Vet nurse Lindsey shares how her practice have made some fantastic steps towards being more environmentally friendly.
‘Every staff member set a planet pledge of what we could personally change to make a difference’
Lindsey Raven Emrich
I began my sustainable journey in earnest after giving birth to my daughter. I wanted to make sure that having a child didnt have to impact the Earth with all those endless disposables that seem to accompany them these days!
Making sustainable changes at work
Making my place of work sustainable was a natural progression. Luckily my employers at Mayne Veterinary Clinic had a similar interest and so began our quest for a ‘Greener Veterinary Practice.’ Firstly, we began by introducing various recycling bins to the staff room and started to brainstorm what and where we could do better. The Green team was born! Every staff member set a Planet Pledge of what we could personally change to make a difference. Joining the ‘Investors in the Environment‘ was a real bonus. This gave us a great framework to work towards on our mission. As a result, we achieved Bronze certification in 2020.
The ideas keep flowing
Our practice already did a lot but there’s always more we can do, so we added to this list and the ideas just keep flowing. Among a lot of changes we have made, turning a waste ground into a nature and staff haven using all repurposed materials was one of the most fun! We installed a water butt onto the garage to water the raised beds, and grew hollyhocks for the bees and nasturtiums. We held a seed challenge – all the staff planted seeds and we set a competition to see who’s grew first! Staff covid PPE has been recycled using a ReWorked collection bin, which is now full and will be collected this week. We switched from plastic urine collection beads to Medicat hydrophobic sand and regularly review all of our procurement. We also recruited our local Ecargo representative giving clients the option for pedal power delivery for prescription and food deliveries.
Our newest plans are a pet shirt and buster collar hire system – we’re brainstorming a buy back system. The idea that pet shirts and buster collars can be disposable is awful so we are working on that idea at the moment. In addition, we’re looking at carbon off setting our care plans.
Opportunities to help our planet are around every corner, with a little creativity and a supportive team we all really can make a difference and its going superbly well so far!
Lindsey Raven Emrich
Mayne Veterinary Clinic, Colchester, Essex
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