GOING GREEN
House of Happy Naturals
House of Happy Naturals based in Calne is owned by Fran House . Having launched her first range of ‘ Happy not Smelly ’ natural deodorants , Fran started her small business in October 2020 .
Fran has had a passion for making natural products since her children were little . She became very interested in what we were consuming and putting on our skin and how this affected our skin . Initially Fran made the deodorant for her family and friends . Then she decided to get the recipe tested and launched it as a skincare product range . The products are made from natural ingredients , locally sourced , with four scents available ; Fresh , Calm , Zing and Floral .
Is your business really green ? The business is green because the ingredients are mainly whole food grade or organic and sourced as locally as possible . I only use recyclable or biodegradable packaging including recycled glass jars , biodegradable packaging and eco-friendly postage bags . The product labels are printed
Thrings locally on FSC certified paper ( which means it is made of responsibly sourced wood fibre ). Over the next quarter , I will be working with a local eco store to hold ' make your own deodorant ' workshops . Longer term for my business is a return-for-a-discount scheme as well as launching some additional scents in 2022 .
Fran House , Founder , House of Happy Naturals
For more info : www . hohn . co . uk
Law firm Thrings , which has offices in Swindon , has also started to embrace a green way of working . Marketing Manager Lizzie Heffer explained that in 2019 it started an initiative called ‘ Thrings Green ’ - a project to review ways of working , suppliers and offices in order to commit to becoming a more environmentally aware and sustainable business .
Is your business really green ? Our environmental statement says : “ Thrings recognise our day-to-day business activities ’ impact on our local environment in a number of ways . To mitigate this , we are committed to continually improving our environmental performance through a sustainable approach .” As part of this , our objectives include : |
• Minimising the use of business travel , energy , materials , waste and water .
• Recognising where we have been less successful and putting improvement plans in place .
• Raising awareness within the firm and encouraging staff engagement .
• Working with suppliers to improve environmental performance all round .
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We have already achieved the following :
• A reduction of copied print by 30 %
• A reduced number of print fleet devices across the firm by 27 %
• A reduction in confidential waste – 62 %
• A reduction in waste paper
• An increased number of stationery , cleaning and provisions products with environmental accreditation
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• EU Ecolabel products in washrooms
• A reduction of plastics used in the offices
Lizzie Heffer , Marketing Manager , Thrings
For more info : www . thrings . com
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Nanogreen Cleaning
Swindon ’ s Nanogreen Cleaning is run by Craig Duff and Chris Horgan . With a team of 16 , the company provides a service to commercial clients .
It sees itself as challenging the status quo , by putting the environment at the heart of its services which are traditionally based on harsh chemicals . The company finds cleaner , less impactful and more environmentally friendly ways to achieve the same outcomes .
Is your business really green ? While we ’ ve always been in the business of being green , we are also working on a number of targets to ensure our business model is as green as possible .
We ’ ve reduced our single plastic use by 40 per cent over the last 18 months , our use of paper is minimal , we have changed to LED lighting and are we always conscious of where we can make improvements .
We are moving towards greener vehicles with our newest vehicle being a hybrid 1.0 eco boost , and where we haven ’ t been able to meet the cost of a new fleet of electric vehicles , we are working with Ecologi to ensure we are planting trees to counter our vehicle CO2 footprint .
Within our business one of the selling points is the sustainability of our cleaning products ; a litre of our multipurpose cleaner lasts four times longer than traditional cleaning products . Craig Duff , Co-Owner , Nanogreen Cleaning
For more info : www . nanogreen . co . uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2021 13