston and London.

Last year, Kate presented an award, while donning a rented lime green Solace London dress from fashion platform HURR.

The Sabrina frock, by Solace London, cost £74 a night to rent. It was described by the platform as a ‘floor length modern gown featuring an exaggerated neckline’.

It boasted a ‘body conscious fit’, and a concealed closure belt to define the waist, as well as the brand’s signature high kick split.

She accessorised the look with an emerald choker that had previously been worn by Princess Diana.

The necklace, which was gifted to Queen Mary in 1911 by the Ladies of India, was given to Diana by Queen Elizabeth, on lifetime loan.

The gala held a clear green focus, and before guests arrived, they were reportedly given eco-friendly advice and rules to follow, with attendees encouraged to ‘consider their clothing’ for the occasion and opt for ensembles that can be re-used or have already been purchased second-hand. 

William looked particularly interested to hear about a small business called SatVu- which collects thermal data 

William shook hands with staff members from SatVu- a company that described itself as ‘The world’s thermometer’ 

William looked particularly interested in hearing about the current projects the small businesses are currently undertaking 

William joined a discussion with a range of startups focused on their scaling up journey earlier today

William had the opportunity to catch up with a 2023 Finalist of The Earthshot Prize in the “Clean Our Air” category during the visit

Prince William was all ears during the discussion with staff members from sustainable startups 

William heard from a number of startups during the day and seemed fascinated to hear about their green projects 

Travel plans for guests were also given environmental updates: with all transportation being used with Boston being electric or hybrid and any ‘unavoidable’ flights that were taken have been ‘recorded and the CO2e impacts calculated and balanced’.

Upon their arrival at the event, it is thought that guests were treated to a host of ecologically-minded measures, from the plant-focused décor to the vegan and vegetarian-only catering options.

Instead of a red carpet for the stars to walk down, a green carpet was used – and it was recycled afterwards.

The entryway and the event itself featured over three acres of plants, including New England-grown evergreen and deciduous trees- ‘all native and grown locally,’ according to Earthshot’s new CEO Hannah Jones, formerly Nike’s first chief sustainability officer.

The stars’ hotel were also walking distance from the venue and everyone was encouraged to either use the tram or take a fleet of electrically-powered and hybrid taxis.

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