Author: Keith Mellen

We wrote our first company CO2 emissions and nature positive plans in 2023 and reviewed them last year. This time round we have combined the two into one sustainability report with an updated set of targets for 25/26. Read on to find out why. This blog puts the plan in context and gives you the link to the full document. Our hope is that others will take the time to write a plan and take action. Feel free to copy ours!

To support you in your sustainability journey we list some other useful links at the end of this piece.

INTRODUCTION

Anne Veck Limited

Anne Veck Limited is a micro SME based in Oxford, U.K. The company was founded in 1991 and until 2022 operated hairdressing salons. By March 2022 these had been sold and since then the business has focused on hairdressing training, photo shoots, shows and session work, as well as championing sustainability in the hair and beauty sector.

Until 2022 turnover was c.£960,000 p.a. with c.20 employees. Today turnover is c.£70,000 with 2 employees (2 company directors). The business operates from a hair salon (Kelly’s Hair Oxford), a home office and studio and at customers’ premises in the U.K., Europe and occasionally elsewhere.

Since investing in major “green” salon refits from 2013 onwards, Anne Veck Limited has been recognised as a leading champion of sustainable hairdressing in the U.K. with several industry awards and accreditations and an active programme of advocacy. Research shows that most people are concerned about climate change and nature loss but don’t often talk about it. We hope that our advocacy work which extends from chatting in the salon to on line media influencing, will encourage more conversations which will, in a very small way, impact this societal norm of silence so as to influence political and business action.

Anne Veck Limited is a founder member and sponsor of the U.K. Business and Biodiversity Forum (UKBBF) and a member of the British Beauty Council’s Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC). Director Keith Mellen is a director at UKBBF and a member of SBC’s professional services task force. Director Anne Veck is a brand ambassador for B Corp brands Easydry and Olivia Garden, Sustainability Champion for the Hairstyling Tools Collective and Global Ambassador for the Slow Fashion Movement.

This report

Anne Veck Limited (AV) published its Carbon Emissions Reduction Plan 2023-30 and Nature Positive Business Plan 2023-30 separately in May 2023, with annual reviews in June and July 2024 respectively. Unless otherwise stated, 24/25 = 1/5/24 to 31/4/25 and 25/26 = 1/5/25 to 31/4/26.

With this 2nd annual review, we report on progress in an integrated Sustainability Report and have rewritten the two plans as a Sustainability Plan. We have done this to reflect the reality that the climate and nature emergencies are inextricably linked, in fact part of a “polycrisis” across climate change, nature loss and inequality.

As a micro business, AV’s impact on nature is insignificant. However, we hope that by sharing our plan we might encourage other small businesses to transition towards Net Zero and Nature Positive, especially those in the hairdressing sector.

AV has signed up to the U.N.’s SME Race to Zero and is the only SME globally to have its nature strategy endorsed by Business For Nature’s Its Now for Nature programme. (At time of writing.We hope this situation changes soon.) AV has also taken the U.K.’s Nature Positive Business Pledge.

A note about reporting on our value chain (Scope 3): small businesses usually lack the financial and reputational influence to enforce ethical and sustainable improvements by their suppliers and customers. In fact our experience is that our major suppliers and some of our customers which are all larger businesses than AV, will not or can not supply us with data on CO2 emissions, never mind impacts on nature (which at the moment, most don’t consider). Because of this our choice of suppliers is directed by researching their sustainability /ESG reports and/or their accreditations or lack of them. For example, whenever possible, we choose suppliers (e.g. for hair care products, towels, energy, waste management and recycling) which are B Corp and/or are FSC, RoSPA, Fairtrade, Leaping Bunny, etc. certified. We also consult Ethical Consumer’s “Ethiscore”.

Finally, we have set new targets for 2025/26, followed by a brief list of links to AV sustainability assets.

Here is the link to the full report and new plan.

Other useful links

www.anneveckhair.com/sustainable-hairdressing/

www.instagram.com/salonresourceuk/

bit.ly/SalonReSourceUK sustainable hairdressing tool kit
bit.ly/3zOdCJE sustainable hairdressing tool kit for freelance hairdressers

www.business-biodiversity.co.uk/join-us/
www.business-biodiversity.co.uk/nature-positive-business-pledge/

Keith Mellen Director Anne Veck Limited 12/8/25

This piece was first published in Creative HEAD magazine, in their Fxxked up but fixed it series.
It’s about how Anne tried to scale down her wedding hair service but instead doubled it!

I opened my first salon in Oxford back in 1991. I’ve always loved styling and hair up so it wasn’t long before I developed a small on location wedding hair and make-up side hustle. Then a few years’ later, along came the kids! So when the girls were little, I decided I wanted Saturdays off to have more time with them. But this would mean reducing the wedding business which was going well and of course was mainly Saturdays. After much thought and talking it through with my partner Keith, who wasn’t involved much in the business then, I took the decision that quality time with Chloe and Manon was worth more than my wedding sales. After all, the salon was doing well and Keith had a full time career going on.

