King Charles’s Sustainable Markets Initiative summit at Hampton Court Palace delivered major cross-sector green deals in March 2026, from hydrogen power to Antarctic ocean protections and AI-enabled wind energy in the Australian outback.
More than 300 global CEOs, international delegations, and innovators convened at Hampton Court Palace this week for the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Roundtables & Exhibition 2026 — and they left with something rarer than ambition: actual commitments. The two-day summit, founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020, has evolved into a singular platform for what its organizers call “private sector diplomacy,” drawing leaders from clean energy, artificial intelligence, space technology, and advanced manufacturing to forge the kinds of cross-sector partnerships that rarely survive a standard conference room.
The gathering drew over 50 CEOs from Chinese companies alone, a signal of how seriously the SMI China Council — established in 2021 — has positioned itself within global sustainability governance. Senior delegations also made the trip from Japan, Australia, the UAE, Brazil, and across Africa and the United States.
King Charles attended the conclusion of the summit, walking through the exhibition marquee on the palace grounds and speaking directly with innovators, calling several of their projects “fantastic” and “magnificent.”
“We were absolutely delighted that His Majesty joined us today to see first hand the remarkable support behind the Sustainable Markets Initiative and the exhibition showcasing the work of our member companies,” SMI CEO Jennifer Jordan-Saifi said in a statement. “His Majesty founded the SMI with a clear vision – that the private sector must play a decisive role in delivering the sustainable transition. What we are seeing at this summit is that vision in action, with CEOs from around the world coming together to deliver practical solutions and real progress.”
From outer space to the ocean floor
The summit’s headline announcements spanned an almost improbable range of industries. The European Space Agency confirmed that the ELSA-M mission — a collaboration between Astroscale UK, Eutelsat/OneWeb, and the UK Space Agency designed to remove debris from orbit — will carry the Astra Carta Seal for its first in-orbit demonstration, marking a formal commitment to responsible stewardship of space.
Down on Earth, former Secretary of State John Kerry was named a Champion of the SMI’s Ocean Stewardship Initiative, a private-sector mechanism aimed at translating ocean protection commitments into verifiable, measurable outcomes by bringing civil society, governments, and business into alignment. The initiative — developed in collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council and leading Antarctic krill companies Aker BioMarine and Aker QRILL — is focused in part on advancing a proposed large-scale marine protected area in Antarctica spanning more than 455,957 square kilometers, which would increase the share of Antarctic waters under protection by up to 15 percent.
The deals that could actually change things
Among the partnerships catalyzed through SMI’s convening power, a handful stand out for their commercial specificity. British hydrogen innovator GeoPura powered the summit’s outdoor marquee and exhibition spaces entirely through its zero-emission hydrogen power units, cutting both carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions that would have otherwise come from conventional diesel generators. The company, founded in 2019 and now employing more than 170 people across the UK and Europe, produces green hydrogen via electrolysis powered by locally sourced renewable electricity — and its Hampton Court appearance underscored just how ready the technology is for real-world application.
On the energy tech side, Mixergy — part of the Barclays Climate Ventures portfolio — has begun a pilot with Historic Royal Palaces to deploy smart hot water cylinders capable of cutting hot water energy use by up to 40 percent, with two units now being trialled at Hampton Court itself and potential for expansion across the wider estate.
Wind power made an appearance, too. China’s Envision Energy has successfully grid-connected an EN182-7.8MW wind turbine prototype — identical to the units that will be deployed at Fortescue’s Nullagine Wind Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region — marking a key milestone for Fortescue’s first operational wind development and its broader Real Zero strategy. The Nullagine project will deploy 17 of those turbines, with units currently under construction, and will incorporate AI to optimize dispatch across an integrated wind, solar, and battery storage portfolio.
AI also emerged as a thread running through multiple partnerships announced at the summit. ExpectAI and Marylebone Cricket Club have partnered to accelerate the club’s Net Zero 2040 ambition by targeting its Scope 3 emissions — currently approximately 90 percent of its total carbon footprint — through verified, supplier-level data and AI-enabled action. Separately, ExpectAI is working with Barclays to explore how AI-driven sustainability insights can help UK small and medium-sized enterprises improve profitability while simultaneously strengthening energy resilience and cutting emissions. Both collaborations were facilitated directly through the SMI, illustrating how the organization functions less as a conference host and more as an ongoing deal infrastructure.
The hospitality industry, often overlooked in sustainability conversations, also secured meaningful momentum. The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance — which represents over 66,000 hotels across more than 300 brands worldwide — announced a growing collaboration with Chinese renewable energy leaders including JA Solar and the China Photovoltaic Industry Association to accelerate clean energy adoption across the global hospitality sector.
“Our strong affiliation with the Sustainable Markets Initiative is the strategic catalyst that has transformed our ambitious vision into tangible, global action. It is through this unique brand of private sector diplomacy, inspired by His Majesty King Charles III, that we have forged groundbreaking partnerships — first with a global leader like JA Solar, and now evolving into a deep, strategic alliance with the China Photovoltaic Industry Association,” said Glenn Mandziuk, the Alliance’s President and CEO. “This powerful continuum of collaboration is a testament to the SMI’s unrivalled convening power, opening new opportunities to mobilize our industry’s $200 billion annual investment towards a renewable future. Together, we are not just adopting sustainable practices; we are engineering a systems-level shift, proving that the path to a Net Positive hospitality sector is the definitive growth story of our time.”
Jordan-Saifi, for her part, pointed to the SMI’s structural advantage in making these conversations possible: “The Sustainable Markets Initiative was founded on the belief that the private sector has a critical role to play in accelerating the transition to a sustainable future. The SMI’s annual Roundtables & Exhibition brings together global leaders not just to discuss ambition, but to drive real-world action, forging partnerships, mobilizing investment and scaling the solutions needed to deliver sustainable growth. What makes the SMI unique is its ability to convene leaders across sectors and geographies to collaborate on the systemic challenges facing our planet. By working together, the private sector can unlock innovation, create economic opportunity and help build a resilient and sustainable global economy.”
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