A University researcher has won a major national award for the impact of her work into sustainable practices within the UK’s hairdressing industry.
Congratulations to Dr Denise Baden, Associate Professor in the Southampton Business School, who has won the £10,000 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Celebrating Impact Prize 2018 for Outstanding Impact in Business and Enterprise.
Dr Denise Baden, left, celebrates her Impact Prize.
Denise’s Eco Hair and Beauty project is introducing sustainable practices to reduce the carbon footprint and cut costs in the UK’s £6.2bn hairdressing industry.
Adopting the project’s eco-friendly practices can save the average four-seat salon 286,000 litres of water, 24,150 kWh of energy and £5,300 a year.
Denise believes hairdressers are also in a unique position to persuade their clients to adopt the salon’s eco-friendly model in their own homes – with huge potential to cut national carbon emissions.
Denise commented:
“I am absolutely thrilled to receive this prize! In the early days I struggled to get this project taken seriously, as some had a rather dismissive attitude towards the sector, but I have been continually surprised and delighted by how keen hairdressers have been to get on board.
“All our tips are good for the hair and the planet and save money which helps! This prize is a recognition of their professionalism and willingness to adapt their practices to be more environmentally sustainable, showing that hairdressing as a sector is keen to be part of the solution not part of the problem of issues such as water scarcity, global warming, waste and pollution. I hope everyone will now be asking their salons if they are certified sustainable.”
Read the full story on our news pages. For more information about Denise’s research, watch the video below:
