How Your Business Can Get Ahead With Sustainability

Cool Planet founder, Daniel Harper, sits down with Nick Mercer on BayFM’s ’Beats ‘n’ Business’ radio show to discuss Business Sustainability in Australia.

Gain an insight into applying sustainability practices to your business and their cost-saving benefits. Dan outlines how your business can get ahead with industry recognised certifications such as the government-backed Climate Active accreditation.

Listen to Dan and Nick’s discussion here, or read abridged transcript of their conversation below.

Nick – Bay FM:

We have Daniel Harper coming in from Cool Planet, and I’ll let Daniel explain more about it, but it’s a very interesting business and I believe it was one of the earlier businesses in Australia set up right here in Byron.

Dan – Cool Planet:

Thank you for having me, Nick.

Let’s go back to 2007.

So, you were saying to me that this was, you know, in those days, it was quite a different viewpoint, wasn’t it, in terms of sustainability?

Look, you’re absolutely right. Then the discussion was, is climate change real?
What kind of actions do we take if we need to take action?

Well, now I think the general consensus and understanding on a government level, on a business level,
and on an individual level is substantially more mature than it once was.

Yeah, yeah. Let’s, for the listeners, what exactly could you do to help businesses?

Look, it depends a little bit on the size of your business, the industry, where you’re located, but largely if a business is wanting to be more sustainable in very general terms, generally it’s getting a baseline and understanding what the actual environmental impact of that business is. So, looking at your waste, looking at carbon emissions, looking at energy use. So, once you get an idea of what impacts the business has, then you can develop a strategy for reducing them.

Okay. And I looked at the website, and you’ve got a range of services going from energy assessments, waste assessments, carbon emissions trading. So, you’ve obviously got a broad range of services. So, I guess it’s a question of going in and understanding what the clients actually need.

Yes. Look, that’s really the first step is, what is the motivation, what are the outcomes the business wants. There are different, you know, goals that different businesses have. Some just want to do the right thing. Some are sort of pushed into it in a competitive space, and other businesses, being sustainable. Businesses that export and import to Europe and America often need to green their supply chains because Europe’s, you know, a bit more progressive.

Actually, could you just explain that a bit further? Just so some people may not be completely clear when you say green the supply chains.

So, Europe has, and America to a degree, has more ambitious carbon requirements for businesses than we do here. So, if a business in England, let’s say, is importing products from Australia and they want to be, you know, sustainable, they need to look at the products that they’re selling or using. And so, they will want sustainability reporting and transparency from the business in Australia. So, there’s a lot of interest from businesses that hadn’t really thought about sustainability, but it’s being pushed upon them by their trade partners essentially.

So, we’ve got a bit of pressure coming from trade partners making sure that their supply chains are green. And what about the governments? Are the government pushing down on businesses and hoping to make them become cleaner, greener?

Look, they are. Definitely, I think having a Labor government in the last couple of years has changed the landscape. There was probably little federal action for the last decade or so. So, really, the state governments have picked up that slack. And, you know, New South Wales and Victoria, you know, ACT have been pretty proactive in this space. So, the general push is for the largest emitters.

We have a safeguard mechanism which looks at the biggest carbon emitters in the country and they have to report on their emissions. So, over time, there will be downward pressure on that, I believe. They might think, okay, let’s look at the next thousand biggest emitters, the next 10,000. I think it will reach a point where nearly all businesses of every shape and size have to have some transparency and some reporting system in place around sustainability.

And it’s not just about sort of doing the right thing. It can also offer a competitive advantage, can’t it?

That’s one of the biggest aspects. There’s three main motivators. One is a moral thing to do the right thing, which is very important. Then it is the competitive advantage that you get as well. Then you have a regulatory push from government. Well, I guess it’s four things, really, because the fourth one is to save money. So by reducing electricity use, by reducing, your waste to landfill and recycling more, those things actually reduce your overheads. Often it’s one of the first ways that you can really become more sustainable and save money in the business.

I think that’s probably quite an interesting perception because I think some businesses would think that going green is going to cost them more money, when actually it’s the reverse. Is that, you know, by looking for those areas of savings, whether it’s an assessment of energy or waste. So, yeah, that’s very interesting.

