The Prince of Wales has written a piece for Waitrose’s weekly newspaper, praising the John Lewis Partnership for becoming the first retailer to sign up to his ambitious Terra Carta.

Charles’s Earth Charter initiative, which has parallels with the Magna Carta, aims to encourage the private sector to safeguard the planet by adopting sustainability and to invest 10 billion dollars (£7.3 billion) in “natural capital” by 2022.

He described his call to action as a “very practical recovery plan” which strives to “defend, strengthen and work with the power of nature for the benefit of every man, woman and child in the world”.

Writing in the free Waitrose Weekend publication, Charles shared his delight that the supermarket, whose organic range Waitrose Duchy Organic was originally founded by the prince as Duchy Originals in 1990, had become involved.

“I have been so encouraged by the enthusiastic global corporate response to this call to action – there seems to be a real sense of the fierce and urgent necessity to act before it is literally too late,” the prince said.

“When I heard the John Lewis Partnership was to become the first retailer to sign up, I was particularly delighted.

“Not only are John Lewis and Waitrose Royal Warrant holders but, of course, Waitrose is home to Duchy Organic, the company I started more than 30 years ago to show it was possible to produce high quality food working in harmony with nature, one of the principles that lies at the heart of the Terra Carta.”

The prince was pictured in the publication in an orange life jacket while on a visit to a sustainable salmon farm on Loch Leven at Onich, by Fort William, in 2016.

The John Lewis Partnership has pledged to become net zero carbon across its operations by 2035, and to stop using fossil fuels throughout its transport fleet by 2030.

Charles wrote: “It is that sort of step change in approach that will make the difference.

“It is also what consumers increasingly expect, particularly in the area of packaging, where I know the Partnership is always striving for new solutions.”

The prince added: “To guarantee our future, we have no other choice but to make each day count – and it must start today.”

The Duchess of Cambridge’s sister Pippa Matthews has regularly written for Waitrose Weekend, announcing she was pregnant with her first child in a fitness column in 2018.