Responsible Travel chief co-hosts Windsor Castle round-table attended by King

Responsible Travel co-founder and executive chair Justin Francis OBE has co-hosted a round-table discussion at Windsor Castle attended by the King to champion the business case for nature.

The event, which took place on Friday, May 22, focused on integrating nature preservation into corporate strategy.

It was also attended by environment secretary Emma Reynolds MP; the prime minister’s chief advisor on business, investment and trade Varun Chandra; and a delegation of senior business leaders and representatives from the Council for Sustainable Business (CSB).

A new campaign film featuring the King and Sir David Attenborough was debuted at the event, alongside a strategic briefing document and a series of corporate case studies. The materials were developed by the CSB and Francis in his capacity as the council’s nature lead.

Francis highlighted that while the materials are designed to help all industries mitigate risk, control costs and identify growth, they carry particular weight for tourism providers.

“The film, featuring the King and Sir David Attenborough, together with the briefing document and case studies, is relevant to all business sectors, but especially travel given our reliance on nature,” Francis said.

“Nature is becoming central to how businesses manage risk, control costs, and identify new growth opportunities and these materials are designed to help businesses consider nature as a core strategic issue.

“In travel we have a great opportunity; protecting nature will build a stronger future for our businesses and our industry.”

Francis, who founded Responsible Travel in 2000, was awarded an OBE for services to nature and the environment in The King’s New Year Honours List in 2025.