Joanne Howarth

Joanne is a mission-driven serial entrepreneur with a passion for turning waste into opportunity. She is the Founder & CEO of Planet Protector, a circular economy company proving that waste is a design flaw, not a destiny, by transforming discarded fibres into high-performance, commercial products.

Jo pioneered WOOLPACK, award-winning packaging made from Australian waste wool that outperforms polystyrene for up to 144 hours, and has shipped COVID vaccines across New Zealand and ice cores from Antarctica for climate research. In 2026, Planet Protector launched JEANIUS, Australia's first recycled denim insulation. Powered by a $15M fibre-agnostic manufacturing facility — the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Armed with an Economics degree from Sydney University, an MBA, and a Social Entrepreneurship degree from INSEAD, Jo brings 25 years of entrepreneurial experience to one of the world's most urgent challenges.

In 2020, she became the first ever Cartier Women's Initiative Laureate in Oceania. She has also received Sydney University's Alumni Prize for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2021) and Australia's National Sustainability Award. A passionate eco-preneur and fierce advocate for women in business, Jo’s not waiting for someone else to save the planet. She's building the systems to do it.