43% of clients in NI wanted to see their salon doing more to be sustainable

L’Oréal NI and Net Zero Now, the climate action platform, have partnered to develop an industry-first initiative, the Net Zero Salons Programme.

The Programme guides salons through the process of calculating, tracking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through tailored carbon reduction plans, with the ultimate ambition of certifying as a “Net Zero Salon”.

Developed by Net Zero Now in partnership with L’Oréal, as well as involving peer reviews and input from across the industry, the programme is based on a salon-specific roadmap and tool for measuring, tracking, reporting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

With approximately 266 L’Oréal salons throughout Northern Ireland they play a significant role in the local beauty economy and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

Client habits and expectations on sustainability are evolving and recent L’Oréal surveys found that nearly half of respondents in Northern Ireland (38%) said they made more sustainable choices in 2022 than in previous years, and when looking more specifically at salons 43% wanted to see their salon doing more to be sustainable, and over a quarter (28%) said they now expect a beauty or wellness service provider to be committed to reducing their environmental footprint.

The programme aims to make the journey to becoming a “Net Zero Salon” accessible for all salons by providing personalised and actionable recommendations; from switching to renewable energy and becoming more energy efficient, improving waste treatment and management, reducing water consumption and heating, to incentivising employees with ride to work schemes or encouraging public transport options.

Thierry Cheval, managing director, L’Oréal UK & Ireland, said: “As market leaders we recognise the important role we play in empowering our business ecosystem such as our salon partners to be more sustainable. We are committed to supporting the future of the sector and we look forward to having salons from across the UK and Ireland join the programme as the industry seeks to take climate reduction action.”

Simon Heppner, co-founder, Net Zero Now, explained: “We are very excited to introduce this industry-first roadmap and tool for the salon sector in partnership with L’Oréal. This programme is open to all salons, empowering the whole industry to play its part in tackling the climate crisis and meeting the growing expectations of consumers and employees. We know this programme can help salons to be even more efficient by reducing energy and water consumption which we hope also brings more business resilience for the future. With Net Zero initiatives now live in hospitality, accountancy, tech services and salons, we’re providing tens of thousands of small businesses with the tools they need to take their first steps on the road to Net Zero.”Andrew Mulveena, Adrew Mulveena Belfast, hairdresser & salon owner, added: “Sustainability is a top priority for us at Andrew Mulveena, not only as a business but amongst the team and our clients too. Being on the Net Zero Salons Programme has taught us so much about our business as we track and monitor our emissions, which in turn enables us to manage and reduce this with a tailored reduction plan. We are now clear on the actions we need to take and the positive impact they can have which makes us extremely proud to be one of the first salons to embark on this programme.”