The UN Sustainable Development Goals at ZENZ
In our globalized world, we all face challenges that require a collective effort to ensure a better future for the planet, nature, and our fellow human beings.
At ZENZ, we believe that businesses should lead the way in addressing these challenges—regardless of whether authorities or customers demand it. That’s why we integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our work and decision-making.
For us, it is absolutely essential that we—and other companies—are sincere when we say we’re working to improve our shared world. We don’t believe it’s enough to claim that you’re contributing to Goal #7: Affordable and Clean Energy, just because you aim to increase the share of renewable energy. Real action is needed.
That’s why we use the independent tool SDG Action Manager, developed by the UN and B Corp, to manage and improve our efforts for each of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
We actively engage with most of the 17 SDGs—some more than others, and some primarily through partnerships with other companies.
Here, you can read about how we support the Sustainable Development Goals.
How ZENZ Supports the Sustainable Development Goals
For many years, we collaborated with PlanBørnefonden to help young women in Kampala, Uganda, escape poverty and prostitution. Through hairdressing education, they were given the opportunity to support themselves and their families. This collaboration ended at the close of 2022, and we are currently exploring new ways to make a meaningful difference for people in need.
When developing new or existing products, we avoid ingredients that are or are suspected to be endocrine disruptors, allergens, or carcinogens. We choose organic ingredients and, whenever possible, prioritize ingredients and packaging that have the least impact on nature. In our salons, we create a healthy physical work environment for our hairdressers, which is especially important in an industry where many experience health issues and shortened careers due to poor working conditions. We always ensure good working conditions both in our salons and throughout the rest of the company.
In our salons, our apprentices have consistently proven to be among the best in Denmark. We offer internal further education through ZENZ Academy, including leadership training for hairdressers. Additionally, our collaboration with PlanBørnefonden has helped train young women from Kampala, Uganda, as hairdressers.
At ZENZ, we ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of gender, when it comes to participation and leadership at all levels and in decision-making processes. Our personnel policy states that all forms of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination, are unacceptable, and violations of this will be dealt with firmly.
Our products are developed without harming the groundwater, and they are designed to be environmentally safe during use. In our salons, we only use products that do not have a negative impact on groundwater.
We place great importance on providing our employees with a workplace that offers good working conditions and fair wages.
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We are frontrunners in the beauty industry and actively lead the way in the fight for change. We are an inspiring source for others who wish to use more sustainable ingredients and technologies in their beauty products and we are proud of that.
For us, it is important to offer all our employees a fair wage and an inclusive work environment where discrimination is not tolerated.
Our products are multifunctional and long-lasting, which helps reduce the overall consumption of beauty products. We strive never to throw products away instead, they are donated to those who can use them.
Our packaging is largely made from recycled and recyclable plastic, and we ensure that we collect plastic from the oceans equivalent to the weight of the packaging we produce.
Our OWP+ Special Edition products come in bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, with 20% sourced from ocean plastic waste collected by the ReSea Project.
In our salons, we offer refill concepts to reduce plastic consumption, and we upcycle our discarded plastic into interior fittings.
We are continuously working to strengthen our climate efforts by reducing our consumption of energy and water, transporting goods by bike, and guiding consumers on how to use our products efficiently and dispose of the packaging in an environmentally friendly way.
We are dedicated to reducing our impact on life both in the oceans and on land. We have achieved a high level of recycled and recyclable plastic in our packaging and continuously strive to minimize the use of virgin plastic.
As an OWP+ Partner, we have developed OWP+ Special Edition packaging in collaboration with Ocean Waste Plastic, made from 100% recycled plastic. Of this material, 20% is OWP+ plastic collected from the world’s oceans by the ReSea Project while the remaining 80% is post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR).
We aim to increase the proportion of OWP+ in future packaging. In addition, we collect plastic from the oceans equivalent to the weight of the packaging we produce.
We continuously work on improving our plastic ecosystem, maintain strict waste management at all our locations, offer a refill concept in our salons, and collect plastic to upcycle it into interior furnishings.