Salon Success: Sara's ClimateClever Journey

Over the past year, the Northern Beaches Council in New South Wales has been running a pilot of our ClimateClever App with their community. They recently chatted to Sara, from Allambie Heights, who runs her own beauty salon from home.

Sara was looking at ways to reduce her impact on the environment, as well as save some money. “My daughter is very passionate about the environment and kept urging me and my husband to do more on a practical level,” she says.

After hearing about the ClimateClever Homes App through the council, Sara signed up to use the App for her household and home-based business.

“Our family had been looking at installing solar for a number of years and the Homes App just gave us the impetus to take the next step,” she explains.

Living in a 4-bedroom house with a pool - and running her salon from home - the family was spending close to $800 per quarter on energy bills. To reduce that cost, they installed a 9.72kw solar system in August 2020.

Sara was excited to receive her latest quarterly bill: she discovered that the energy company owed her $18!

“We had a really good experience with our local solar supplier, and it is good to check out your \[local] council’s website, to see what advice they offer when thinking about solar,” Sara says.

She adds that installing solar has been a significant step, helping Sara to feel better about her actions as a business owner for her customers, the environment, and for her personally.

Sara also recently joined the Sustainable Salons Network - which repurposes salon waste - and she engages her whole family to reduce their food waste.

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

Sara and her family have also reduced their soft plastics waste by purchasing things at whole-food stores and choosing fruit and vegetables that are not wrapped in plastic. The family has also established a vegetable garden to grow their own veggies and herbs in the backyard.

“We still have a long way to go, but we feel we’re taking steps in the right direction and I believe that small changes really can have a big impact on the environment,” Sara says

We’re so pleased to hear about Sara and her family’s ClimateClever journey. Thanks to Northern Beaches Council for sharing this inspiring story.

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