Nominations are now open for the Northern Beaches Business Sustainability Award.

Do you know of a local business that is doing their bit for sustainability?

There are numerous ways a business could be operating ‘above and beyond’; such as sustainable water use, waste or energy efficiency practices; encouraging sustainable transport; or procuring their supplies sustainably.

Sara Bowtell from House of Samara was joint winner last year with Danes Specialty Coffee.

Sara runs her own beauty salon from home and was looking at ways to reduce her impact on the environment, as well as saving money.

“My daughter is very passionate about the environment and kept urging me and my husband to do more on a practical level.”

“We have a four-bedroom house with a pool, so along with my home business we were spending close to $800 a quarter on our energy bill.

“We installed a 9.72kw solar system - and given our high consumption with the salon, a battery also made good sense for us.

As an active member of Sustainable Salons Network, Sara has seen 95% of her waste repurposed and uses innovative products and packaging, plus encourages her clients to return empties. 

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

Sara also shows leadership in the community by organising local beach clean ups.

To nominate a local business visit Northern Beaches Business Sustainability Award.

If you are a local business, stay up to date by joining the Sustainability Business Network.

You can get inspiration by checking out the interactive map, local case studies and using the toolkit to give yourself the best chance for this year’s award.