Practice sets sights on greener future

The Minster Veterinary Practice in York is reducing its carbon footprint and cutting waste by introducing a wide range of environmentally friendly initiatives.

Measures include recycling extra PPE, adding paper recycling stations throughout the practice, reducing energy consumption, and encouraging sustainable travel by team members and clients.

Green initiatives

Among the activities underway are:

• Recycling extra PPE, including masks, gloves and aprons.
• Recycling stations for paper, cardboard and plastic.
• Milk delivered by the milkman daily instead of bought plastic cartons.
• Reducing water, gas and electricity consumption by at least 2% a year.
• Recycling pet food packaging, crisp packets and sweet wrappers.
• Using a water distiller to reduce the number of plastic bottles.
• Introducing reusable surgical drapes, gowns and scrub hats for vets.
• Encouraging sustainable travel by team members and client.

Green space

Work has also started to create a green space outside the practice, with feeders and boxes to encourage birds, insects and wildlife.

The practice hopes to encourage clients to support their initiatives by receiving invoices, receipts and admin communications by email rather than paper.

iiE scheme

Once COVID restrictions are lifted and clients can accompany their pets into the practice again, they will be able to bring in pet food packaging and pouches to be recycled.

Minster Vets has also joined the Investors in the Environment (iiE) scheme and hopes to achieve the silver award in recognition of their green efforts.

Sustainable future

The environmental initiatives are being overseen by vet Becky Sedman, who has a keen interest in sustainability and last year completed a course in business sustainability management with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

She said: “The veterinary profession is caring by nature, so looking after the planet is a natural extension of looking after pets, animals and wildlife. As a veterinary practice, we want to embrace sustainable ways of working as we know how animals and the planet interact so it is our duty to do something to protect the environment.

“By making even just small changes, we can achieve our targets and help to create a more sustainable future. The whole team has really thrown itself into sustainability and it has been a great team effort. What we are doing has been well received by clients and we hope once COVID restrictions are lifted, they will support some of our recycling initiatives.”