Case study: taking the offsite renewable option
Here’s how the manager of a catering business reduced her personal and corporate carbon footprints with renewably sourced energy.
When Ilana Cooper moved into an apartment in the City of Sydney five years ago, she was determined to minimise her environmental impact by taking up green energy. Offsite renewable energy was the logical option for Cooper and for anyone who doesn’t own their own roof.
“At the time, I didn’t know whether energy retailers were able to provide 100 per cent renewably sourced energy to residents, or whether it was just a portion of the plan,” she says.
The previous tenant in her apartment had used a retailer that did not offer 100 per cent green energy, so Cooper decided to speak to an energy retailer and, soon after, signed up to a 100 per cent renewably sourced plan.
She says the entire process was simple. “As a first step, speak to your current provider and get a sense of whether they have renewably sourced power and what that looks like for them,” she says.
Eat your greens
Cooper’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond her home to the catering company she runs with her brother-in-law. “Dan the Man is the only catering company in Australia that is B Corp certified, which means we’re a business that values purpose over profit,” Cooper says.
Dan the Man’s score recently received a boost when the team switched to 100% renewably-sourced electricity at their new premises. “In our previous location, we were sharing with others and weren’t able to make decisions about our power, but we just moved into a new kitchen and office space and immediately made the switch,” Cooper says.
The company has also started their transition to zero waste – an ambitious goal for a catering company. But Cooper says she’s determined. “We believe that a business should take responsibility for the resources it uses, as opposed to pushing that responsibility onto others,” she says.
“If you want change, you’ve got to be able to do it yourself.”