Guided by our GOJO Purpose, we're supporting long-term business strategies by investigating how we can meet sustainability goals in everything we do – which all came to fruition during the development and launch of our latest dispensing system.
To us, sustainability means living out our Purpose of Saving Lives and Making Life Better through Well-Being Solutions. It’s the north star that guides our decisions, and we've embraced sustainability for many years. From our early history to now, we've strived to move the market forward and develop advanced hygiene solutions that are safe, effective, and good for people and the planet.
Our sustainable journey began with innovative approaches like using recycled materials such as pickle jars and window hand cranks for products. We even pioneered the first-ever portion-controlled soap dispenser in 1952, enhancing refill lifetimes and minimizing wasted soap.
Launching Our Most Sustainable Touch-Free Dispenser
Fast forward to December 2023. After years of careful planning and development of product features and benefits, we launched the ES10 Touch-Free Dispenser, the newest testament to our holistic approach to sustainability. As a science-based, innovation-focused enterprise, we're constantly working to improve our products to advance hand hygiene technologies and align with our Sustainable Value goals. Our mantra for ES10 is "Less is More." This focus means we seamlessly integrated sustainability into every aspect of its development and, ultimately, its features, including plastic design, human energy cost, maintenance longevity, and an assortment of sustainably minded soap and hand sanitizer formulations.
As we developed the ES10, we meticulously scrutinized the entire supply chain to minimize environmental impact. We reimagined the pump technology, bottle design, and packaging to reduce plastic use. The result was a 30% decrease in lifetime plastic consumption and a remarkable 38% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.* Plus, every soap and sanitizer formulation compatible with the ES10 dispenser underwent rigorous analysis and achieved robust third-party environmental certifications that embody and showcase our commitment to sustainability.
This includes our most dynamic soap formula, PURELL HEALTHY SOAP™ with CLEAN RELEASE® TECHNOLOGY. This soap is another shining example of how we think holistically about sustainability. It’s free of fragrances, dyes, phthalates, parabens, and triclosan and is the greenest GOJO soap formulation we offer, with 90% biobased content. It far exceeds the 64% standard for biobased handwashes. This soap also rinses faster and cleaner, providing a better wash experience and saving an estimated 6 gallons of water per refill compared to regular soap.**
But our dedication doesn't stop there. We also considered the end-of-life cycle for our products to ensure that recycling and reusing plastic components is as easy as possible. The ES10 is built to last, with a lifespan of up to eight years. Refills are made of #1 PET which makes them easily recyclable. Each one can be taken apart more easily than previous dispensers thanks to a simpler collar design that allows you to quickly pull apart components, dispose of the included AA battery, and recycle the plastic refill bottle and collar. The choice to switch to AA batteries was also strategic, as they are better suited for sustainable waste streams and recycling than previously used batteries.
Furthermore, we're actively working toward incorporating post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic into our products, further reducing our environmental footprint.
Utilizing Smart Technology to Enable Sustainable Practices
The ES10 isn't just a dispenser, though; it's a smart system that helps enable a more sustainable strategy for facility maintenance. So, we developed the PURELL Dispenser Advisor™, a smart app that captures the usage data each ES10 dispenser has, enabling teams to plan proactive maintenance, which can help reduce the time and energy maintenance teams need to spend traveling across facilities to assess each individual dispenser and lessen the amount of soap or sanitizer prematurely thrown away. By empowering users with insights into their product usage, we're fostering a culture of responsible consumption and reducing unnecessary waste.
This is an answer to a growing market need. With sustainability at the forefront, we're meeting the demands of environmentally conscious consumers, including healthcare facilities, universities, and professional office space, plus addressing individual facility managers’ concerns with maintenance routines.
Bringing Sustainable Value to the Market
Our commitment extends beyond mere product development; it's about providing sustainable access to essential hand hygiene solutions while addressing the evolving needs of our customers. The ES10 Touch-Free Dispenser embodies our unwavering focus as our most eco-friendly touch-free dispenser yet with robust features that reduce maintenance, plastic, and waste while offering more ways to impress. Through holistic strategies encompassing every stage of the product life cycle, we're not just innovating for today; we're paving the way for a more sustainable future. Join us on this journey toward a cleaner, greener world, one touch-free dispenser at a time.
Read more about our Sustainable Value Goals or shop the ES10 Touch-Free Dispenser here.
*Compared with PURELL® ES8 Dispensing System.
**All references to regular soap are based on our top-selling non-antibacterial soap. GOJO Industries, Inc., 2017-07-I10599 PURELL Healthy Soap CRT Rinse and Sustainability Study, 19 July 2017.*