Fumble: Charles retraces his footprint

BY JACK WOJCICKI

When the heads of the Big 3 North American automakers were roasted for their use of corporate jets in their bid to secure money for their companies, notice was served that the world was paying attention to detail. Similarly, when Prince Charles flew to Tokyo to deliver a message about greenhouse gas emissions he was soundly pilloried. "Flying to an environmental award ceremony is a bit like turning up to an Oxfam award ceremony in a stretch limo," said British environmentalist Joss Garman. So when we heard that the Prince of Wales was planning an official visit to South America on a 16,400-mile round trip to promote environmental awareness we thought ‘well Charles must’ve learned his lesson.’ Apparently not. Now it is certainly acceptable for a person of Charles’ status to take a private plane for such a venture, particularly taking security and timing into consideration. The problem is that the aircraft chosen is basically a luxury hotel on wings—an Airbus 319 that normally would seat 134 people which has been extensively modified to accommodate only 29—that will leave a 327 thousand kilogram (322 Ton) carbon footprint. Just what is that saying to the countries he is visiting? And what does it say of England’s commitment to environmentalism in general? And during a time of economic uncertainty on a global scale, doesn’t this communicate financial waste and a laissez-faire attitude? Brand consistency requires consistency of communications as well as actions; indeed these are often two sides of the same coin. We see these examples too often, where people don’t realize that their actions are a form of communication and need to be in line with the messages they are trying to communicate. When they aren’t aligned they nearly always lead to communications fumbles. In this case what is sad is that there are many other environmentally positive things that Charles is doing. Efforts which have been totally overshadowed by this choice of transport and what that seems to say about how he really feels.