Hey Girls has been recognised by UK government as a ‘hero of net zero’ thanks to recent work to make the packaging of its reusables range 100% waste free and its pledge to half emissions by 2030 and become a net zero company by 2050.
The award was presented to the Hey Girls team at this year’s COP26 – the UN climate change conference taking place in Glasgow, Scotland.
Hey Girls was the only Scottish company to be shortlisted. The social enterprise, which produces environmentally friendly period products, impressed the judges for not only reducing the environmental impact of its product packaging but, going one step further and eliminating all potential packaging waste.
Judges also praised the business for showing how ethical and sustainable actions can happen simultaneously. Measures the social enterprise have taken include designing and creating period products, packaging and parcels that are natural, biodegradable, sustainable or recyclable.
Rechenda Smith, Head of Marketing and Alice Rowe, Special Projects Manager from the team were invited to the event by UK government to collect a national finalist accolade at the Heroes of Net Zero Awards.
Celia Hodson, Founder & CEO of Hey Girls, said: “What an honour it is to be recognised at COP26 on a global stage for our contribution to a more sustainable way of doing business and providing a greener future for our customers. We are committed to reducing our emissions by half by 2030 and becoming completely net zero by 2050; through our packaging, our supply chain and making our products as sustainable as possible.”
More than 160 businesses entered the competition, making a public commitment on the UK Business Climate Hub. Hey Girls were one of just five finalists nationally judged by a panel of experts including the government’s Net Zero Champion Andrew Griffith and competition partners BT, NatWest and SSE.
Alice Rowe, Special Projects Manager who led the project to re-design the packaging, added: “We have cleverly designed the cardboard sleeves of our new reusables range so they can be reused rather than disposed of…simply unfold to see a period tracking chart so you can follow your flow for a whole year!
More than 160 businesses applied for the Heroes of Net Zero award, each of them doing amazing things. We are extremely proud of the whole team here at Hey Girls and hope that we’ve inspired other businesses to take action against climate change too.”
The awards are part of the UK Government’s Together for our Planet campaign, an initiative to celebrate small businesses taking the most innovative actions to go green and cut their own greenhouse gas emissions to become a net zero business by 2050.
Hey Girls is committed to a greener future. Last year, the company was the first UK period product manufacturer to add a ‘don’t flush’ sticker to disposable pads, panty liners and tampons, preventing waste from polluting UK waters. By 2021, Hey Girls signed up to meet a series of the UN’s Global Goals and became a UK Business Climate Leader. The social enterprise also donates 10% of all of its profits to the restoration of carbon absorbing natural space with Forestry Scotland.
UK Business’ Race to Net Zero
Rechenda Smith, our Head of Marketing & Communications, also spoke on a panel to explain our ambitious net zero goals. Alongside senior executives from Anglian Water, BT and EDF Energy, she told the audience about our pledge to the UN’s global goals and to become a net zero company by 2050. Watch the video of the livestream below:
For COP26, Visit Scotland placed Hey Girls period products around four different locations including Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle for the general public to pick up free of charge. Simon Community in partnership with Glasgow Council also ordered pads and tampons to make up 2,500 period packs for attendees.
For further information on Hey Girls’ environmental pledges, please visit our environmental impact page.
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