What sort of challenges do you think businesses are facing right now? I mean, we’ve got lots of issues on business and cost of living. What other issues are you seeing out in the marketplace for buying your services?

Look, you’re absolutely right. It is a difficult environment for a full business to operate, you know, borrow in particular. I think high interest rates make a difference. So, generally, in those tougher economic conditions, it is a little bit harder. It sort of gets pushed down the list of things to do when you’re looking at sustainability. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that there are three pillars of sustainability. So, you know, primarily I’m talking about environmental sustainability, there’s social sustainability, about how you treat staff, diversity, equality, those types of things. And there’s economic sustainability.

So, if a business isn’t economically sustainable, then everything falls apart. They can’t do anything else. So, it’s really the priority is that the business has to be functioning well. And if it’s functioning well, then it can look at reducing its environmental impact. It can look at paying its staff better and more fairly. So, it does get lost a little bit. Primarily the business has to be functioning well and in a tough economic climate, that generally becomes the priority for a lot of small businesses.

Now, for people out there who are sort of getting quite interested and quite curious about this, is there a good example of a business you’ve worked with recently where you’ve gone in and how you’ve helped them become a better business?

Yeah, look, we’ve got a number of long-term clients locally and a couple of short-term clients. Off the top of my head, I’ve been working closely with O’Meara Dental, which has been carbon neutral for the last six years in Habitat. And so, they were the first carbon neutral dentist in Australia. Once you’ve been doing it for six years, the journey evolves a little bit. You do all the sort of low-hanging fruit, and then you look further into it. Once you’re looking at the waste, energy use, carbonations, water, but then it’s also looking at single-use plastics. Hygiene and OH&S is paramount for a dentist.
And so, looking at what are the alternatives? Are there reusable options? Are there, you know, compostable options? What actually is happening in that space? So, as you dig further into it and go down that rabbit hole, there’s a lot of interesting things that, you know, you explore with the business to further reduce their environmental impact.

Yeah, yeah. I suppose sometimes it’s just getting businesses just to sort of take a step forward, isn’t it? And actually just start the process.

You look at it, it’s a cliche, but it is the most important step. As soon as you take that first step, then you’re on that journey. There is no real finish line for sustainability. It is just a journey. I deal with businesses that want to take that first step, and I deal with businesses that have taken 50 steps, and they’re in the middle of it, but they need assistance as they go forward.

You’re listening to Daniel Harper from Cool Planet, a business based here in Byron, talking about how businesses can become greener and cleaner. And Daniel, we’ve got a question. We’re going to put you right on the spot, mate. The question that’s come in says, can you tell me a little bit about the climate active program in Australia? Is it a good carbon-neutral standard compared with others globally?

Yeah, good question. Thank you for texting that in. So, the climate active program is run by the federal government and is the standard for carbon neutrality in Australia. It does compare very well to other international programs, and particularly because carbon offsets in Australia are some of the best in the world. They are highly regulated. There’s very transparent reporting. And so, they’re quite highly sought after. They are the most expensive, just about carbon offsets in the world as well. So, I think that helps add to the robustness of the program.

Okay, good. So, basically, yes, we’re pretty happy with the standards that we’ve developed here.

Yeah, look, yeah, very happy. It is a rigorous process and system you’ve got to follow. But, you know, I’m a registered climate active consultant. So, there’s a very strict process that I have to follow if a business wants to be carbon neutral. All my calculations and reports get verified by an independent verifier. All the carbon offsets we buy are tracked and registered online. So, it is a very good program. And we’ve got a number of clients that are carbon neutral through Climate Active.

Okay, that’s great, mate. Let’s get back to your business. So, you started in 2007. So, you’ve been in business now for 17 years. You’re a young man, but you’ve done a lot. What have you learned? So, from running this business?

Look, it’s a good question. It is a long time I’ve been running it. I mean, there’s aspects of how sustainability has changed. But from a business perspective, I think what has helped me over that journey is being nimble and being able to sort of change tact a little bit through that process, particularly through periods where sustainability wasn’t at the forefront of people’s minds, particularly in 2008 when there was a Global Financial Crisis.

