IVC Evidensia Equine Team at BEVA Congress 2023
IVC Evidensia Equine Team Emphasize Sustainability Goals At BEVA Congress 2023
7 months ago 
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At the recent BEVA congress held in Birmingham, IVC Evidensia laid out their plans of ensuring sustainability was the primary focus of every equine practice in the UK.
Their stand was emblazoned with the new slogan of ‘The frontrunner in sustainability’ alongside statistics that IVC Evidensia UK practices are powered by 100% renewable energy, 84% of packaging used in own-brand products is recyclable, compostable or reusable, and 99% of non-hazardous waste is diverted from landfill.
Equine colleagues were encouraged to have further discussions around the topic and a survey was taken to see what is currently being done in practice and how important it is deemed to be.
This is ahead of the long-awaited launch of the Positive Hoofprint, which is an Equine and Farm specific toolkit to help practices become more sustainable, with resources, checklists and practical advice for prioritising environmentally friendly initiatives.
How important is sustainability?
The results of the survey make for interesting reading when it comes to prioritising sustainability in practice. It also gives a clear indication of the level of importance it carries to equine vets in attendance at BEVA 2023.
Participants were asked 6 sustainability-related questions with the team gathering over 90 responses in total, giving them a few trends they could utilise when thinking about implementing more sustainable actions in practice.
In response to the question ‘How important is sustainability to you personally?’, 57% of respondents said it was very important making it the most popular choice.
However, on answering the question, ‘Is your practice team actively working to improve sustainability?’, 20% of respondents said ‘Always/wherever possible’ and 42% said ‘Most of the time’.
The conclusion to be drawn here is that sustainability is a personal priority, but this isn’t always translating to practice and more can be done.
Mark Tabachnik, UK Head of Equine for IVC Evidensia, commented:
“It’s clear from our survey that sustainability is still being treated as a secondary concern in practice, and this is something that IVC Evidensia is actively seeking to change.
“With our Positive Hoofprint about to be launched, there has never been a better time to prioritise our sustainability goals and to embed them in our own practices.
“This will give colleagues the tools they need to care for the planet, so we can fundamentally change equine veterinary to be more environmentally conscious for the future.”
Stand and deliver on sustainable promises
The focus on sustainability ran through everything the team had planned during the congress, from what they were discussing to the stand itself.
As always, the build of the stand meant that it would be reusable for many more events this year, with the messaging switched out depending on the context. This was the same for all furniture, which has been earmarked for multiple events, rather than single use.
LED lighting was used as part of the stand, and the giveaways this year were reduced to ice scrapers and lanyard reels, so that the environmental impact was kept to a minimum.
Also on display was an equicizer which was used as part of a competition to see how far you could virtually travel in two minutes.
Helen Sanderson, Regional Head of Equine for IVC Evidensia, commented on the event:
“It was wonderful to be at BEVA congress this year, not least to have so many interesting discussions with our equine colleagues from across the industry around the topic of sustainability.
“The participants for our equicizer challenge also gave a good account of themselves! It was such a fun addition to the congress this year and I’m glad it went down so well.
“I hope that we’ve at least added to the conversation, while encouraging colleagues both internally and externally to IVC Evidensia to bring about a positive change in their own practices and propel sustainability to the forefront of our decision-making.”
John Spencer, Clinical Director at Fyrnwy Vets, added:
“Well done to everyone at BEVA, it felt like congress was back in full swing after some quieter years.
“It was great to see such a good line up of speakers including an international contingent. It's nice to feel inspired and proud of the profession following this event.”
To find out more about the Equine team, head over to the website here for more information.
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