Enecta: an inclusive model

In addition to the conditions of deprivation that exist in some parts of the world, globalization is also responsible for global warming and all the environmental problems facing us and future generations.

Bearing this in mind, companies — given their role as active players on the market — wield institutional and social power as well as economic power. The only way to limit the damage caused by globalization is for companies to harness this power and use it to bring about change.

At least, that’s how we see it. Since its very beginnings, Enecta has been guided by ethical responsibility and has worked to create a model capable of dealing with environmental and social challenges in a positive manner.
In the firm conviction that cannabis can contribute to tackling the major challenges of our time, we have created a business model which not only guarantees top-quality products at affordable prices, but also has the interests of the environment, underprivileged people, and technical and scientific progress at heart.

The model that we are about to describe to you is an inclusive one, inspired by some of the goals of the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and the principles of the United Nations Global Compact for corporate social responsibility.

The Right to Health

Our aim has always been to offer a beneficial product useful for improving people’s quality of life, at prices that are affordable to all.

This also reflects the decision by the World Health Organization to classify CBD as a non-narcotic substance suitable for medical use.

We have invested in research and established important collaborative relationships, with the University of Genoa, for example. The research carried out by Dr Pasquale Striano and his team, later published in the ‘Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research’ journal, has shown that the 24% CBD-based oil produced by Enecta is highly effective on patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Despite these encouraging results, our focus remains on providing affordable quality, because the right to health is a right for all. We continue to offer our products at sustainable prices and to spread scientific knowledge, in order to educate as many people as possible on the potential of cannabinoids.

Fighting Inequality

Research suggests that by 2030, cannabis sativa may generate more than double the turnover that it has produced so far, for an overall revenue of around 100 billion dollars; creating jobs — particularly in disadvantaged areas — and contributing to the fight against poverty and inequality.

Enecta is making a tangible contribution through its choices in terms of development and empowerment.

- Development: we invest in disadvantaged areas, creating plentiful work opportunities both in farming the land and in the construction of plants and laboratories. In partnership with Green Valley, we cultivate 6 hectares of cannabis at Castelvecchio Subequo, a village of 958 inhabitants in the Italian region of Abruzzo. We chose this region because, in addition to having lost 2,366 enterprises in 4 years, its per-capita GDP is 15% below the national average. This leaves approximately 30% of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and one-third of young people unemployed and without employment prospects.

- Empowerment: we organise and fund social, recreational and cultural projects in these same places, giving people the chance to receive training, build a community and expand their horizons and skills.

In addition to these choices, which are the pillars of our inclusive model, we have been pursuing a project to integrate asylum-seekers into the workplace since 2018. So far, four young people have come to work with us: two from Mali and two from Nigeria, all of them seeking asylum on humanitarian grounds. After enrolling in a programme run by the Sulmona Horizon Service and SPRAR (the Protection System for Refugees and Asylum Seekers), they worked from summer 2018 to the end of the year on the team that harvests and cleans the hemp grown in Valle Subequana.

One of the four young people, Sekou, has continued working with Green Valley to this very day, where he has acquired skills and experience in processing cannabis.

Environmental Protection

Our production model is based on extensive outdoor farming, which requires 4 times less water than the quantity used to grow cotton. We practise natural agriculture in our fields, refraining from the use of chemical pesticides and taking care to grow our crops on land where no heavy metals are present.

What’s more, cannabis itself has important functions to play in decontaminating the soil and water. It is a natural pesticide which enriches the earth and helps to restore balance in ecosystems and rural areas which have been neglected or have suffered chemical or nuclear contamination.

In terms of the extraction process, we exclusively use technologies which respect the principles of the United Nations Global Compact to extract our CBD.

We have also found innovative solutions to repurpose disused machinery and reduce industrial waste to a minimum, as well as setting ourselves the goal of completely reintroducing waste material into the production cycle within 5 years, contributing to the circular economy.

Education and Cultural Exchange

We believe that cannabis can be a revolutionary tool for today’s world as well as the world of tomorrow.
For this reason, we consider it essential that young people in particular should be aware of the innovative techniques that can be used to process it.

Collaborating once again with Green Valley and with TEC (Mexico), we have developed an international training programme aimed at students from developing countries. The purpose of this initiative is to offer a concrete opportunity to learn professional skills, providing the tools needed to train in the field of cannabis processing with a particular focus on European standards and the leading innovative and sustainable technologies. This year also saw us launch “Reezo Academy”: a hemp training course which is proving immensely satisfactory.

Our inclusive model is our response to the hyper-consumerist production model, which is no longer sustainable and whose disastrous consequences are apparent to all who wish to see. In today’s globalised and interconnected world, it is more indispensable than ever that companies should behave with social responsibility and actively offer not only a product, but an ethical code and a positive role model.