I started in 2007, had a lot of interest from local businesses, and things were looking up. But as soon as that hit, the economic climate changed significantly. And it was a much harder sell, basically. So, at that point, it was viewed a bit more like charity or donating. This is a good thing, where we’re supporting a project. We’re doing a thing. But as soon as that hit, work almost dried up instantaneously.

Really? So, you had to change the business model?

Yes. So, at that point, pivoted into… So, as opposed to carbon offsetting, being carbon neutral, went more into energy efficiency and looking at emission reduction strategies. And through that, pivoted to government contracts. So, for the last, you know, 16 years now, we’ve worked closely with the New South Wales, Victorian and ACT governments in delivering environmental programs on their behalf.

And so, we’re seeing an increase in spend from the governments. Presumably, they’re wanting more businesses to be cleaner and greener.

Yeah. No, you’re absolutely right. They do. And really, it helps businesses be more sustainable. But it also helps businesses be more competitive and reduces their overhead. So, I was involved with an energy efficiency for small business program, which was running in around 2012, I think. Yeah. And so, we ran that involved in that program for four years. We saw about 1,500 businesses throughout regional New South Wales and provided energy assessments; so, uantifying their energy use, electricity use, and then helping implement solutions to reduce that.

What was interesting in that program, it started with the Labor government and then a Liberal government got in. So, the program kept running, but all the terminology changed. So, it went from, we’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we’re, you know, reducing, you know, carbon, you know, output. And it pivoted to, we’re helping to save small businesses money. So, it becomes a small business program to help save money, reduce overheads, and they removed all language around carbon emissions.

So, you can have the same program, but it can be communicated and approached in different ways, depending on what the government thinks is best.

Do you think changing the narrative was a good thing, or did it take away the emphasis from the issues around climates and the world heating up?

It probably didn’t affect it too much in the delivery because the delivery is still the same. But let’s say at that point, 10 years ago or more, when you’re going to small regional towns in Australia, I quickly worked out that talking about carbon emissions and, hey, by being involved looking at electricity use, you’re going to be more sustainable. That wasn’t the selling point. It wasn’t really a priority because it’s really, it is tied to a political viewpoint to a degree.

So, if I came in, I’m out in Tamworth or Moree or wherever I am, from Byron Bay, hey, I’ma young guy doing a sustainability thing. People, it was a bit of a turn off. So, I would actually go in and not talk about that. I’d go, okay, I’m here to save you money. I’m going to quantify electricity use. I’m going to look at ways that we can, you know, reduce your overheads. And that was the angle and it was generally much better received. Now, you know, if I was doing the same program in Byron Bay, it would be a very different conversation.

That’s really interesting. You’re listening to Daniel Harper from Cool Planet. Let’s talk about break dancing.

I’m regretting revealing this information to you, Nick.

It’s great. I love it. Come on. Tell me about it.

Well, so, I grew up here in the area. I grew up in Yelgun, went to Billinudgel Primary School and Mullumbimby High School and fell in love with, you know, hip hop culture and, you know, particularly graffiti writing, DJing and break dancing. So, in the early 90s, I was the first graffiti artist, really, and, you know, organised a legal wall down at the YAC there and, yeah, just sort of loved everything about it.

Thought the music was particularly that golden era of hip hop and going to techno and doofs and all that side of things. So, yeah, put on the first break dancing gig at the Surf Club back in the day and, yeah, just it was a big part of my life as a young man.

Now, you’re telling me just quickly that school was sometimes a bit tricky, you know. So, you got all the guys who are sort of surfies looking at you and going, what the hell?

Yeah, well, the surfies weren’t too bad because at Mullumbimby, they were a smaller contingent, let’s say. It was the rugby league and the rugby union players who thought me strutting around with a baseball cap and big baggy pants and a Raiders t-shirt when I was the only one there were just like, who is this clown? So, it wasn’t as well received as probably now. I think it’s a bit more mainstream than it was then.

That’s a great story, Daniel.

Thank you very much, and thank you very much for coming in and sharing your story about your business.
We wish you continued joy and luck and I hope everything goes well and happy birthday for this week as well, mate.

Thank you so much, Nick. It was a pleasure.