Sustainability was high on the agenda during Prince William's first visit to Estonia.
The Prince of Wales chose to visit the Estonian Cleantech Association as one of his four official engagements, alongside meeting the Estonian President, British troops, and Ukrainian refugees.
Speaking to British reporters prior to the meeting, Anni Oviir, EPD verifier and CEO of LCA Support, praised Prince William for using his limited time to learn about how Estonian technology and expertise is helping build a more sustainable world.
During the meeting, the Prince of Wales examined different sustainable startup solutions, including the production of lower carbon materials. He then spoke about his own work promoting sustainability and the importance of global cooperation.
Kädi Ristkok, head of the Estonian Cleantech Association, did an outstanding job hosting the Prince of Wales at the offices of Sunly and moderating the discussion, while explaining Estonia's strengths when working alongside partners from countries such as the UK.
While a lot of focus around the visit is inevitably focused on defence and security issues, there was clear agreement that sustainability, prosperity, and security are interwoven. Spending on defence requires a competitive economy and to remain competitive long into the future requires sustainability.
There are no silver bullet to tackle the climate crisis, explained the Prince of Wales, so we need lots of bronze bullets.
During the meeting, crowds gathered on the streets outside hoping to get a glimpse of the heir to UK Crown despite the frosty weather.
They weren't dissapointed as Prince William spent a considerable amount of time afterwards walking among them and stopping to chat (and take plenty of selfies).
Speaking to British reporters again after the meeting, Anni praised the visit and revealed that "Prince William had clearly done his homework" as he already knew a lot about Estonia's startup scene and gave great advice within the context of tackling global environmental challenges.
Prior to the visit, there was a discussion at LCA Support about what kind of souvenir could be handed over to Prince William as a momento of his first visit to Estonia.
It was agreed that it should be a great example of Estonian design and, in keeping with sustainable principles, something that is actually useful and worth the carbon cost of producing.
Estonia introduced a law 30 years ago that reflectors must be worn during dark winter months, resulting in a 'vibrant' and creative reflector-producing sector, and a significantly reduction in traffic fatalities.
It's a great example of how good legislation can embed new habits and approaches, spur some economic activity, and lead to overall better outcomes for the public interest.
And that is why the Prince of Wales now has his own wood-crafted Estonian reflector from LCA Support.