So I doubled my wedding hair & make-up prices overnight. That’ll sort it, I thought. I’ve overpriced myself out of the market. Weekends off here we come! But that wasn’t what happened at all. Instead demand for Anne Veck wedding hair shot through the roof, literally doubling. Suddenly I had up to 3 wedding appointments on location each Saturday and I needed to train one of my team to support me. (However, I did try and be a good mum, by taking a week day off instead. )

I learnt a very useful lesson about value and pricing. The unintended consequence of raising my prices was to increase business not reduce it. Clearly I had been doing wedding hair on the cheap. Brides look for quality of service and hairdressing on their big day and by increasing my hourly rate, I communicated that my wedding hair was top quality. For the next few years at least I was probably Oxford’s wedding hairdresser of choice and wedding hair and make-up increased to 10% of our total sales. (Then people stopped getting married. But that’s another story!)

Enquire here about Anne’s bridal hair service and for bridal and red carpet hairdressing training with Anne, check this out.

Anne is now taking hairdressing training bookings for autumn/winter 2025/26 so we thought we’d share an excerpt from one of her recent award entries! Call her on 07525498903 or email anne@anneveckhair.com for more info and hurry, Mondays are starting to be booked already.

“My passion is sharing my skills and creativity with my peers and inspiring the next generation of hairdressers to succeed. Continuous education is essential in order to grow professionally and to maintain and improve standards.
I work 2 days each week on the floor at Kelly’s Hair Oxford.and from time to time at leading black hair salon SG Hair in Birmingham. As a result, my teaching is grounded in practical salon experience to help participants motivate their teams, retain more clients and increase sales. This business benefit aspect is essential to ensure my education customers receive value for money.
Just because you are an expert doesn’t mean you are a good teacher. So to ensure that I am a credible and effective educator, I studied for the HABC Level 3 Award in Education and Training, which I achieved in 2016.
I believe that students learn best when taught in a method appropriate for their learning style. My experience backs this up. Therefore I provide a range of education, including workshops, seminars, one to one training, mentoring, on line lessons and written material.

WHAT I TEACH
I enjoy teaching at all levels, particularly the basics. A strong understanding of theory is fundamental for any aspiring hairdresser. Both cutting, styling and colour are subjective experiences, so mastering the rules is crucial before breaking them. My education brochure features the following subjects as a guide to prospective customers:
The Perfect Consultation, Bridal Hair Styling, The Perfect Blow-dry, Vintage Essentials, Braiding and Knotting, Colour Correction, Perming: A Modern Guide, Foundation Cutting, Progressive Cutting, Afro for Beginners, Curl Lab, Sustainable Hairdressing and Avant-garde behind the Scenes.

I also offer mentoring to salon owners. At the moment I’m working with two of my former salon managers, now salon owners and have participated in Creative HEAD’s Activator programme since it started.

WHO I TEACH
I teach in the U.K. and Europe with occasional forays further afield and I work in English or French. My main target audience is groups rather than individual hairdressers, so I work with salons, academies, wholesalers and brands. Generally I go to them although I also welcome groups to the Anne Veck Academy at one of my old salons, now Edith et Moi. My current portfolio of clients includes Kelly’s Hair Oxford; Edith et Moi Bicester; Boutique Hair & Beauty Oxford; Freelance Hairdressers Association; Davines Italy; Davines France; Davines UK, Y-Coiffure salons Paris, Maison de la Coiffure, Auxerrre and Limoges and le Centre de Formation d’Apprentis in La Reunion.

I also enjoy the challenge of attracting and keeping an audience for demonstrations at trade events such as Salon International, HairCon and Colour World.”

And here is just one of many testimonials from one of Anne’s regular customers:
Anne was fantastic, I’ve learned so much. She’s so knowledgeable, approachable and passionate about textured hair. The course was delivered in a very relaxed but structured way, building up foundation as the hair structure which helped me to understand how curly hair reacts to chemicals. Also how textured hair needs to be cared and loved. There were different levels of knowledge through the team and she responded to each individual need, with enthusiasm, respect and patience. I’m confident that everyone gained from this training. Tia Jacobs, Owner, Edith et Moi May 2025.

Do get in touch with Anne on 07525498903 or email anne@anneveckhair.com and there’s more here.

In this guest blog our friend the wonderful Jessica Parrish explains why she uses recycled aluminium to package her ethical and sustainable curly hair care products:

“Why We Use Recycled Aluminium at Shedid & Parrish

Plastic waste is a significant problem in the beauty industry. We’ve always used recycled aluminium and here’s why!

At Shedid & Parrish, we believe sustainability shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a given. That’s why every decision we make, from ingredient sourcing to packaging, is designed to reduce our impact on the planet while delivering professional grade care for textured and curly hair. One of the most powerful choices we’ve made is using recycled aluminium for our packaging and here’s why it matters.

