Leading vets and vet nurses urge teams to go green for 2021 with a new checklist

Four leading veterinary organisations show how teams can springboard into more sustainable ways of working with a new ‘green’ checklist that has been launched today (19 March 2021).

The ‘Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist’ - a shareable graphic designed to help veterinary workplaces operate in a more environmentally friendly way - has been designed collaboratively by Vet Sustain, the British Veterinary Association (BVA), the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) and the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS).

In a 2019 BVA Voice of the Veterinary Profession Survey, 89% of vets said that they would like to play a more active role in the UK sustainability agenda, and the checklist is a guide to help teams drive this change at their workplace.

The graphic includes four major areas for action that cover practising responsible resource use, being sustainable in your operation, using medicines responsibly, and sustaining the team. Each theme has a list of ways that these actions can be achieved.

Vet Sustain founder and director, Laura Higham said:

“Veterinary professionals and members of the vet-led team are extremely well positioned to show leadership in sustainability, in their workplaces and in their communities.

Our new checklist helps veterinary teams to put their sustainability intentions in to practice, through a number of practical steps that will ultimately support the wellbeing of our patients, ourselves and the natural world.”

BVA Junior Vice President, Justine Shotton said:

“We know that lots of our members are passionate about the environment, and the ‘Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist’ is a great place to start for any veterinary team wanting to work in a more environmentally friendly way.

“BVA recently published its own environmental policy, and with efforts from our staff ‘green team’, I am proud that we were able to work through several of these points before we drew it up.

“At this challenging time, we know that trying to work more sustainably can seem like a daunting task, but we hope that this checklist will help make it easy to get started on the road to a more sustainable practice.”

Jo Oakden RVN BVNA President said:

“Environmental Sustainability is really important to us at the BVNA; we are currently going through the process of Environmental Accreditation. Veterinary Nurses are ideally placed to get involved and drive eco-friendly changes within the veterinary practice.

The Greener Practice Checklist is a brilliant guide showing where to start. We all want to drive a positive environmental change, but sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming when you don’t know where to start. This checklist is hopefully giving us a place to start and a link into further resources to keep driving and evolving the positive changes we are making.”

SPVS Senior Vice President, Anna Judson said:

"SPVS is delighted to have been involved in the creation of the Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist. We remain committed to supporting the profession with ongoing environmental sustainability CPD."

Notes

1. BVA is the largest membership community for the veterinary profession in the UK. We represent the views of over 18,000 vets and vet students on animal health and welfare, and veterinary policy issues to government, parliamentarians and key influencers in the UK and EU.
2. Vet Sustain is a UK-based social enterprise working to enable and inspire veterinary professionals to help secure the wellbeing of animals, people and the natural world. We produce tools, training and communications for veterinary professionals centred around our six Veterinary Sustainability Goals, aligned with the UN’s SDGs.
3. The BVNA is the largest membership body of veterinary nurses in the UK with over 6,000 members. It is also the official representative body for veterinary nursing in the UK. In addition to support for its Membership, key activities of the BVNA include an Annual Congress in October and a wide range of accredited CPD courses, including online seminars. The BVNA also publishes the VNJ (Veterinary Nursing Journal).
4. The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) is a not-for-profit membership organisation for professionals within the veterinary industry, providing a wide range of excellent advice, guidance and support for its members. This includes tools and resources that enable members to develop and expand their business and non-clinical skills.