BVA receives sustainability accreditation
"I am so grateful to our amazing green and facilities teams whose dedication, hard work and passion have enabled us to reach this accreditation" - Justine Shotton, BVA.
Investors in the Environment (iiE) has awarded the British Veterinary Association (BVA) with its green level accreditation for improving its sustainability.
Last year, the organisation achieved silver-level accreditation, and in 2020, received bronze accreditation.
Recognising the BVA's progress towards more sustainable ways of working, iiE acknowledged the changes BVA has made at its headquarters, such as enhancing its sustainable travel policy.
Other changes implemented by BVA HQ include switching its gas and electricity to a green supplier, producing a new green procurement policy and utilising a carbon calculator to understand and reduce emissions.
Chief executive of the BVA, David Calpin, commented on the accreditation: “The world is facing a climate emergency and it is incumbent upon on all of us to take action. At BVA, we made it a strategic priority to be a sustainable organisation.
“We wanted to support veterinary professionals to embed more sustainable ways of working but we knew that we also needed to lead by example.
“Securing ‘green’ accreditation from Investors in the Environment is a fantastic achievement and I’m incredibly proud of our team who have driven this forward.
“It was achieved through small but important changes and I hope our success will inspire others to consider how they can adapt their ways of working to reduce their environmental impact.”
When giving BVA the accreditation, iiE was particularly impressed with the BVA's leadership in the veterinary profession on sustainability, highlighting the way that BVA has strengthened communications about sustainability to members.
Justine Shotton, BVA senior vice president, said: “I’m proud of the work we have done at BVA to encourage staff, members and the wider veterinary community to start seriously thinking about sustainability, their impact on the environment and what actions they can take to help protect the planet.
“This work has seen us encourage veterinary professionals to take a sustainability pledge, to think about the simple actions they can take to be more sustainable at work and to consider adapting their use of parasiticides for dogs and cats due to their impact on the environment.
“We also launched the popular Greener Veterinary Practice webinar series, which covered topics such as how to use water, energy and medicines responsibly and how to empower teams and help others to make green choices.
“This accreditation is the icing on the cake for a year which has seen so many vet teams take steps towards positive changes that contribute to our profession becoming more sustainable.”
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
