ENJO, which specialises in natural cleaning products, has been named as the winner of The Sustainability Award at the 2019 UK Direct Selling Awards.
The national awards are hosted by the Direct Selling Association (DSA), the industry body for direct-to-consumer retail. The awards recognise the best individuals, teams and companies in the industry, which includes many well-known and much-loved household names; brands such as Avon, Neal’s Yard Remedies Organic, Usborne Books at Home and The Body Shop at Home. Direct selling is a £2.67 billion industry in the UK and the latest market data shows that the sector is enjoying a renaissance, with turnover increasing by 27% last year. Over 563,000 people work in the sector.
The Sustainability Award is awarded to the company best demonstrating people, projects, products and organisations that together are redefining what it means to be a sustainable business.
ENJO UK, which is headquartered in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, submitted an award entry which demonstrated its commitment to sustainability, re-cycling and re-using, alongside showcasing its chemical-free cleaning products that aim to reduce plastic waste and chemical residues in waterways. It focuses on sustainability in the following ways:
ENJO products only need water to clean healthily and efficiently, meaning no harmful chemicals are washed down the drain, which can potentially mean for every household, 50L less chemicals are used in 3 years.
Once ENJO products are past their best, they can be returned to the company, who will have them professionally recycled. They are made into insulation material, filling material for car seats and upholstery or sheets uses in agriculture.
ENJO operates an exemplary company recycling programme. All litter be it paper, bio waste, synthetic material, residual waste, etc. is pre-sorted by the company and recycled accordingly.
Since August 2013 ENJO has used green electricity at its international production plant and headquarters. This 100% renewable energy is produced emission-free and without nuclear power plants, avoiding 54 tons CO2 emissions per year .
ENJO International has signed the “Climate Neutral Alliance” and has been 100% climate neutral since September 2015. The aim of the initiative is to make all entrepreneurial activities climate neutral by 2025 at the latest. The companies want to actively contribute to the 2-degree Celsius goal of the United Nations. To compensate for their small amount of CO2 emissions, ENJO supports a reforestation project in Nicaragua.
ENJO’s Skin Care range means there is no need for disposable wipes and cotton pads in your daily routine. Additionally, less skincare products are needed, which reduces disposable packaging overall.
Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General of the Direct Selling Association, who led the judging, comments: “ENJO’s commitment to its environmental principles are impressive, from the ethos that underpins its product range, right through to the green electricity that is used to manufacture these products. ENJO is a worthy winner of the Sustainability Award, and I am delighted to offer my congratulations.”
Simon & Linette Isaacs, Founding Directors of ENJO UK comment: “Simon and I were incredibly proud and humbled to win the DSA’s Sustainability Award. The competition was stiff on the day so we were blown away to win. Being a Sustainable business is absolutely at the core of everything we do, so for this to be recognised Nationally within our industry was amazing. We strive constantly to ensure we are taking steps to improve and minimise our impact on the environment through both our manufacturing processes but also by introducing as many people as possible in the UK to our healthier cleaning solution using our innovative fibre technology which works using just water.”
The award judges included Elias Jahshan, Editor of leading UK retail news site Retail Gazette, ex-Member of Parliament Lembit Öpik, business mentor Alison Chapman, and Paul Dobson, a member of the European Direct Selling Association (Seldia) Ethics Committee.