The Plastic Problem in Beauty

The beauty industry generates over 120 billion units of packaging every year; as has been highlighted by The INDUSTRY.beauty in their 2024 article; most of which are not recyclable. Plastic waste clogs our oceans, pollutes our landscapes, and takes centuries to break down. As a brand committed to protecting both people and the planet, we knew we had to be part of the solution – not the problem.

If not plastic packaging, what are the alternatives?

Glass is recyclable but heavy and fragile. Bioplastics are still debated in terms of true sustainability. Aluminium, on the other hand, is a game-changer. Not only is it infinitely recyclable, it’s also lightweight, durable, and helps preserve product integrity. That’s why we’ve chosen recycled aluminium as our primary packaging material.

5 Key Benefits of Choosing Aluminium

Infinitely Recyclable
Aluminium can be recycled over and over without losing quality – unlike plastic, which degrades each time it’s processed.
Lightweight & Travel-Friendly
Our sleek aluminium travel bottles are perfect for on-the-go styling and hydration, without the weight or waste.
Durable & Protective
Aluminium keeps your products safe from light, air, and moisture – preserving their quality longer.
Lower carbon footprint
Producing recycled aluminium uses 95% less energy than producing it from raw materials according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI)
Elegant & Reusable
Our minimalist designs aren’t just beautiful – they’re made to be refilled, reused, and cherished.

Sustainable Beauty, Reimagined

Shedid & Parrish packaging isn’t just aesthetically considered – it’s ethically driven oh and did we say beautiful too! Our refillable aluminium bottles are designed to be used again and again. They’re practical for travel, reduce single-use waste, and align with our mission to support mindful beauty routines.

It shouldn’t be difficult to be considerate so we’re making it easier for us all to do the right thing.

Conscious Packaging, Conscious Care

Our environment is precious. And while we’re proud of what’s inside every Shedid & Parrish product, we know what it’s packaged in matters too. By choosing recycled aluminium, we’re investing in a future where beauty and sustainability go hand in hand.

You can feel confident that with all of your Shedid & Parrish choices, you’ll be considering the planet as well as your curls.

Every refill, every reuse, every conscious choice – it all adds up.”

So now you know! Keep a look out for more Shedid & Parrish / Anne Veck collaborations! And for more on sustainable hairdressing, all is revealed here.

Is plastic pollution really the problem or is it a distraction?
Adapted from an article by Martin Attrill Professor of Marine Ecology, University of Plymouth published in The Conversation 27/5/25

The flow of plastics into the ocean must certainly be stopped but Martin Attrill worries that the plastic pollution problem is a bandwagon that so many businesses, media outlets and governments have jumped on. Has a decade-long focus on “solving” the plastic crisis been a troublesome distraction? There has certainly been a great deal of attention given to it by the hairdressing industry with major brands supporting recycling programmes like Plastic Bank. And on the front line, individual salons and freelance hairdressers are queuing up to take action to reduce single use plastic. Banning single-use straws and refill schemes can seem like an easy win because leaders can be seen to be taking action when these actually do little to solve the ocean’s biggest problems.

This is because the big problem in the oceans is not plastic pollution, its fishing! The most complex and hard to resolve activities that seriously harm our seas, such as industrial overfishing, are still not being dealt with. The most damaging fishing practices such as trawling and dredging continue legally, astonishingly even within designated marine protected areas. Such highly damaging activities have no place near sensitive habitats.

And its not just biodiversity and fisheries that are damaged. It is also the capacity of the seas to absorb and retain CO2 that is essential in the battle against climate change. Oceans full of life (and not just the great whales) sequester far more carbon than marine dead zones with just a few small fish left in them. (e.g. the North Sea and the Irish Sea).

The recent UK ban on sand eel fishing gives some hope. This landmark decision was made to benefit nature (protecting food supply for seabirds), restricting a fishery that does not even supply food for humans. Sand eels are used to make fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed fish and livestock. On the other hand the UK has, according to some, just betrayed small fishers and fisheries by agreeing to the EU fishing in UK waters for another 12 years. And EU fishing fleets love sand eels!

Damaging fishing practices such as trawling and dredging continue legally, even within designated marine protected areas. Such highly damaging activities have no place near sensitive habitats.

Martin Attrill has worked as a marine ecologist for 40 years. He firmly believes that the most effective and straightforward solution for the UK is to prohibit all towed fishing gear from within at least three miles of the coast – including developing a series of fully protected marine reserves.

In Lyme Bay, this approach has led to a real win-win because the seas are now recovering, and local fishers, holidaymakers and coastal communities are benefiting too. But having read this, please don’t stop your good work on plastics! That IS important. For more about what to do, check out our sustainable hairdressing tool kits. Get yours here.

Image by Nataliya Vaitkevich