Heliocare was created to improve people’s health and we’re also committed to the health of our planet.
Caring for our environment is an important part of what we do and like many other businesses, both local and global, we are on a sustainability journey to continuously improve what we do. We’re committed to good environmental practices that conserve and respect our natural resources while minimising waste and our impact on the planet.
As Cantabria Labs CEO Susana Rodríguez says, “It is impossible to care for people’s health without a firm commitment to the planet we live in and the air we breathe”.
Heliocare products are created at a state-of-the-art facility called La Concha in Villaescusa (Cantabria, Spain) with sustainable principles a core part of the development and production of our products. 93% of the electrical energy Cantabria Labs uses to manufacture its products now comes from renewable sources.
Cantabria Labs has repeatedly patented technologies based on natural resources and La Concha has a mineral-medicinal thermal spring whose geothermal properties, renewable and sustainable energy is obtained to help heat the production facilities and reactors. The spring also provides drinking water and is used for irrigation of the facilities, not to mention it offers a new field of research as an ingredient due to its mineral medicinal properties for skincare.
Heliocare’s environmental commitment extends to all aspects of production both at La Concha and further afield. Did you know 90% of all waste produced at Cantabria Labs facilities in 2020 was recovered? That means almost 100 tonnes of paper and cardboard were recycled, preventing the loss of 1,500 trees and offsetting nearly 300 tonnes of CO2. Over 100 tonnes of plant waste from the production processes were also composted in 2020 alone, cogenerating electricity, acting as a carbon sink and finally being used as organic and natural fertiliser for trees and plants.
Heliocare is committed to using biodegradable, renewable and reusable materials and has currently reduced plastic use to date by 40%. An increase in the use of environmentally friendly materials will see plastic use reduce further. All Heliocare carton boxes are FSC certified, which ensures sustainability and biological diversity of the forests where they are sourced.
Currently, Heliocare uses recycled and recyclable paper for all materials and have significantly reduced unnecessary packaging, that includes removing cardboard strips & cellophane, reducing the plastic in packs and sales stands, creating new sustainable packaging, reducing packaging weight and improving bottles and caps.
We also care about our marine environment too, as more recent research has shown that some of the filters in suncare products cause damage to coral reefs. The Heliocare 360° range is completely octinoxate and oxybenzone free, which are the two filters specifically indicated to damage coral reefs.
All of our shipping is done with sustainable products sourced from local company R3Pack – we currently use Geami WrapPak which is an innovative replacement to traditional bubble wrap and is naturally biodegradable and compostable.
We will continue to update you as we improve what we’re doing and you’re welcome to ask any questions about our sustainability journey and our practices.
