"Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group believe that all businesses, especially those involved in transportation, energy and particularly fossil fuels such as coal must be at the forefront of developing environmentally friendly business strategies with a focus on replacing traditional energy with energy coming from renewable sources.

"The Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, called on the global aviation industry to develop a shared solution to the growing issue of climate change. The move follows Virgin Group's plans to invest $3billion in renewable energy initiatives over the next ten years.

Australia's Virgin Blue has thrown its support behind Sir Richard Branson’s global call to reduce aircraft fuel emissions.

Sir Richard Branson joined forces with NTR, an Irish utility group, to take a majority stake in an American biofuel company. Branson’s Virgin is planning to invest $40m (£21m) alongside an NTR division called Bioverda. The partnership has been disclosed in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Richard Branson was born in 1950 and educated at Stowe School. It was here that he began to set up Student Magazine when he was just 16. By 17 he'd also set up Student Advisory Centre, which was a charity to help young people. In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and not long after he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London. During 1972 a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire, and the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded "Tubular Bells" which was released in 1973."

"Getting involved and doing things differently, it's always been the Virgin way. So mobilising our entrepreneurial energy and all we've got into making a difference - well, it just makes sense." Sir Richard Branson said. "In 2003, we spent six months speaking with a number of organisations in the social sector, our suppliers and partners and over 400 Virgin staff members in South Africa, Australia, the US and UK in order to find out what they wanted us to focus on.

"Branson first got interested in green investments nearly a decade ago based on his belief that oil prices were likely to rise dramatically in the years ahead. So in 1997 when Britain's Virgin Trains was investing in a new fleet, Branson wanted to ensure they were fuel-efficient. As a result, the Pendolino electric trains are the first commercial fleet of trains with regenerative braking technology, where every time the train brakes the electricity used is regenerated back into the national grid. It's the same technology Toyota later used in its Prius cars.

At the November Dubai World Leader Summit in the United Arab Emirates, Sir Richard Branson vowed to look for alternative fuel sources for his four airlines operating almost 100 aircraft. Using organic waste, or biomass, could be substantially cheaper than corn or sugar cane since that waste is not a primary product but simply residue from other agriculture or logging.