Case study: Hair and beauty salon – cooler in summer, warmer in winter, greener all year round
Business overview
This is an award-winning hair and beauty salon known for its expert colour work, friendly service and welcoming atmosphere. Since opening, the owner has been committed to delivering top-quality treatments while looking for ways to make the business greener, more efficient and more cost-effective.
The challenge
Running a busy salon comes with its own sustainability hurdles such as high energy use. Especially with large amounts of water consumption and specialist waste including hair, foils and colour tubes. The salon also faced challenges from its large south-facing shopfront windows. In summer, the space would overheat, making it uncomfortable for clients and staff and increasing the need for electric fans. In winter, the same windows lose heat quickly, driving up heating demand.
The salon wanted to cut its environmental footprint, reduce operating costs and make sure that waste was dealt with in the most sustainable way possible. It also set its sights on moving towards zero waste to landfill, something it knew customers would value and appreciate as part of the salon experience.
What they did
With Green Street’s guidance and a £1,000 grant, the salon:
- Introduced specialist salon recycling for hair, foils, colour tubes and chemicals, keeping these materials out of landfill and turning them into new products.
- Installed internal solar film to the shopfront windows to block excess heat in summer, reduce heat loss in winter and lower the need for heating and cooling systems.
The impact
- Improved temperature comfort year-round for both clients and staff through better control.
- Lower heating and cooling demand thanks to solar film, helping reduce energy consumption.
- Specialist recycling diverting hard-to-recycle salon waste from landfill, helping progress towards a zero waste to landfill goal.
- A stronger brand story, with sustainability now part of the client experience and not just the behind-the-scenes operations.
What other businesses can learn
This hair and beauty salon shows that even in specialist sectors there are practical, cost-effective ways to go greener. Targeting a specific problem, such as heat gain and heat loss from windows, can lead to improvements that benefit both the environment and customer comfort. Investing in solutions such as solar film can improve the working environment, lower bills and show customers you care about the details. Partnering with specialist recycling providers adds another layer of impact, keeping difficult waste streams out of landfill and turning them into new products. Green Street’s role was to pinpoint the quick wins and set out longer-term opportunities, proving that sustainability and style can work hand in hand in any business.
