Women select eco champions

This article first appeared in our International Women’s Day issue of My Green Pod Magazine, published 08 March 2024. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox

The P.E.A. (People. Environment. Achievement.) Awards is the UK’s leading sustainability and climate awards, honouring the individuals and teams behind the products, services and businesses that are changing the face of our planet.

Across sectors ranging from art to finance, the P.E.A. Awards identifies and celebrates the green heroes who are taking matters into their own hands and providing inspiring alternatives to business as usual.

The judging panel for this year’s P.E.A.s is all female; each judge combines sector expertise with a strong desire to preserve the fragile environment we live in. Here’s why they were invited to be involved.

Cat Fletcher

Cat is a waste activist and all-round resource goddess. An Australian mother of three, she’s a founding member, director and head of media for Freegle, a UK online reuse network with 2.6 million members. Cat is a regular and much-loved face on the P.E.A. Awards judging panel and keeps things on track with her no-nonsense approach to sustainability and ethical living.

Emily Cromwell

Emily is a director in Deloitte’s Sustainability practice. A lawyer and a regulatory specialist, Emily leads Responsible Business for the Consumer Industry in the UK and advises clients on sustainability issues including decarbonisation, TCFD, human rights, sustainability strategy and circularity.

She leads the ethical value chain ecosystem for Deloitte UK, which is made up of internal capabilities augmented by an external network of innovative tech companies. Emily has delivered global, multi-disciplinary projects for over a decade and is deeply experienced in driving programmatic change.

Jayn Sterland

Jayn is managing director of Weleda (UK/Ireland) and a global spokesperson for the company. Joining Weleda was, she says, ‘a culmination of everything I had learnt up to that point – having grown up on a farm and learnt how to make medicines from my herbalist gran, watching mum care for her patients and the family as a community doctor – I found all this at Weleda and I feel as though I have come home.’

An energetic environmental activist and a campaigner for responsible business, Jayn consistently appears in the UK Top Five ‘Who’s Who in Natural Beauty’, and is the newly appointed chair of the British Beauty Council’s Sustainable Beauty Coalition.

Jordan Brompton

Jordan bubbles with enthusiasm for anything to do with renewables or electric vehicles and is extremely passionate about doing her bit to create a more sustainable future.

With several years’ experience within the industry – and a whole career in sales and marketing – Jordan is the driving force behind the myenergi brand and a key player in bridging the gap between renewable energies and electric vehicles.

Jo Wood

Jo is a pioneer and committed supporter of all things organic and natural. She is the founder of Jo Wood Organics, a successful and award-winning organic fragrance and beauty range, and recently moved to a home she has taken off grid.

Jo’s philosophy ‘is about respecting our bodies and our Earth. If we work with Nature, rather than abusing it, we will all reap the benefits.’

Katie Hill

Katie Hill is co-founder and editor at My Green Pod. Before that she was a senior writer, researcher and a deputy editor at Which? magazine, and headed up the Indian equivalent in Mumbai.

With My Green Pod, Katie has combined her experience in investigative journalism, consumer rights and independent media with passions for climate justice, women’s rights, clean living and the environment. She frequently writes about the importance of detecting corporate sideshows that can slow the shift to a more conscious lifestyle.

Katie is also a speaker, regular judge for the coveted Beauty Shortlist Awards and Mama & Baby Awards and a UN Women UK delegate.

Ruth Easter

A qualified solicitor with over 15 years’ experience, Ruth is the legal lead for the UK’s largest (fiercely!) independent web host, Krystal Hosting. A champion of inclusivity and environmental awareness, Ruth devotes her career to promoting and codifying the principles central to Krystal’s ethos.

Ruth’s passion for ethical leadership keeps her involved in all sustainable initiatives at Krystal, including its B Corp accreditation and Living Wage Employer status. She applies her legal skills and environmental knowledge to help Krystal staff understand the power of pensions, change to 100% renewable providers and make the switch to eco products.

Stephanie Jordan

Born in London to a British mother and Colombian father and raised in Burgundy, Stephanie’s unique cultural upbringing sparked her passion for the drinks and hospitality industry.

After an eight-year stint at Diageo Stephanie established her own drinks brand consultancy, Drinking Out Loud, and co-founded award-winning and sustainability-minded Avallen Spirits, a calvados brand on a mission to save bees and become the world’s most planet-positive spirits brand.

Stephanie was named ‘Woman of the Year 2020’ by The Drinks Business and loves to take time to mentor young women in business.