NEWS
Make Your Summer Social – order by 31 October
You can still order your favourite Tait pieces for pre-Christmas delivery.
Read MoreWith manufacturing in our DNA, our product range and manufacturing capabilities have been growing over the last 30+ years. Which means – our energy usage has also been growing.
What started as a professional passion project in a small warehouse has become a business that employs 30 craftspeople. We’re proud to be supporting the future of design and manufacturing in Australia. But we also want to ensure our operations are working with—not against—the environment.
In 2017, we installed solar panels on the roof of our Fitzroy showroom. Partially, this was to offset the operating costs of existing air conditioning units in the building (which used to be a bank!). But there was also always an intention to be operating more sustainably, long-term.
‘Even before there was a well-publicised energy crisis, we wanted to make products using less energy,’ explains our Founding Director Gordon Tait. ‘So there’s a lot of feel-good factor in this for us. We also knew there would be a return on investment after about 5 years,’ he continues. ‘For us, the long-term game plan is for our operations to be powered by the sun’.
Following the solar installation on our showroom roof, we also installed solar on the Thomastown factory roof 5.5 years ago. Starting with 100 panels, which produced around 12-15 kWh/day, we doubled the capacity about 18 months ago. Currently, 200 panels bump our solar input up to about 25-40 kWh/day.
In the summer months, we’re harnessing enough solar to power around half of all our needs, with some going back to the grid. Of course, the winter months in Melbourne are not as bountiful when it comes to solar, but we happily take what we can get!
So far, we’ve harnessed solar power equivalent to:
– 549,377km in a car
– 3,510 trees
– 136.9 tonnes of C02
With results like these, we believe our investment into solar is an investment into a better future for us all. And, we’re happy to think our furniture—all the Jak and Jils, the Billys and Swings—is solar-powered. Literally, there’s a bit of sunshine in everything we make.
Our solar journey started many years ago, and will continue into the future. ‘We actually installed solar in our previous factory too, in Thornbury,’ Gordon shares. ‘In 2013, we installed panels that were producing about 6-8 kW/day. You can’t really move solar panels to a new location, because they’re specific to the site and system. So when we left Thornbury, we left the panels there for the new tenant and installed new ones at Thomastown.’
Whilst we’ve significantly increased our solar energy potential over the last 12 years, we’re also fine-tuning broader sustainable measures. Recently, we’ve been working with sustainability consultants Hip V. Hype to develop an ESG Framework to inform our next chapter. And we’ll be sharing the outcomes of this process with our current milestones and future goals soon.
Thanks for supporting us on our sustainable journey.
Current Sustainability Statement
You can still order your favourite Tait pieces for pre-Christmas delivery.
Read MoreQueensland’s creative community is gathering for a Spring-inspired afternoon of design and networking for Industry on Arthur on Thursday 9 October. Join us in Fortitude Valley to celebrate the start of the social season.
Read MoreThe Correa Collection pays tribute to gathering in a warm and social spirit. Welcome to shared mornings, afternoons and nights at the round table.
Read MoreInspired by the undulating forms of rockpools, this upholstered collection embraces smaller footprint living. Its compact dimensions, welcoming curves, and textural details have emerged in creative collaboration between Tait and Adam Goodrum.
Read MoreIt’s time to roll the sleeves up and get inspired for some spring cleaning, a bit of maintenance and ideas for outdoor dining during these warmer months. Welcome to our seasonal tips for A Life Outside.
Read MoreSpice up winter with exciting new fabrics and finishes, ready for specifying now. Presenting our new ‘fired’ stainless steel, an elegant porcelain, and high-performance fabrics to fuel your creativity over the winter months.
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