Park Hill Veterinary Clinic Environmental Sustainability Policy 2024

Park Hill Veterinary Clinic is an independent small animal practice based in Tiverton, Mid Devon. 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. 

 

Regarding sustainability, we take guidance from “Vet Sustain”, an organisation which exists to support veterinary professionals in driving towards a more sustainable future 

 

Our Environmental Commitment

We support Vet Sustain’s veterinary sustainability goals. We acknowledge that our veterinary activities impact on the environment and have identified key impacts that contribute to our environmental and carbon footprint. Through implementation of this
sustainability policy we encourage inclusive participation inworking to reduce these impacts, whilst upholding the best possible animal health, welfare and clinical care.

Key Impacts

We have identified the following key business activities that contribute to our overall environment and carbon footprint:

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•  Use of electricity

•  Waste generation & disposal

•  Use of anaesthetic gases

•  Use of water

•  Carbon emissions from staff & customer travel

•  Consumption of raw materials (including prescribed drugs, medical plastics, needles)

•  Use of parasiticides

•  Use of antimicrobials

•  Procurement of goods & services

Actions

We aim to reduce our impact these utilising the principles of the Vet Sustain Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist to ensure continual improvement and regular review. Over the next 12 months we will prioritise the following:

1. Monitoring use of key resources such as electricity and water and setting targets
for reduction

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• Implement measures such as using clothes airer or outside washing line instead of tumble dryer, using washable theatre caps  and theatre shoes rather than disposable versions, booking procedures efficiently to make maximum use of sterilising solutions.

• Minimise use of single use plastics.

• Work towards becoming paper-free by using patient-side technology such as having consent and anaesthetic forms on a tablet

• Make sustainable choices when purchasing equipment/consumables.

• Review and optimise waste management implementing the 3Rs (reduce, re-use, recycle) - for example the local authority will  take most recyclables but not soft plastics. These are segregated by staff, one of whom takes them to a recycling centre.

2. Being sustainable in our operation:

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• Promote animal welfare eg educating clients about their needs, issues associated with irresponsible breeding and importing  rescue dogs from abroad; Reduce carbon emissions from practice meetings/conference attendance -eg practice meetings  are held when most staff are present at work already, most CPD is conducted online, travel to CPD by public transport is  encouraged.

• Review anaesthetic gas use and set targets for reduction by increasing use of local anaesthetics, effective premedication etc.

• Encourage responsible use of medicines – Educate clients of the importance of compliance.

• Encourage responsible disposal of medicines – advice clients to return unused medicines for safe disposal

• Consider eco-design/building adaptations – eg installation of solar panels on the roof.

• Use evidence-based infection control measures and minimise use of eco-toxic chemicals. 

• Support environmentally responsible, welfare friendly animal care amongst clients and the wider community.

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3. Use medicines responsibly:

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• Practise responsible use of medicines – see practice SOPs, especially in regard to antimicrobial use.

• Avoid drug wastage through good stock control, regular stock rotation and ensuring that open shelf-life dates are correctly recorded on bottles.

• Encourage appropriate drug disposal among staff and clients.

4. Empower the team:

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• Ensure that all team members are familiar with the practice sustainability policy, and encourage practice-wide participation in its regular review and ongoing improvement.

• Appoint a “green champion” for the practice as the point of contact for other team members, and allow them to lead and promote meaningful change.

• Encourage team members to access sustainability focused forums and training.

• Promote the message that good health and wellbeing supports all aspects of practice operations.

Targets

We, Park Hill Veterinary Clinic, pledge to reduce our environmental impact through continual improvement and through our commitment to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Practice Standards Accreditation Scheme.

For 2025 our specific targets are:

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• To reduce antibiotic use by 25% -through utilising other means of infection control, and increasing use of cytology and culture

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• To reduce parasiticide use by 40% - by encouraging clients to evaluate their pets lifestyles and realistic parasite risks, and a full veterinary review of needs at the annual vaccination appointment.

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•  To reduce our consumption of electricity generated from fossil fuels by installing solar panels.

Review and Feedback

We encourage staff and clients to comment and contribute their ideas for sustainability. Access to this policy is available to all stakeholders.

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This policy was last checked on 3/12/2024