Green Memo: 'His Royal Greenness' Britain's Prince Charles Reveals His Prized 38-Year Old Austin Martin Now Runs on Fuel Made From Wine and Cheese

Britain's Prince Charles, who in addition to conducting his regular duties as the male head of the Royal Family also is the founder of the fast-growing United Kingdom-based Duchy Originals premium, organic foods company, revealed yesterday he has converted his prized 1970 Austin Martin DB5 motor car (pictured above) to run on biofuel, produced from surplus white wine and cheese.

The Austin Martin was a 21rst birthday present to the UK's leading environmentalist from the Queen Mum.

The fuel for Prince Charles 38-year old Austin Martin DB5 comes from Greenfuels in Gloucestershire, and is made from surplus white wine from a vineyard in Wiltshire, and whey obtained from local cheesemakers.

Some time ago the Prince was telling friends he desired to run his pristine Austin Martin DB5 on biofuel, but said he wondered if doing so was possible since the car is 38 years old.

Austin Martin, the producers of the car, heard "His Royal Greenness" wanted to be able to run the car on biofuels, so they contacted Greenfuels for help. The alternative fuel company hatched a scheme in which it obtained 8,000 litres of surplus UK-produced white wine from a vineyard in Wiltshire, which they purchased for only ~1-p (British pound) per-litre.

Greenfuels then ran the surplus white wine through their distillery. By boiling off the wine's 11% alcohol content, the green fuel firm said it ended up with hundreds of gallons of 99.8% pure ethanol. They then topped the near 100% pure ethanol off with fermented whey, a by-product of cheese making, which they obtained from local cheesemakers.

Once the wine and cheese-based fuel was produced, auto company Austin Martin says it merely gave the carburetors on the Prince's Austin Martin DB5 a special tune up, which allowed more fuel to get into the engine, and "His Royal Greenness" was good to go in his wine and cheese biofuel-powered car. The biofuel is a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol.

By converting his prized Austin Martin, which the Prince says he only drives on special occasions, to biofuels, the Prince, organic gentleman farmer, and organic foods industry pioneer, continues to burnish his green credentials as not only the UK's top environmentalist, but most likely the greenest royal in the world.

Prince Charles operates his Duchy Originals premium organic food company, 100% of the profits of which he gives to various charities, on the Duchy of Cornwell Estate. The estate's business includes organic farming, the premium, organic foods company and a "green" garden tools business (which is part of Duchy Originals.)

The company is doing very well indeed. The profits from the Duchy of Cornwell Estate, the majority which comes from the Duchy Originals premium organic food company product sales, increased by 7% in the last fiscal year, to ~16.3 million-p (British pounds).

Duchy Originals continues to grow, both in distribution and by the regular addition of new products, including one of the latest new lines, ready-to-eat gourmet sandwiches made using all organic ingredients. The Prince recently hired a new CEO, who comes from the UK-based food and beverage giant Cadbury PLC, who plans to eliminate some of the less popular of the now 300 items in the Duchy Originals line and grow the company by focusing on top performers, newer niche products, and increased international distribution.

Numerous Duchy Originals food and grocery products are gaining increased distribution in upscale supermarkets, specialty stores and natural foods markets in the U.S., as well as throughout Europe, India and elsewhere in the world.

The Prince uses all UK-produced organic ingredients in the Duchy Original brand food products, which range from packaged biscuits, snacks, fresh breads and organic fresh milk, to fresh meats, condiments, preserves, fresh soups, deserts and more. Click here for a complete list of the Duchy Originals products, including the body care and garden tools lines.

The Prince, who is a major advocate of sustainable and organic farming in the UK and globally, also is a major supporters of Britain's farmers, along with being a chief spokesperson for buying locally-produced foods in the nation.

Since the surplus wine and whey used to make the biofuel are both produced in the UK, as well as the fuel being distilled locally, "His Royal Greenness" not only is upping his already solid green credentials by converting the Austin Martin, which was once British Secret Service Agent James Bond's (Agent 007), car of choice, to run on the biofuel, the Prince also is further burnishing his "local" credentials at the same time. It's hard to get much "greener" than that.

Green Memo: Greed in the Name of Green

Editor's Note: Green or environmental consumerism is one of the fastest-growing trends globally. It includes buying natural, organic, sustainable and locally-grown foods, for example.

