Veterinary / Sustainability
How Going Green Can Help Your Vet Practice
Boosting business and saving the planet
There is an argument that as a profession that deals with animals’ welfare and health, we should also be leading the way in environmental sustainability; however, not enough is being done by the veterinary community to combat climate change. Nevertheless, you can take steps to reduce your practice’s environmental impact, and these changes make good business sense too.
Running your business in a more environmentally conscious way can reduce costs and lead to a boost in your reputation among your clients, so where do you start? A significant first step is to gather a group of enthusiastic staff members and make them a ‘green group’. This is a collection of people responsible for implementing your changes, educating the other staff and maintaining standards.
Other minor changes, such as replacing your lightbulbs with LED lights, can make a big difference straight away. Compared to other bulbs, LED lights convert 90% of their energy into light, making them much more energy-efficient than their competitors; they also have a longer lifespan and cost less to replace when they eventually break [1]. Encourage your staff to recycle, educate them on what is recyclable, and provide them with lots of opportunities to do it: place recycling bins and informational posters in frequently used areas of the practice such as the prep room. If you use newspaper to line your kennels, it can be recycled so long as it has not been soiled.
Reuse what you can, invest in cloth scrub caps and replace shoe covers with theatre shoes. Use bedding that can be washed and reused and that has been made sustainably with minimal plastics, and you can also accept donated towels and bedding from members of the public. Go paperless where possible, print double-sided only and try not to print out unnecessarily like blood or urine results. Encourage clients to use your online resources as opposed to printing leaflets for display in your waiting room.
Be aware of your anaesthetic gas usage. Globally, anaesthesia contributes hugely to greenhouse gas pollution [2]. However, changes could lessen your practices’ impact, such as limiting gas wastage by keeping anaesthetics short and maintaining patients on minimal gas. Also, use volatile agent sparing techniques like regional anaesthesia to reduce the amount of anaesthetic gas used.
You may be able to apply for and receive a grant to go towards making your practice more environmentally sustainable [3]. Many loans are available from local and national authorities to encourage business owners to invest in making their businesses greener, so you should check if you could be eligible to receive one.
The BVA published a survey in 2019 that showed that 89% of vets would like to play a more active role in sustainability [4]. This could be because; acting in a more environmentally conscious way makes people feel good, according to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology in 2020 [5]. The study suggests that acting sustainably is considered morally good and, therefore, a meaningful action. The happier your staff are, the higher their job satisfaction is likely to be and the longer they will stay with you.
Improve the energy efficiency of your building, or if you are lucky enough to be building from scratch, you can introduce energy-saving measures as you go. You will spend more now but save on electricity and heating in the long run.
Try switching to greener alternatives for consumables. For example, Millpledge autoclave bags are recyclable [6]. While these items may be slightly pricier now, the higher the demand from veterinary practices using sustainable consumables, the manufacturers will be encouraged to provide more options and at a lower price.
Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) have a high rate of pet ownership [7], and they are also the most environmentally aware generation [8]. By making an effort to be more green, you can publish your journey on your website and social media and improve the public’s opinion of your practice which may lead to an increase in footfall. You can also be accredited by the Investors in the Environment and the Carbon Trust [9], which can be used as a selling point for your business.
In the future, as the world focuses more and more on sustainability, the laws surrounding the environment are likely to become more stringent; by making changes now, you can future proof your practice, so when that time comes, you already have an established workplace culture, have spread your costs out over time and are seeing the benefits.
Sources:
[1] Energy-saving Light Bulbs: How Much Could They Save You? — OVO Energy
[2] Reducing anaesthetic gas for environmental benefit
[3] Green Business Grants UK: Grants For Eco Business
[4] Why is sustainability a vital part of workplace culture?
[5] Why going green feels good
[6] https://millpledge.com/product-knowledge/millpack-the-ultimate-all-in-one-sterilisation-pouch
[7] UK pet ownership up by 3.2 million households since beginning of COVID-19
