Queen Elizabeth Is Pushing to Give Buckingham Palace an Eco-Friendly Makeover

Photo: Instagram/@theroyalfamily
Despite Cape Town's water crisis, global warming worsening, and pollution smothering the environment, efforts have been made to slow the rate at which the world is imploding. Some celebrities have been vocal in urging humans to be better to nature. There's Leonardo DiCaprio, who encouraged us to eat Beyond Meat, Emma Watson, who sported eco-friendly fashion, and now Queen Elizabeth, who is royally banning plastic from Buckingham Palace as part of a larger green initiative.

According to The Telegraph, as a piece of a decade-long $512 million renovation of the palace to make it more sustainable and environmentally friendly, the Queen has decided to phase out plastic materials. This affects areas including the public cafés, staff dining rooms, and catered events (which will use china or biodegradable cutlery). A palace spokesperson told The Telegraph that "across the organization, the Royal Household is committed to reducing its environmental impact."

To improve energy consumption and efficiency by 40 percent, the palace plans to install solar panels and an anaerobic digestion unit, which generates fuel from food and organic waste. The total efforts would reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 554 tons a year.

To improve energy consumption and efficiency by 40 percent, the palace reports it also plans to install solar panels and an anaerobic digestion unit, which generates fuel from food and organic waste. Ground source heat pumps and electrical heating, among other measures, are also being considered. In total, the efforts would reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 554 tons a year, according to the palace.

And the Queen is really putting her money where her mouth is by no longer giving royal warrants (basically a royal seal of approval) to companies that are complicit in pollution. Companies applying for royal warrants must now prove they are not polluting the planet, The Telegraph reports.

Next maybe the royal family will publicly switch to five-free nail polishes?

After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding, Buckingham Palace might also be full of facial massages and Pilates classes

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