What is the EarthShot Prize and why is it so important?

When talking about the climate crisis, it can be hard at times to stay positive. Fixing our planet and our over-reliance on using its resources is much easier said than done. 

That’s why we want to tell you about the BBC’s series, The Earthshot prize, an incentive to help reverse and repair the damage from some of the world’s major environmental problems. Showcasing simple yet effective ways to repair our planet, the five Earthshots are:

1) Protect and restore nature

2) Clean our air

3) Revive our oceans

4) Build a waste-free world

5) Fix our climate

Projects from each Earthshot are spread over five episodes, with the sixth and final episode being the award ceremony during which Prince William announces the five inspiring projects that will receive £1 million each. We won’t spoil the merits of the winners for you, but we’ve left feeling inspired and it’s got us thinking about what we as a business do for each Earthshot, and what we might be able to do more of.

What is the EarthShot Prize and why is it so important? 1

PROTECT & RESTORE NATURE

  • We’re planting a forest with Forestry England of 7,000 trees, creating more green spaces for the British public to enjoy. We’re also working alongside Eden Reforestation Projects to plant a tree every time one of our new Festive Collections is purchased.
  • Our carbon capture wraps are helping to plant trees in the whole of the UK while protecting and restoring ancient woodland with the Woodland Trust.
  • Our COSMOS organic certified products are ‘closing the loop’ – making use of what’s to hand, limiting the number of imported resources and working with nature. On average, plant, insect and bird life is 50% more abundant on organic farms. 

CLEAN OUR AIR

  • Our carbon offsetting projects keep carbon in the ground. We currently support three projects, which are facilitating wind farms in North America, helping to power over 700,000 homes, the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve in Indonesia, and protecting the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.  
  • Our cycle initiative, where employees can borrow and use Tropic bicycles to cycle to and from our offices completely free of charge, further minimising our carbon output. 

REVIVE OUR OCEANS

  • We never use animal derivatives, such as squalene (shark liver oil) and instead use squalane derived from olives.
  • All our SPF sun care range is Protect Land + Sea certified and doesn’t contain ingredients that may be harmful environmental pollutants.
  • We support the Reef Restoration Foundation who regenerate damaged coral reefs in Australia.

BUILD A WASTE-FREE WORLD

  • We’ve been landfill-free for over three years. 
  • All our serums, oils, lipsticks, mineral foundations, makeup palettes and bath foams are refillable, preventing over 15 tonnes of plastic waste from being generated since March 2019.
  • With our refills and recycling scheme, we help save our customers money, reduce packaging use and have a positive impact on the environment.

FIX OUR CLIMATE

  • Being carbon negative, we remove twice as much carbon from the atmosphere as we put into it. 
  • 100% renewable energy is used at our HQ, where we manufacture over 98% of the products we sell. 
  • We’ve joined the Better Business Act, calling on the government to ask that every single company in the UK takes ownership of its own social and environmental impact.

We aren’t resting on our laurels though, we believe in continuous progression, so will be doing even more in 2022 as part of our Infinite Purpose – to help create a healthier, greener, more empowered world. 

You can check out the series over on iPlayer:


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