Better care for pets, and for the planet

Our mission is to provide the highest standard of veterinary care possible within the resources available, taking account of our clients’ wishes, keeping welfare at the core of our work, and being mindful of how our choices affect the environment, whilst providing affordable veterinary care.

We have taken guidance from Vet Sustain, an organisation which exists to support veterinary professionals in driving towards a more sustainable future. We have also taken advice from Davies Veterinary Specialists, who were the first practice to be awarded iiE’s top level green accreditation in 2019.

Our environmental commitment

We support Vet Sustain’s veterinary sustainability goals. We acknowledge that our veterinary activities, services and operations have an impact on the environment, and we have identified key impacts related to our business that contribute to our environmental and carbon footprint.

Key aspects

We understand the impacts of our practice activities and we regularly hold open discussions and research on how we can reduce our footprint, whilst still providing excellent patient care. Some of the key areas are:

• Use of fossil fuels (oil and gas usage)
• Use of electricity
• Waste generation and disposal
• Use of anaesthetic gases
• Use of water
• Carbon emissions from transport
• Consumption of raw materials, including prescribed drugs, medical plastics and needles
• Use of parasiticides and antimicrobials

Actions we take

We actively take steps to reduce our carbon footprint and support sustainability through:

• Reducing fuel consumption by switching off equipment and lights when not in use. We have installed air-conditioning units in most rooms, which are more energy efficient than heating the entire building.
• A strong waste and recycling policy. We have recently completed a waste audit and improved our waste segregation and recycling.
• Safe disposal of waste products such as antimicrobials and biohazardous materials, in compliance with regulations. We have a medicine amnesty box at reception at both branches to encourage owners to return unused medicines, and we schedule regular monthly social media posts to keep owners informed.
• Providing low-flow anaesthesia where safe to do so, to reduce the release of anaesthetic gases (which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions), and reducing the use of sevoflurane.
• Reducing water usage: alcohol-based hand scrub for sterile procedures, full loads of washing, and a water distiller that reduces plastic use. We use waste water from the autoclave to water the garden or in buckets for cleaning.
• Streamlining our ordering system and using fewer companies, to minimise transport emissions.
• A green team within the practice: one vet, one veterinary nurse and one receptionist. We aim to meet every 3-6 months. Suggestions or ideas can be given to any member, who will then inform the rest of the group.
• Promoting health plans and the responsible use of antimicrobials and parasiticides, with options available in our care plans to suit the individual needs of the patient.

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact through a journey of continual improvement, working through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Practice Standards Scheme.

We have dramatically reduced our paper usage, sending most invoices, product information and brochures via email. Our aim for 2025 to 2026 is to introduce electronic consent forms and pre-operative forms, instead of asking owners to print and return them.

Medicine return: out-of-date or unused medications

In order to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, leftover and unused antibiotics should be disposed of safely to prevent hoarding, inappropriate reuse or disposing of them via domestic waste streams.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global health threats of our time, and we must act, together, to safeguard the use of these medicines. If not disposed of correctly, antibiotics can lead to environmental contamination, impacting water quality and wildlife, promoting the development of antimicrobial resistance and putting human, animal and environmental health at risk.

Information taken from Vet Sustain.