Salon wins award for being eco-friendly
A CARDIFF hair salon that bans staff from using plastic at lunch has become the first in Wales to receive a new sustainability rating.
Bauhaus hair salon, which has two sites in the city centre, was recently awarded sustainable salon status as part of a UK Government-funded scheme to make the industry more eco-friendly.
The Friary and Bakers Row-based hairdresser opened in 2015 and has been designed around a low-waste, minimalist concept following a £60,000 refurbishment.
Both its locations use biodegradable, one-use towels which cut down on the need for machine washing and all light fittings use low-energy bulbs.
Owner of Bauhaus, Scott Miller, says he urges staff to be more eco-friendly and has banned certain items from the salon.
“It’s really important that the whole team is on board with what we’re trying to do,” he said.
“Our clients are very clued-up on sustainability and it’s one of the reasons they come to us.
“We encourage staff to live more sustainable lifestyles so we don’t waste water, we don’t have plastic cutlery or cups in the staff room
“We minimise waste and you won’t find things like cut flowers in the salon.”
Bauhaus stocks Aveda hair and beauty products that use a minimum of 80% post-consumer recycled materials in its packaging.
Aveda calculates that this saves more than 300 tonnes of virgin plastic each year across its range on items like shampoos and conditioners.
Dr Denise Baden from the University of Southampton, which helps run the Ecohair project, said: “A growing raft of hairdressers are keen to show that the profession can be part of the solution to the challenges of sustainable development and water shortages, not part of the problem.
“A small four-seater salon could save more than £5,300 year, 24,150kWh energy and 286,000 litres of water by making small changes.
“Clients look to their hair stylist for advice on everything from how using too much heat, water and chemicals is bad for your hair and bad for your bills as well as bad for the planet.” THERE could be as many as nine million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2030, pushing up peak demand for power, National Grid has said.
In its annual report setting out “future energy scenarios”, National Grid says electricity demand is set to rise to power electric vehicles and later to provide heating.
By 2050 electric vehicles could make up more than 90% of all car sales, creating an additional peak demand of up to 18 gigawatts (GW) - equivalent to more than five Hinkley Point C nuclear plants, or 30% above current peak demand.
This high demand would be seen if consumers charge their vehicles at their own convenience during peak hours, ignoring electricity tariffs which are cheaper to use during off-peak times.
But with better use of smart technology, engaged consumers and the rise of shared autonomous vehicles which charge off-peak in central locations, demand may only rise by 6GW by 2050 even with more electric cars on the road, the report said.
Technology which could affect how the grid needs to be managed includes the development of super rapid charging, allowing vehicles to travel long distances on a fiveminute charge, and the potential to run power back from vehicles to the grid.
Demand could also be pushed up as the race to cut carbon emissions from heating homes speeds up, with more use of technology such as heat pumps which require electricity to heat homes.
The Future Energy Scenarios report also said the UK would see more renewables and low carbon power in the next 30 years, while there would also be more distributed or small-scale generation on the system.