Plants are experts
in sustainability
Justainability, JUST’s general term for sustainability, strives towards achieving an optimum balance between the environment, people and the economy.
Justainability means carefully weighing up all aspects of activities to protect nature, enhance the well-being of people and at the same time achieve long-term economic success.
Over 180 plants are used as ingredients in our JUST products. We make sure that we source the best quality plants from sustainable cultivators.
Our Edelweiss comes from Faitrade Bio certified farms.
The alpine rose blossoms are hand-picked directly from wild plants, without any machines. In this way, we protect the biodiversity of the Alps and ensure that other plants and animals remain undisturbed.
For the Mallow care range JUST uses organically cultivated mallow flowers from Kosovo, and thereby ensures a fair income for workers and the continuation of a long-standing herbal tradition.
As part of our biodiversity project with our plant supplier and partner in Appenzell, every summer we create a limited edition comprising a shower gel and body lotion that is founded on Appenzell herbs with the “Bio-Knospe” certificate.
We can precisely trace the origin of the plants we use.
Wherever possible we prefer to use regional plants to keep transportation routes as short as possible which means less environmental impact.
We mainly use plants or parts of plants that are available in sufficient quantities and that are not under threat of extinction.
When selecting plants we attach great importance to fair working conditions.
Cooperation with the ZHAW (School of Engineering) ensures that the plant ingredients we use are the most effective in achieving the desired effect. This enables us to take advantage of an optimum range of functionality in the plants we use for our products.
Plants are experts
in sustainability
JUST constantly strives to optimise its energy and resource efficiency. High CO2 producing energy sources are continuously being replaced by renewable energies or low CO2 alternatives.
The Generations Building and the office building are 100% powered by electricity generated by hydroelectric systems.
JUST can cover 78% of the energy required to heat the offices with heat recovered from production and 23 geothermal probes.
With our photovoltaic systems we produce 19% of the electricity we consume ourselves.
LED lamps save 40% of the electrical power consumed by conventional lamps.
298 tonnes fewer CO2 emissions with heat recovery, geothermal probes and photovoltaic systems = equivalent to the per capita emissions of 59 people.
In the field of waste management we achieve a recycling rate of 59% based on our total waste volume.
A 25,000 litre rainwater tank supplies our green roof, herb garden and terrace.
Our environmental management system has been certified in accordance with ISO 14001:2015 since 2017.
When it comes to packaging, JUST focuses on minimising the use of materials and using recycled materials depending on the specific product requirements and also on the recyclability of packaging. The overarching goal is a closed material cycle which can be achieved by taking the parameters Reduce, Replace, and Recycle into account.
The use of existing packaging for various products or newly developed products makes ecological and economic sense. This means that we can avoid disposing of packaging when demand is low.
We select packaging carefully. Package inserts and/or folded boxes are only necessary if there is insufficient space on the product itself, as double-layer information labels can often replace both.
We have switched from using a solid to a hollow sphere for our deodorants, which has resulted in savings of 5.2 tonnes of plastic per year.
By shortening the aluminium tubes (without changing the contents), we have achieved material savings of 2.5 tonnes/year.
The Vital Just jar has a lower CO2 footprint than its predecessor, as its weight has been reduced by 35%. This means we need 5 tonnes less plastic every year!
Depending on the product, the new plastic packaging of the Vital Just range has a recycled content of between 60 and 100%, which means we can save around 18 tonnes of new plastic per year. Wherever possible we are gradually switching our plastic packaging to recycled material.
Since 2020 JUST has used 100% paper from sustainable forestry sources.
All our glass packaging is made with 70% scrap glass – i.e. recycled material.
Our JUST aluminium tubes are made with 40% recycled PIR material, which is aluminium obtained from industrial stamping waste.
All Vital Just jars are made from recycled plastic which means that we save 13 tonnes of new plastic each year.
In 2021 our JUST bottle was awarded the rating “VERY GOOD” for its recyclability by the environmental service provider Interseroh Holding GmbH & Co KG.
All Vital Just packaging is recyclable when returned to the recycling system and can be used again as recycled plastic.
The majority of the packaging used at JUST can be returned to the recycling system.
As a company that is geared to the future, JUST is always on the lookout for packaging alternatives with a lower environmental impact. Research, technology and new findings ensure innovative packaging solutions that we carefully evaluate for their environmental footprint.
WeCare stands for JUST’s values which focus on the well-being of people & nature.
JUST is a sponsor of the Christmas bazaar of the “Haus im Ruthen”. The residents display their creative, handmade gifts which are on show and offered for sale in the JUST World.
