Kulturing Kuriosity with Joanne Howarth

Joanne Howarth is a social entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of the insulated, environmentally friendly packaging company, Planet Protector Packaging, a company leading the way in sustainable alternative solutions to harmful plastic transportation packaging, by using sheep's wool.

After studying at the University of Sydney & the University of Technology Sydney, Joanne discovered that it is not the amount of money earnt in a career, but the difference that career makes to the lives of others, to communities and to the planet. After working in distribution for Australia's largest meal-kit company, BOXED2GO, Joanne was stunned by the huge volume of wasteful, non-biodegradable Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) packaging that was and still is destroying the planet and has been the go-to for over 60 years in the industry. With the need for a sustainable alternative, Joanne founded Planet Protector Packaging in 2015. Understanding consumer concerns about packaging sustainability, Joanne established a way to provide businesses that require insulated packaging to transport perishables or delicate items with an environmentally-friendly alternative to EPS, made from sheep's waste wool. Joanne's determination and leadership has won the company multiple awards both domestically and abroad, including Joanne's 2020 achievement of being named laureate at Cartier's Women's Initiative, a prestigious global honour. Joanne's pursuit to drive positive change in the world, and her passion for raising awareness for the community through public speaking events and education beyond her role at Planet Protector Packaging, led her to become a Community Ambassador for Dementia Australia and an Ambassador for Melanoma Institute Australia.