Bristol Biomaterials Company Ponda Named Innovator of the Year at Inaugural Pride in Our Planet Awards

Ponda, the company restoring Britain’s wetlands to grow a plant-based alternative to down, has been recognised by a judging panel chaired by the UK’s Climate Minister. The public can now back its mission directly through a live community investment round.

Biomaterials company Ponda has been named Innovator of the Year at the first Pride in Our Planet Awards, selected from more than 300 entries by an independent panel chaired by Katie White OBE MP, the UK’s Climate Minister. The award was presented at The Conduit in London 18th June 2026.

The Bristol-based company turns one of Britain’s most damaged landscapes into a working supply chain. Around 80% of the UK’s three million hectares of peatland is degraded, mostly drained for farming, making it one of the country’s largest sources of land-use emissions. Ponda grows Typha, or bulrush, on rewetted peat, a crop that only thrives when the land stays wet. That keeps carbon in the ground, brings back wading birds and other wetland wildlife, improves water quality and strengthens flood resilience.

(BioPuff® fibre)

The harvested fibre becomes BioPuff®, a plant-based insulation with up to 88% lower environmental impact than goose down. It has already been used by Stella McCartney in the Falabella bag, alongside Berghaus, Sheep Inc. and Ahluwalia. Demand for the material funds further restoration, building a model in which commercial supply chains pay for nature recovery rather than competing with it.

(Ponda Bio X Berghaus)

Ponda has built the infrastructure to make this work at scale, including drone-sown seed pellets, low-impact harvesting equipment and pilot processing in Bristol. It is delivering across ten large-scale UK and European sites, including the €10 million Horizon Europe Palus Demos programme.

(Ponda / Ahluwalia AW26)

The award follows recognition from the King’s Terra Carta Design Lab, the H&M Foundation Global Change Award, Parley for the Oceans and PETA UK’s Best Vegan Down.

The Pride in Our Planet Awards are the first of their kind, created to recognise the people and organisations driving real climate and nature progress across the UK, often without recognition beyond their own communities. Conceived by climate creator Sam Bentley and delivered with Sky and The Conduit, the awards take place days before London Climate Action Week and are designed to become an annual fixture. Ponda was one of five winners, alongside a community leader, a regenerative ocean farm, a climate communicator and a scientist restoring one of Britain’s rarest habitats. 

The company has also recently opened a crowdfunding round on Republic, giving the public the chance to invest in its next phase of growth. The round has already raised £1.3m from existing investors and is now open to the public.

Julian Ellis-Brown, CEO and Co-founder of Ponda says: “This recognition means a great deal, particularly from a panel chaired by the Climate Minister. We have always argued that restoring nature and building a real business are not opposing goals. Britain’s wetlands can be productive, profitable and permanent. Opening our round to the public is the natural next step. Anyone who wants to see this country’s peatlands restored can now own a part of how it happens.”

Images courtesy of Ponda