“When the steps are complete, you have a plan – not just a concept floating in the back of your mind.” Owner, Steve at Silent Tours ( thanks CarbonHalo for this quote). That’s exactly how we’ve felt starting Carbonhalo’s Business Climate Action Program. What began as a set of good intentions in sustainability at Vale 194 is now becoming a structured climate action plan we can build on.
Embedding Sustainability from the Start
Our sustainability journey began before we even opened. From the start, we embedded environmentally conscious decisions into our build – from double glazing and insulation to energy-efficient appliances. We sourced locally where we could, choosing Kantmantoo stone, South Australian-made Sealy beds, Minijumbuk quilts, and local olive oil and milk for our guests. We also committed to local services like cleaning and laundry to reduce freight emissions and support regional businesses.
Overcoming Challenges and Staying Focused
Then Covid hit. Building costs escalated well beyond expectations, forcing us to delay some key sustainability features, like solar panels. We stayed focused on what we could do — installing EV chargers for guests in 2023 and embedding local, low-impact choices into the way we operate. In 2024, we applied for a small business energy grant, hoping it would help us finally install the solar panels we had originally planned.
Carbonhalo process for Climate Action
Missing out on the government grant in early 2024 was a real setback — we’d been so hopeful and poured a lot of energy into the application, so it felt pretty dispiriting at the time. But rather than letting it stop us, we regrouped and looked for new ways to move forward. Around that time, Rebecca from TICSA introduced us to Carbonhalo’s Business Climate Action Program. That connection helped turn our motivation into momentum. We’d already started refocusing our sustainability goals, but this program gave us the structure and guidance we needed to move from good intentions to informed strategy — and finally understand our real impact, not just guess.
Attending the 2025 TICSA Tourism Industry Conference built on that progress. Hearing what both large and small-scale businesses are doing was grounding and motivating. It reminded us that if one door doesn’t open, sometimes you just need to step sideways and try a new approach.
Measuring Our Emissions and Identifying Hotspots
Stage one of the program involved measuring our emissions – and that’s where the real learning began. We discovered our five holiday houses together produce around 70 tonnes of CO2 annually. While that’s lower than the average household per property, the breakdown revealed some surprises: the environmental impact of our suppliers and the emissions associated with waste and rubbish were a higher percentage of our emmissions than we’d realised.
This insight changed how we think about our operations. It’s not just about what we build or power, but what we purchase and what we throw away. Understanding our hotspots gave us clarity on where to focus our efforts next – and showed us that even small operational choices can have a big environmental footprint.
Developing a Strategic Climate Action Plan
Next, we worked with Carbonhalo to create a strategic plan. This stage helped us set realistic goals, revisit earlier ideas like solar, and build a framework to track our progress year over year. We’re not just doing “good things” anymore – we’re aligning actions to outcomes, with data to guide us.
We also gained tools to communicate what we’re doing, including a clear summary of our plan and a unique link we can share with guests, partners, and grant providers. It’s already helping us tell a more complete story – from early building-stage decisions to our new efforts to reduce emissions more strategically.
Most importantly, we’ve realised we were already doing more than we gave ourselves credit for. Carbonhalo helped us understand those early choices, identify gaps, and shift from reactive to proactive sustainability. We’re still early in Stage Two, but we’re no longer navigating blind – we’re moving forward with real insight and renewed purpose.
Reflecting and Looking Ahead
For other small businesses wondering where to begin, our advice is: just start. You don’t need to be perfect, and you definitely don’t need all the answers on day one. But having a framework – and the right support – makes all the difference. A big thank you to Daniela Ruiz at Carbonhalo, whose guidance, patience, and practical advice helped make this process feel manageable. We’re still learning, but now we’re learning with direction and can change our approach as we keep discovering more.
Vale 194 is currently working through the Carbonhalo Business Climate Action Program planning process. Our climate action plan development is ongoing, showcasing our commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable business practices in McLaren Vale. Link to our action plan : https://platform-api.carbonhalo.com/l/n/AT09640473
Looking for more about how we’re building a better future in McLaren Vale? Learn about EV charging at Vale 194, or discover how supporting local conservation is part of every stay.