The Day the Prince Dropped By

The Earthshot Prize is a big deal. One of the planet’s most prestigious environmental awards, it aims to “harness the limitless power of innovation, human ingenuity, and urgent optimism.”

So start-up Low Carbon Materials (LCM) founders Natasha Boulding , Scott Bush and Phil Buckley were delighted when they heard that they’d been shortlisted as finalists in the Fix Our Climate category for the 2022 award.

At some point in the process towards the awarding of the final prizes in each of Earthshot’s five categories, CEO Natasha happened on one occasion to be sitting next to His Royal Highness’s chief of staff.?

They chatted and she, as we northerners often do, mused about how epic the north east is and how we love living and doing business here.

Well,?turns out all it needed was this conversation to plant the seed of an idea for a royal visit!

His Royal Highness’s team immediately began to set the wheels in motion - and in April this year he came north to visit LCM to learn more about how they create their innovative, low-carbon construction materials.

To celebrate and capitalise on this visit, LCM decided to host an event which brought together organisations, investors and partners who have provided support throughout their journey. This was the point at which I got the call.?

“Hi, Zoe, thanks to the Earthshotprize, His Royal Highness is visiting LCM HQ.”?

I was elated for my friend. Then she paused and said, “We have 3 weeks to put this together, and there is no-one else I thought of calling. You were the first person to come into our heads. Can you help?”?

Well, dear reader, suffice to say, I was going to make it work. My friend needed me.?

And what an opportunity! I’ve known Natasha for over six years, ever since she, Phil and Scott first set up their business together, and I was more than honoured to be there for them on this incredible milestone of their journey. I told Natasha I'd be delighted to help and we started work.

I began to set the wheels in motion (probably a lot less cumbersome than those of the PR team in Windsor, but a lot of moving parts nonetheless!) and by the time the big day rolled around, I believe LCM, Natasha and the entire team could be justifiably proud of the result.

We arranged for local food entrepreneur (that both Natasha and I were keen to support) to feed the guests. We sourced tables. Failed at sourcing stools. Johnny and the team decorated and cleaned the entire facility. There were many trips to Ikea. Many meetings. Thousands of emails.

But it all came together amazingly.?

We brought together 50 people within 2 weeks of sending invitations out. We nailed an agenda. Had groups of people to meet His Royal Highness directly. We had speeches and countless expressions of support from LCM’s board and more.?

I loved it all. And the feedback!

It was so good, it made all the stress worthwhile.

At one point, a senior security person for the Palace asked how long I had worked at LCM. I said that I’d known them since their start-up days, around 6 years, but that I was an events consultant with my own business.?

He smiled. It shows, he said and commented how great it was to be working with a team that knew what they were doing. The security and police team all said how polished and organised everything was. Which was amazing to hear, considering the tight timelines.?

With the event up and running, there was still very little time to stop and admire the results! Due to an unexpected hitch, I also had to jump in and do the welcome speech. Was I ever thankful for my public speaking abilities.?

For an event of this sort, for a supremely busy person such as His Royal Highness, timekeeping is also of the essence. Prince William was clearly aware of timings and joked at one point that he could feel my eyes in the back of his head…an indication that things should move on. To this day Natasha jokes that she can't believe I stepped forward and gave a time to move on signal to His Royal Highness.?

However, that's what it takes to deliver amazing events. We keep to time. We treat everyone with the same elegance and respect as we would a royal. Showcasing nothing but elegance and calm - even when handling the unexpected.?

?"An attendee said, 'Every event needs a Zoe,' and I was thrilled to hear that after the event."

LCM is helping reshape the construction sector with low-carbon, waste-based building materials and their nomination placed their work among the 1000 most impactful and inspiring solutions for environmental issues globally.

So I’m hugely proud to have supported them on their journey. Taking on the role of event manager for His Royal Highness’s visit, I feel Mayhem Consults has been true to its mission: “to remove chaos and deliver success” and to showcase how, with the right people in the room, we can “create a meaningful experience for all attendees.