Devon Entrepreneur Announced as Winner of the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards 2022

Devon-based Lottie Hawkins has been recognised as a sustainability champion, winning the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards, by genuinely implementing change and building a better tomorrow with her innovative start-up, Earthly Biochar.

Launched in 2018, the ambitious brand was co-founded by Lottie after her realisation that biochar, a stable form of carbon made from wood, could be one of the answers to the planet’s climate change emergency. Earthly Biochar uses ‘waste’ resources to make biochar, which as well as helping to mitigate climate change, is also an affordable and effective soil conditioner. In the process of creating the biochar, carbon which otherwise would have been released into the atmosphere, is captured and stored. When applied to soils, biochar can also improve soil health, crop yields, and resource efficiency. Earthly Biochar has since gone on to develop a biochar kiln for gardeners to make biochar at home and Lottie was recently announced as a finalist for The Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

Earthly Biochar won the ‘Best for Carbon Footprint’ category and Lottie has received a carbon neutral bamboo trophy as recognition of this achievement. This is Marie Claire UK’s second annual Sustainability Awards celebrating brands and organisations that are helping consumers navigate their day-to-day lives with products and experiences that are designed with the planet in mind without greenwashing or misleading.

This year saw category winners spanning fashion, beauty, food & drink, health & wellness, travel & leisure, motors, weddings and much more, all striving to be as ethical as possible and going the extra mile to positively impact our planet. Winners were selected by a panel of over 50 global experts, thought leaders, sustainability activists and the Marie Claire UK editorial team. Notable winners from previous years include Wolf & Badger, Titanic Spa, Thrift and REN Clean Skincare.

Lottie commented: “I’m absolutely thrilled to win this award and I’m so proud of everything that Earthly Biochar is achieving this year. We’re going from strength to strength and people are recognising the importance of biochar for planet health and carbon capture. We really want to take this forward as a method of combatting climate change that people can use in their own gardens.”

The winners were announced at the virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday 20th July 2022, where Marie Claire UK offset its carbon footprint from the awards activity by planting a mangrove tree for every guest who tuned in. 

For more information, visit www.marieclaireevents.uk/sustainabilityawards/1704867