Local beauty salon serving sustainability

Have you considered looking at ways to reduce your carbon footprint, but not sure where to start?

Sara Bowtell from Allambie Heights runs her own beauty salon from home and was looking at ways to reduce her impact on the environment, as well as saving money.

“My daughter is very passionate about the environment and kept urging me and my husband to do more on a practical level.”

Sara explained how she happened to spot the Climate Clever carbon tracking app that Council was promoting and thought she would give it a try.

The carbon tracker offers a way to calculate your household’s carbon footprint by seeing how much energy and water you are consuming, as well as the waste you are creating.

“Our family had been looking at installing solar for a number of years and the tracker just gave us the impetus to take the next step, said Ms Bowtell.

“We have a four bedroom house with a pool, so along with my home business we were spending close to $800 a quarter on our energy bill.

“We installed a 9.72kw solar system last August and given our high consumption with the salon, a battery also made good sense for us.

Sara was excited to recently receive her latest quarterly bill and discover that the energy company now owed them $18 instead!

“We had a really good experience with our local solar supplier, and it is good to check out Council’s website, to see what advice they offer when thinking about solar, she highlighted.

“Installing solar has been amazing for me and my family! I feel better about what I am doing as a business operator, for my customers, the environment and for me personally.

Sara has also recently joined the Sustainable Salon's Network which repurposes salon waste and involves her whole family in trying to reduce their food waste.

“I purchased two Bokashi bins for food scraps that have reduced our waste by 50% - our red bin goes out on the street half empty!

She explained how the family had also reduced soft plastic packaging by purchasing things at wholefood stores and choosing fruit and vegetables that aren’t wrapped in plastic. The family have also set up a vegie garden to grow their own vegetables and herbs in the backyard.

“We still have a way to go, but I feel we are taking steps in the right direction. I believe that small changes really can have an impact on the environment,” she added.

Find out more about reducing your carbon footprint with our free 12-month subscription to the Climate Clever tracking app or view independent advice about installing solar in your home.