This foundation offers adults with mental, physical and psychological disabilities a home for life and manages various residential homes in the region. In their studios they produce lovingly hand-crafted cards, decorative items, gifts and much more. JUST displays and sells the handmade gifts in the JUST World.
Since 2020 JUST has been promoting biodiversity and environmental education by making a generous annual donation to the school in Walzenhausen for biodiversity projects. These raise the awareness of schoolchildren regarding environmental issues and allow them to become involved in environmentally friendly projects. This shows how companies can promote nature conservation and sustainability awareness among future generations.
With its annual summer edition JUST maintains a sustainable partnership with an organic family farm in Appenzell to support regional herb cultivation. When cultivating and maintaining the crops, attention is paid to biodiversity and the preservation of the Appenzell herbal tradition, and the plants are grown according to Swiss organic quality and BioSuisse Bud guidelines.
The use of shea butter in our Body Butter supports sustainable cultivation and fair trade in Africa, and JUST is committed to ensuring quality, verifiable origins and fair social conditions where its raw materials are grown and as a result supports women in Africa by offering them a source of income.
JUST has a special working partnership with Obvita, a facility in St. Gallen that cares for people with different support needs. At the facility, the Winter Edition gift box is wrapped by hand by people with disabilities with a great deal of care and attention.
Justainability – a perfect symbiosis of human, ecological and economic aspects.
At JUST a sustainability management team takes care of sustainable processes, projects and their communication. With “Justainability Agents” in every department, we actively promote the integration of sustainability in all areas of the company, also among our employees.
We work together to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of our company. We are committed to acting responsibly and strive for continuous improvement regarding environmental impact and social responsibility. We believe that every employee can make an important contribution to promoting and actively supporting sustainability in our company.
High above Lake Constance, in Walzenhausen, a true paradise for wild bees has emerged, inviting visitors of all ages to embark on an exciting educational trail of discovery, wonder, and relaxation with its diversity of plants. For the continued existence of our planet, bees are enormously important pollinators. However, colourful flower meadows and untouched natural areas are becoming increasingly rare, and many species of wild bees are threatened with extinction. With the support of the JUST Foundation, a “wild bee paradise” has emerged on the outskirts of JUST Production Site. This is an important step towards sustainably promoting biodiversity and contributing to the preservation of wild bees through improved pollination conditions. From spring to autumn, valuable habitat, food, and shelter are available, providing a home for numerous species of wild bees and insects.
High above Lake Constance, in Walzenhausen, a true paradise for wild bees has emerged, inviting visitors of all ages to embark on an exciting educational trail of discovery, wonder, and relaxation with its diversity of plants. For the continued existence of our planet, bees are enormously important pollinators. However, colourful flower meadows and untouched natural areas are becoming increasingly rare, and many species of wild bees are threatened with extinction. With the support of the JUST Foundation, a “wild bee paradise” has emerged on the outskirts of JUST Production Site. This is an important step towards sustainably promoting biodiversity and contributing to the preservation of wild bees through improved pollination conditions. From spring to autumn, valuable habitat, food, and shelter are available, providing a home for numerous species of wild bees and insects.
Justainbility – the Stories
JUST actively promotes the preservation of biodiversity and the cultivation of environmentally conscious behavior. Since 2020, JUST has supported schools in Walzenhausen with annual contributions to promote various biodiversity projects.
Discover the secrets of the edelweiss for your skin care! The edelweiss, a unique alpine flower, is not only a symbol of the Swiss mountains, but also has beneficial properties for the skin. Harvested from the sunny alpine meadows of Valais, this winter hardy plant harbours true wonder for your skin. With natural antioxidants and protective substances against environmental influences, edelweiss slows down the skin ageing process, reduces wrinkles and strengthens the skin barrier. Learn more about the impressive effects of edelweiss in cosmetics.
Why is sustainability so important to JUST? What can we learn from plants – our heroes – in terms of sustainability?
As a progressive company that is committed to nature, JUST is passionate about protecting the environment. JUST relies on the active involvement of all employees and the use of advanced technologies to conserve natural resources. For this reason alone, our experts in Research & Development focus on the topic of sustainability every day. This is why we asked Dr Christel Adomat, JUST Head of Product Innovation, for her thoughts.
Spring has finally arrived and everything is once more coming to life. Many animals are waking up from their winter hibernation and migratory birds are returning to their homelands. The landscapes are turning green and flowering in a multitude of colours and we too can draw new strength from their revival. The stronger light plays a significant role in the effects we experience. Our bodies produce less of the sleep hormone melatonin and at the same time more of the “happy hormones” serotonin and dopamine. We immediately feel more awake and our moods improve. A large part of the plant world is also eagerly waiting for the days to get longer and warmer.
