The Ed.
Well-Known Member
Frankly, hair salons aren't generally known for their environmental awareness. Some are starting to think about how they can reduce their impact on the world but none as much as Elan Hair Design, a small salon in Aberdeenshire. The company, who won the BusinessGreen Leaders Award winner for energy efficiency project of the year, reveals how it shaved its energy bills by over 80 per cent in one year.
The company managed to slash its energy bills by 87% following one of the most ambitious retrofit programmes in the UK - especially when you consider the size of the small company.
It's not easy for hairdressers to be sustainable. Go in any salon and you will see energy intensive hairdryers blowing consistently, chemicals and sprays being released into the air and the water system and, of course, huge amounts of detergent needed to keep the place sanitary.
But the salon in Inverurie decided to undergo a £250,000 retrofit back in 2011 which has not just had a positive effect on the environment but also on it's business.
With a £82,000 interest free loan from Energy Saving Trust Scotland, owners Gordon and Lorna Milton upgraded their 40-year old salon with solar panels, LED lighting, an air source heat pump, energy saving motion detectors and low temperature radiators. Old hair is swept up and sent to an energy from waste plant to avoid it taking up room in landfill. The salon has also ditched washing machines and switched to compostable towels, and installed a water-saving system and low flushing toilets, enabling it to reduce its water demand by more than 80 per cent. The measures even stretch as far as the tiles on the floor: self-cleaning bacteria-resistant tiles made from 40 per cent re-constituted materials.
Through direct action alone, it has shrunk its CO2 footprint by 90 per cent a figure that has been backed by the Carbon Trust. It's also helped them increase their client base as they promote their eco-ethos. The staff are trained to explain the eco measures to customers and the word has spread.
"Doing this has created more loyaly," says Lauren. "People working here now feel like their part of something and are proud of it. Although we're very strong in oil up here, our environmentally friendly approach appeals to people because it's on their conscience a bit."
But this savvy duo are not sitting back on their laurels. They are now working with scientists at the Adam Smith college in Fife to develop energy efficient hairdryers. "We actually bought a batch of hairdryers prior to doing this and we didn't want to throw them all out, but they're coming to the end of their lives now so we are hunting for eco friendly ones that aren't as powerful as the ones we've got but are going to be less energy intensive," she adds. "But it's a struggle to find something like that."
What's the end game? The salon wants to become the first zero-carbon salon but even as they work towards that goal it's clear that they are already way ahead of the pack.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
The company managed to slash its energy bills by 87% following one of the most ambitious retrofit programmes in the UK - especially when you consider the size of the small company.
It's not easy for hairdressers to be sustainable. Go in any salon and you will see energy intensive hairdryers blowing consistently, chemicals and sprays being released into the air and the water system and, of course, huge amounts of detergent needed to keep the place sanitary.
But the salon in Inverurie decided to undergo a £250,000 retrofit back in 2011 which has not just had a positive effect on the environment but also on it's business.
With a £82,000 interest free loan from Energy Saving Trust Scotland, owners Gordon and Lorna Milton upgraded their 40-year old salon with solar panels, LED lighting, an air source heat pump, energy saving motion detectors and low temperature radiators. Old hair is swept up and sent to an energy from waste plant to avoid it taking up room in landfill. The salon has also ditched washing machines and switched to compostable towels, and installed a water-saving system and low flushing toilets, enabling it to reduce its water demand by more than 80 per cent. The measures even stretch as far as the tiles on the floor: self-cleaning bacteria-resistant tiles made from 40 per cent re-constituted materials.
Through direct action alone, it has shrunk its CO2 footprint by 90 per cent a figure that has been backed by the Carbon Trust. It's also helped them increase their client base as they promote their eco-ethos. The staff are trained to explain the eco measures to customers and the word has spread.
"Doing this has created more loyaly," says Lauren. "People working here now feel like their part of something and are proud of it. Although we're very strong in oil up here, our environmentally friendly approach appeals to people because it's on their conscience a bit."
But this savvy duo are not sitting back on their laurels. They are now working with scientists at the Adam Smith college in Fife to develop energy efficient hairdryers. "We actually bought a batch of hairdryers prior to doing this and we didn't want to throw them all out, but they're coming to the end of their lives now so we are hunting for eco friendly ones that aren't as powerful as the ones we've got but are going to be less energy intensive," she adds. "But it's a struggle to find something like that."
What's the end game? The salon wants to become the first zero-carbon salon but even as they work towards that goal it's clear that they are already way ahead of the pack.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
