Helping the Planet Recover with Essential Oils

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Jul 27, 2020 @ 11:04 PM
  • Essential oil industry leader sets high standards for sustainability, conservation, and community support. 
  • “All businesses should have a human focus and an environmental focus”. 
  • Young Living is more than an essential oil company - they exceed expectations in every way by creating a sustainable business model, aiding those in need, and caring for the planet and its inhabitants.

About Young Living

Young Living Essential Oils is a leader of the modern essential oil movement. Young Living was founded in 1994 by D. Gary Young, and since then, they have expanded into 29 worldwide offices that oversee 33 markets, 24 corporate-owned and partner farms, nearly 600 individual products, and more than 3200 employees. As the world leader in essential oils, Young Living’s vision is to bring the benefits of essential oils to every home. They take their industry leadership seriously by setting a standard for sustainability, conservation, and giving back to the community. 

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Celebrating Earth Day

Young Living declared an inaugural company holiday to give back to their local community. Around 2000 employees participated in service projects to cultivate gardens, plant trees, clear trash, and tidy trails. They have also partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to restore wildlife habitat by planting more than 5000 trees (on behalf of each Young Living team member) in Fishlake National Forest. 

Eco-Friendly Achievements 

In 2019, Young Living spearheaded many impactful efforts to protect the lives of those they touched. Last year, they increased focus on corporate and community sustainability efforts. In particular, the Spanish Fork warehouse reduced its waste to about 1% in just eight months. Open-top dumpsters were repurposed, and plastics, office paper, metals, pallet wrap, wood, etc. have their own bins for recycling, or turning into energy. 

Lehi employees moved into the brand-new global headquarters, which includes more than 20 eco-friendly features, including regionally-sourced construction materials, vehicle charging stations, and extensive recycling systems. As a result, Young Living was given LEED and Green Globe certifications, as well as the 2019 Utah Business Green Business Award. 

Last year, they also implemented a new water recycling program at their Utah-based farm, saving close to 260 million gallons of water per year, which earned the 2019 SEAL Award. The Green Team was created to not only lead green initiatives, but to support efforts in the community as well. This team participates in the Utah Sustainable Business Coalition with the mission to connect with other local businesses to implement sustainable practices. Young Living’s conservation efforts are ensuring that animals and their habitats are protected and preserved. Both the global headquarters and the Utah-based farm are home to milkweed waystations to support migrating monarch butterflies, helping to offset the loss of milkweeds and nectar sources needed. 

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Philanthropy

Each year they donate a portion of their proceeds from their Animal Scents products to benefit the Vital Grounds Foundation. Their mission is to protect and restore North America’s grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitats. 

The D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation led their 2019 global philanthropic efforts which impacted over 220,000 lives, raised $5.5 million in donations, and supported 86 organizations. 

The Young Living Academy in Ecuador educated 350 students in 2019, and celebrated the 21 graduates of the fourth graduating class.

By partnering with Hope for Justice, Young Living has impacted over 18,000 lives and helped end human trafficking and slavery. 

This nature-friendly company is continually growing deep roots in purpose, people, and our planet. As frequently quoted by the president and COO, Jared Turner, “We firmly believe that all businesses should have a human focus and an environmental focus”. Young Living is a purpose-filled company, fueled by what really matters - making the world a better place so we can all continue to enjoy nature’s living energy. 

Young Living’s COVID-19 Response

Young Living has stepped up their social responsibility efforts by partnering with several non-profit organizations to help those in need: 

  • They are working with Baby2Baby to fulfill needs for baby essentials and personal care items in family resource centers, homeless shelters, health clinics, and Head Start centers across the US.
  • They donated over 400lbs of food to the Utah Food Bank. 
  • They offered the use of their corporate Lehi Building to the Utah Department of Health as hospital overflow. 
  • Their Philippines office raised funds for the Red Cross to benefit front-line workers in the country.  
  • Employees have sown over 2500 fabric masks for use by employees in the Spanish Fork warehouse and for donation to the Navajo Nation Tribe. Operations continue, with additional masks being donated to local health care organizations. 
  • The D. Gary Young, Young Living foundation donated $100,000 to the International Rescue Committee’s COVID-19 response efforts which helps people impacted by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and regain control of their future. This is accomplished by providing aid in crisis-stricken areas to pave the way for long-term recovery in over 40 countries. 
  • Young Living donated over $200,000 to the Meals on Wheels COVID-19 Response Fund. 
  • They are donating Thieves hand sanitizer to fire and police departments, school districts, health care workers, and other vital support areas. 

Young Living won the Silver Stevie for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - At Organizations With More Than 2,500 Employees in The 2020 American Business Awards®.

Interested in entering The 2021 American Business Awards? 

Request the entry kit here.

Topics: American business awards, consumer products, consumer product awards