Davies Wins Green Champion Award
5 years ago 
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Ellie West, European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia at Davies Veterinary Specialists (Davies), achieved Best Green Champion (East region, medium business) at last night’s Investors in the Environment (iiE) Awards. The practice also picked up its Silver Accreditation, in recognition of the Davies team’s commitment and hard work to continually enhance its green credentials.
Davies, the first UK veterinary practice to have achieved accreditation from iiE, is keen to share knowledge and experience on sustainability in practice. The Hertfordshire-based small animal referral centre has a scientific paper about to be published, a CPD session in the pipeline and a range of online sustainability resources now available.
Official Green Champion Ellie West has co-authored a sustainability-focused paper, Environmental sustainability in veterinary anaesthesia, with fellow veterinary anaesthesist Professor Ron Jones, which is available as an article in press in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.1 This paper addresses the potential impact of veterinary anaesthetic management on the environment and in particular, the role of inhalational anaesthetic agents as greenhouse gases. The paper also looks at the significant role of anaesthetists in recycling, sustainable procurement, waste management and resource use, before considering the question of engagement in sustainability and future directions for sustainability in veterinary anaesthesia.
The practice is also sharing practical knowledge by way of a Sustainability CPD evening. The two-hour session will be held at Davies’ lecture theatre in Higham Gobion, Hertfordshire on 2nd May 2019 at 7pm and will cover practical aspects of introducing sustainability into the practice. This event will be sponsored by Sharpsmart, makers of reusable sharps and pharmaceuticals containers, and representatives from Investors in the Environment will also be attending.
For those interested in introducing sustainability into their own practice, Davies has put together some easy-access online information at https://vetspecialists.co.uk/sustainability/ , including making their own waste segregation posters freely available. The practice is in the process of producing a Green Group introductory video and has worked with TheWebinarVet to produce a sustainability seminar based on their experiences https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/one-practices-journey-towards-environmental-sustainability/. Davies has also just made its first Terracycle donation of £22. This amount was raised from points generated by recycling of crisp packets, pet food packaging and contact lenses since the start of 2019.
Ellie West said: “Winning iiE’s Best Green Champion Award this year is very special to me, as it shows that we can all make a difference at a time when action on climate change is most needed. As we work towards iiE’s top level Green accreditation, we are keen to share our growing experience and knowledge on sustainability to help inspire and support other practices in any way we can."
The iiE East Region Awards 2019 were held in Peterborough on 30 April. This event brings together both existing members and non-members of the iiE green accreditation scheme to celebrate the environmental achievements of the region’s businesses and the latest eco initiatives.
For further information on the Sustainability CPD course or any of our sustainability initiatives, please contact [email protected]
To find out more about Davies’ sustainability initiatives please visit https://vetspecialists.co.uk/sustainability/
Reference
1Jones RS & West E (article in press) Environmental sustainability in veterinary anaesthesia. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. doi: 10.1016/j.vaa.2018.12.008).https://www.vaajournal.org/article/S1467-2987(19)30018-2/pdf
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