Cartier has celebrated the work of social entrepreneur Jo Howarth.
Howarth has been awarded the prestigious title of the Laureate for South Asia and Oceania in the 2020 Cartier Women’s Initiative.
She was recognised for her business, Planet Protector Packaging, taking away USD$100,000.
This is the first time Cartier has awarded an Australian/New Zealand business this win.
Planet Protector Packaging uses sheep waste wool to produce an environmentally responsible and sustainable alternative to polystyrene.
To date, the business has replaced almost six million polystyrene bins from supply chains and diverted almost 3,000 tonnes of compressed polystyrene from landfill, equating to 44 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Providing a "game changing" sustainable solution in an industry so heavily reliant on plastic, Howarth created her flagship product, Woolpack, in 2016.
This is used extensively in cold chain transport for the fast-growing eCommerce, seafood and pharmaceutical industries.
Howarth said she is honoured by the win.
“Being titled the Laureate for South Asia and Oceania in this year’s Cartier Women’s Initiative is an honour and I’m thrilled that Planet Protector Packaging has been acknowledged on this global scale.
"This recognition has only consolidated the positive work we do and the profound impact it Is having on our planet.
"We can now confidently say that Planet Protector Packaging is truly on it’s way to transforming supply chains around the world and is revolutionising the insulated packaging market.”
After working with polystyrene, an unsustainable type of plastic, while managing the production process for a large meal delivery company, Howarth saw first-hand the detrimental amounts of non-biodegradable plastic that was being generated and disposed of.
The eye-opening experience led to Howarth researching a viable solution that did not harm the planet.
Currently servicing the Australian and New Zealand market, Howarth and her team boast clients across multiple sectors.
The 12-month Cartier Women’s Initiative program provides women-led businesses support througha fellowship programme Involving peer learning, strategic financial modelling, communication training, and leadership skills.