SOME IDEAS
Restorative models – understanding the business value of natural ecosystems. Examples include: Stormwater360, which makes business and residential stormwater runoff products. EcoTec Hydro Seedling, which uses hydro-seeded revegetation of earthworks and slips to cut sediment runoff. Mega-efficiency – retooling systems and rethinking resource use for maximum economy. examples include: EcoStock Supplies. Collects and processes food waste into highquality stock food, then sells it to the dairy industry. Mr Box. Makes recyclable boxing frames for building new houses. If you’re looking to go into business alone, or from home, there are plenty of opportunities to go green:
Wedding/event planner – from choosing the right organic craft beer to finding retro-chic secondhand suits for the groomsmen, this would suit anyone with a flair for throwing a party and a mind for sustainable fun.
Bicycle repairer/restorer – you could run this business from your garage by buying old bikes and doing them up to sell. Provide tune-ups for the legions of people who use bikes recreationally and for short-range transport. Travel agent/eco-tourism guide – create environmentally friendly globe-trotting experience for your clients with lowimpact holidays that benefit the countries being visited. Eco-consultant – put your green expertise to use by advising others how to run a sustainably smarter business or home. Furniture restorer – old fittings and furniture can be refashioned into new objects by a skilled upcycler. Renovating also saves unrecyclable junk from being dumped to landfill. If you’re handy and have the right tools you can break down and reassemble chairs, tables and dressers into new pieces that can be painted, stripped or decorated and then sold. Friends’ basements and secondhand stores are great hunting grounds for finding decent furniture in need of renovation.
Biological pest controller – instead of using toxic sprays start a natural pest control service for home gardeners by growing and releasing pest predators such as insects, frogs and lizards that control pests by eating them.