Carbon Neutrality

I have been meaning to write my first blog for quite some time now and had all the best intentions to write last week's one on how we have reduced our waste at home. As with most things, I procrastinated so much that Stace said bugger you, I'll write it myself! So here goes. Be kind, my virgin blog writer's ego is fragile...

When we were first spit balling the prospect of starting Little Eco Baby, we threw the idea at some close friends and asked their opinion of our business plan. One question that struck us was, "So if you are trying to be as green as possible, I'd want to know how are you washing your nappies?"

We assumed that he was asking what we were using to wash the nappies so launched into our spiel about the importance of non toxic, natural detergents. He politely let us finish our rant and then retorted "I meant how are your machines powered?" It took me a little off guard as I hadn't really even considered that our customers would've thought about this, but as a potential consumer, this was a priority for them (and as it should be).

Since then we have been on a mission to make our processes as green and carbon neutral as possible. Solar is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. In a typical residential solar panel system, you will eliminate three to four tons of carbon emissions each year, that's the equivalent of planting over 100 trees annually.

So yesterday we finally had a 5kW solar system installed to provide all the power we will need to run the machines for the washing and drying of our nappies. We realise that this doesn't make us completely carbon neutral but it goes a hell of a long way to that goal. No longer will we be using fossil fuels to power our laundry, we will be creating our own photovoltaic energy. When we are not running the machines because it's hot as balls outside and the nappy liners are baking in the scorching Aussie afternoon sun, we will be pumping energy back into the grid for someone else to benefit from and reduce our country's dependency on fossil fuels, however small that reduction may be. It all makes a difference.

Sustainability and social responsibility are important values of our business. You can have confidence knowing that Little Eco Baby Nappy Service operates to support a greener future.

We have a link in our references to a study conducted by the School Of Engineering at the University of Queensland, which comes to the conclusion that modern cloth nappies (MCN's) when washed in cold water using a fossil fuel powered laundry were still far better for the planet than single use disposable nappies. Considering our laundry is totally solar powered, Little Eco Baby is miles ahead!

I was going to try and inspire you with more facts about how little changes made in the home have a significant impact on the footprint we leave behind blah blah blah, but I will reign it in and leave my first foray into the world of blog writing here with a final note.

Do things that leave your environmental conscience unencumbered. If you can sleep like a baby with the decisions you make every day, happy days. If you think that little things could be done a little better, why not give it a try? It mightn't be that massive pain in the arse you thought it would be, and you may even be able to sleep like a baby (just not ours)!