Sustainable sourdough man

What is a sustainable business?

To me, a sustainable business seeks to minimise its negative impact on the environment and community while maximising its positive impacts on the environment and community.

I also believe that it is more helpful to think of sustainability as a journey in a business or at home. We are never going to be perfect, but we are always seeking to take steps towards minimising our environmental footprint and being the best community members we can be.

How does the Millett Road Maker approach sustainability?

The Millett Road Maker is a manufacturer, which means we take resources (electricity, grain, water etc.) and turn them into bread and crumpets.

Our goal in operating our business is to provide our community with high-quality, healthy baked goods and do that with the least negative environmental impact and maximum positive impact.

With this in mind, we have always spent time analysing our resource inputs (mainly electricity, grains, water, packaging and delivery resources) to ensure we are using the best options.

For example, our electricity usage: We are asking: Where is it coming from? Can we adjust our baking schedule to take advantage of solar power? Can we charge our electric delivery van using only our generated solar power? If not, can we ensure we draw from the grid when excess or renewable electricity is available?

Another example is our grain: we want to make our sourdough products for the best health outcomes by mainly using whole grains and sourcing them from the best farms. I have developed relationships with biodynamic and organic grain farmers and millers in the Wimmera and Murray Valley and often visit their farms to learn about how the grains are being grown and best used.

These considerations are balanced with what our customers want and need and how I can provide this with the best value!

What started you on the sustainability pathway?

Before starting the Millett Road Maker in 2016, I worked in and around small businesses. Through this journey, I have always believed that a successful business needs to positively impact the communities it operates in.

To put it simply, I want to be able to look my neighbours in the eyes and know I’m doing right by them.

It’s a natural progression, then, to want to operate your business in a way that does not negatively impact the community and our environment, either directly or indirectly.

From there, it has been ingrained (pun maybe intended!) into every step and every decision of our business.

Simon Matthee is the owner and head baker at the Millett Road Maker, a small sourdough bakery in South Gisborne baking and delivering sourdough loaves and crumpets throughout the Macedon Ranges. The Millett Road Maker was awarded the Champion of Social, Environmental, or Sustainability Principles in the latest Macedon Ranges Business Excellence Awards.

Corinne Shaddock asked Simon a few questions about his approach to sustainability.

What has been the hardest part?

I reckon the hardest part is wrestling with the cost-benefit equation of these questions. Often I am presented with a choice between what is easy and what my gut says is right for our business and community. For example, it would be easy to source cheap and nutritionally-poor flour. Instead, filling our stores with the best organic and biodynamic grain to mill, and flour, provides much better options for our customers and wider environment health, even if it is more expensive and has a shorter non-preservative-filled shelf life.

Luckily, most of the time, these hard choices come with their own rewards. The smell of milling bio-dynamic spelt or rye grain for each bread batch is a pretty special afternoon indulgence, and I always look forward to my regular grain purchasing road trips, where I get to stop in at regional bakeries, walk in fields of grain, or watch a harvest if I’m lucky.

What has been the most surprising?

Our transition to an electric delivery van has been far easier than I had imagined.

When we started looking at options to make our deliveries more sustainable, there was very little information or examples of anyone operating electric vans in Australia.

I had to base most of my research on experiences in London and contintntal Europe, where electric vans have been on the market since 2013 and are now commonplace.

When we transitioned to our current electric van (a Renault Kangoo ZE), it was the only option available on the market. Luckily, it fell perfectly within our requirements for the range, and the fuel savings offset the higher purchase price. So on paper, it all seemed to make sense, but without local knowledge to rely on – there is always uncertainty.

I’m thrilled to report that the transition has gone exactly as planned. Our van’s capabilities won’t suit everyone, but it fits our requirements perfectly, and we have not looked back.

As the industry progresses and Australia catches up with electric vehicles, more electric van options are coming to our shores. There is also far more local knowledge on electric vehicles generally, so going forward, businesses should be able to make the transition with far more confidence than I had.

What’s next on your sustainability journey?

Our next big challenge is our packaging. We are always looking for ways to make our packaging more sustainable and to reduce the strain on the shire’s garbage and recycling systems. With the current movement away from plastics and the packaging industry offering more options for biodegradable packaging, I believe we will soon be able to remove plastics from our packaging use entirely.

What can other businesses do to improve sustainability?

While I’m no expert, I reckon that for anyone at the start of their sustainability journey, most businesses’ lowhanging fruit is their source inputs and waste outputs.

installing solar panels, battery storage, or transitioning your fleet vehicles to electric vehicles. I would highly recommend contacting the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (MRSG) for advice on these topics.

Chatting with other nearby businesses about what they are doing and what their input/waste outputs are can also yield surprising results.

When chatting to our farmers' market neighbours, Dreaming Goat Dairy, we found that their whey is a waste product to them, but an awesome input for our bread – providing a delicious texture and added goodness.

So for the past few years, we’ve been picking up their whey and mixing it into one of our loaf products.

What advice do you have for people who want to have a more sustainable business or house but don’t know where to start?

When it comes to using renewable energy and reducing overall energy usage, I think it’s often best to start by looking at your energy use. Energy monitors such as PowerPal can show you how you use energy, which will determine your best options.

For example, if you are out at work all day, solar panels might not be the best option, as you’re not there when the power is being generated. It might make more sense to look at upgrading your insulation, doubleglazed windows, or electric battery storage. These options will all reduce your energy use when you are using the most.

That is just one example of many. The first step is to connect with the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group which you can find running the Woodend Farmers' Market, or even the ‘My Efficient Electric Home’ Facebook page, which is always discussing energyefficient home options.

Don’t worry if the journey feels long, because every step of every person counts.