Green consumers also are looking to shop at retailer's who conserve energy, offer "green" products for sale in their stores, and decrease their own carbon footprints as a business entity.

In terms of the products they buy, green consumers want goods that are 100% recyclable and made from recycled materials. Green shoppers also want energy efficient products, less packaging and other eco-friendly product attributes in the foods, grocery products, hard goods and other products they purchase.

Of course, green or environmental consumerism isn't without its challenges, conflicts and even contradictions. This also is true for grocery product manufacturers, marketers and retailers who are increasingly producing, marketing and selling "green" or sustainable products.

Like Kermit The Frog says: "It isn't easy being green."

Washington Post staff writer Monica Hesse has an article in today's addition of the publication in which she analyzes and discusses a number of aspects of green consumerism and the challenges and conflicts it poses. As our readers know, we don't often run pieces by others. However, we read Ms. Hesse's story early this morning and wanted to bring it to you, as we think it offers some interesting insights.

The article begins below. Then, to read the rest of it, just click on the link provided.

Greed In the Name Of Green
To Worshipers of Consumption: Spending Won't Save the Earth

By: Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Congregation of the church of the Holy Organic, let us buy.

Let us buy Anna Sova Luxury Organics Turkish towels, 900 grams per square meter, $58 apiece. Let us buy the eco-friendly 600-thread-count bed sheets, milled in Switzerland with U.S. cotton, $570 for queen-size.

Let us purge our closets of those sinful synthetics, purify ourselves in the flame of the soy candle at the altar of the immaculate Earth Weave rug, and let us buy, buy, buy until we are whipped into a beatific froth of free-range fulfillment.

And let us never consider the other organic option -- not buying -- because the new green consumer wants to consume, to be more celadon than emerald, in the right color family but muted, without all the hand-me-down baby clothes and out-of-date carpet.

There was a time, and it was pre-Al Gore, when buying organic meant eggs and tomatoes, Whole Foods and farmer's markets. But in the past two years, the word has seeped out of the supermarket and into the home store, into the vacation industry, into the Wal-Mart. Almost three-quarters of the U.S. population buys organic products at least occasionally; between 2005 and 2006 the sale of organic non-food items increased 26 percent, from $744 million to $938 million, according to the Organic Trade Association.

Green is the new black, carbon is the new kryptonite, blah blah blah. The privileged eco-friendly American realized long ago that SUVs were Death Stars; now we see that our gas-only Lexus is one, too. Best replace it with a 2008 LS 600 hybrid for $104,000 (it actually gets fewer miles per gallon than some traditional makes, but, see, it is a hybrid). Accessorize the interior with an organic Sherpa car seat cover for only $119.99.

Consuming until you're squeaky green. It feels so good. It looks so good. It feels so good to look so good, which is why conspicuousness is key.

These countertops are pressed paper. Have I shown you my recycled platinum engagement ring?

In the past two weeks, our inbox has runneth over with giddily organic products: There's the 100 percent Organic Solana Swaddle Wrap, designed to replace baby blankets we did not even know were evil. There's the Valentine's pitch, "Forget Red -- The color of love this season is Green!" It is advertising a water filter. There are the all-natural wasabi-covered goji berries, $30 for a snack six-pack, representing "a rare feat for wasabi."

There is the rebirth of Organic Style magazine, now only online but still as fashionable as ever, with a shopping section devoted to organic jewelry, organic pet bedding, organic garden decor, which apparently means more than "flowers" and "dirt."

Read the rest of Ms. Hesse's Washington Post piece 'Greed in the Name of Green,' here.

Editor's Addendum: Additionally, the Washington Post featured Leslie Garrette, the author of the popular book "The Virtuous Consumer" which is about the growing "green" or environmental consumer movement, in an online chat this afternoon.

Ms. Garrett discussed the challenges and conflicts people, businesses and organizations can face in trying to buy green, as well as in saving the environment. The Washington Post has a transcript of the online chat this afternoon here. The discussion offers some interesting consumer insight about green consumerism and related issues. We suggest you read Ms. Hesse's article first, then read the transcript from this afternoon's online chat over at the Washington Post.

The story by Ms. Hesse and the online discussion with Leslie Garrett are good consumer intelligence pieces for anybody in the food and grocery industry, as well as in business in general. They also should be of interest to all of us as citizens of our respective countries as well.

Note: The graphic at top is by Roger Chouinard.