Scotland's richest man funding £1m climate-change prize owns private jet firm that took 1100 trips

Anders Holch Povlsen has been accused of greenwashing by promoting climate-saving initiatives while also running a private jet company.

Scotland's richest man has been accused of greenwashing after his private jet firm made more than 1100 trips despite his sponsorship of a climate-boosting project lauched by Prince William.

Danish native Anders Holch Povlsen is Scotland’s largest land owner and also the biggest financial backer of the Prince’s EarthShot prize.

But campaigners said his donation to the environmental award and efforts to restore acres of land in the Highlands doesn’t outweigh the damage he is doing to the planet through his private jet company Blackbird Air.

They’ve also questioned Povlsen’s personal flight usage after it emerged dozens of trips were taken between Denmark and Inverness using the luxury aircraft - including to ferry Lionel Richie and up to 200 guests to his lavish 50th birthday party last summer.

Povlsen held the bash in July 2023 at Aldourie Castle on the banks of Loch Ness - one of 13 estates he owns in Scotland spanning 220,000 acres.

Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: “ Private jets are the most environmentally destructive way a person can travel.

“They’re totally incompatible with the work we’re doing across the economy to cut emissions and ensure a sustainable future.

“Yet they continue to be used extensively by the world’s wealthiest people while our climate pays the price.

“This won’t be news to any billionaire, and certainly not to anyone who funds a major environmental contest dedicated to climate action and clean air.

“It’s simply not good enough to talk a good game one minute while j etting around the world in a private jet the next.”

According to research by Danish national broadcaster DR, Povlsen’s Blackbird Air flew between Denmark’s Billund airport and Inverness 42 times between 2020 and 2023.

Most of the journeys took place in 2023 with some travelling out and back in one day.

A spokesman from Bestseller, a fashion firm which Povlsen is the sole owner of, wouldn’t confirm how many of the journeys Povlsen personally took but told DR Blackbird Air also leases planes to companies and individuals.

He said: “It is perhaps not surprising that he and others over a number of years have had travel activity in and out of Inverness in Scotland and thus have taken part in some of the mentioned flights.”

He also stressed that the “vast majority of such flights have a business purpose”.

The company failed to respond when contacted by the Sunday Mail.

Povlsen is one of the founding backers of the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize which awards five winners £1m each year to continue climate-saving projects.

He was reported to have donated £1m to the first award in 2021.

Through his company Wildland Ltd Povlsen also plans to rewild vast swathes of his 13 Highland estates, and said he was “investing in the natural world”.

Alethea Warrington, Head of Aviation, Heat and Energy at climate charity Possible, said: “For anyone to position themself as an environmentalist or conservationist but then travel by private jet rather than opting for low-carbon travel is nothing short of hypocritical.

“There is simply no way to fly – private or not – without producing a huge amount of emissions and claiming otherwise is just greenwashing.

“Private jets are incredibly wasteful and polluting. They cause huge emissions, which harm our climate and worsen the extreme weather which is hitting communities increasingly hard around the world.

"If we are to have any hope of meeting our climate goals and ensuring a liveable planet for future generations, we must ban private jets and stop the wealthiest few in society from causing harm to people who will never see a private jet in their lives.”

A spokeswoman from climate activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) Scotland said: “Rewilding and donating to pro-climate projects does not wash away the damage to life on Earth caused by Mr Povlsen’s other investments like Blackbird Air and fast-fashion businesses Bestseller and Asos.

“The frequent private jet flights made by the super-rich are one of the clearest examples of climate inequality.

“Billionaires fund the climate crisis all over the world, from private jet flights to investing in heavily polluting industries and endorsing anti-climate politicians who protect their wealth.

“There is no such thing as an ethical billionaire.”

Neither Kensington Palace not Mr Povlsen’s spokesman responded to requests for comment.

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