Consult

Developing an eco focus in your spa or salon

Cllients and staff are becoming more aware about how their activities impact on the environment. Governments and regulatory bodies will become more aware of how spas impact on the environment.

Unless we engage in thinking about how we approach business activities, our clients, staff and regulators will do it for us – by shopping for services at more eco friendly businesses, or working for businesses that have shared values with regard the environment or by regulating business activities.

Many business owners believe it is very difficult to develop an environmentally friendly approach within their organizations. While the task may seem daunting at first, it is better to take small steps to achieve the end goal.

If you are thinking of going green, there are activities you could undertake with your team to reduce overall impact on environment.

For example

- turning off room lights and computers when not in use for long periods reduce your power and your power usage – and your bill.
- choosing suppliers who have an environmental "attitude" – i.e. they are offering more environmentally friendly products.

To get started

Discuss the attitudes of clients and of your staff with your team to establish a need – why do we need to focus on this. You need to create a sense of purpose – i.e. we will attract and retain more clients by doing this, or I will feel better about what I do everyday, etc

Next ask your team to identify five day to day activities that will reduce the overall impact your business has on the environment. Agree to a set of actions that the employees will implement over the next six months and review each month at staff meetings. It is important that you continually assess how well you are progressing.

Some very simple starters include:
- watching out for dripping taps – a dripping tap can use many litres over 24 hours
- use recycled paper and recycle the paper in the office area; implement double-sided printing where possible
- choose suppliers that have consciously produced items with an environmental focus
- don’t run taps continually – turn them on and off as water is required i.e. when cleaning down rooms or equipment with the hand shower, run the hand shower to rinse off sterilizing agents only
- buy green power – link up with other businesses in the area to form a purchasing group that negotiates cheaper green power.