A Cumbrian vet practice has become the first in the UK to receive an ‘Outstanding’ eco award by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

Paragon Vets has become the first veterinary practice in the UK to be given a prestigious award in recognition of their green credentials.

The veterinary group has been on a 3-year-long sustainability drive that has included encouraging the community to recycle pets’ medication packs and also investing in equipment to reduce anaesthetic gas emissions. It has now been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ achievement in Environmental Sustainability by the RCVS.

Although many practices are signed up to the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS), Paragon is the first practice to have achieved the newly launched Environmental Sustainability award with ‘Outstanding’ status.

The sustainability project, led by small animal vet Laura Binnie, began in 2020 when she was asked by Paragon directors to develop a ‘green group’ within the practice. The aim of this was to formulate an action plan to look at all aspects of sustainability at Paragon, which has ultimately been recognised by this accreditation.

Laura Binnie said: “Everyone across Paragon has worked incredibly hard to achieve this status. It’s been daunting at times, and in an ever-changing world sustainability can be a bit of a minefield, however, we are very proud to have been able to develop the culture of sustainability within Paragon and achieve an Outstanding accreditation.”

Some of the criteria for the accreditation were relatively simple tasks, such as switching to LED bulbs, recycling correctly and switching lights off when rooms were not in use, but some of the larger tasks required investment by the company and intense staff training.

Laura explained: “One of the major changes we have made is to use less isoflurane which is the gas we use to anaesthetise our patients. It was important to do this as both the manufacture and use of it emits harmful greenhouse gases into our environment, adding to climate change. To do this safely and to ensure our animals still had the same safe anaesthetic effect, which of course is the number one priority, Paragon has invested in new equipment and staff have had to retrain which has been challenging for them.”

Waste was also a huge factor to consider for the Paragon green group, and their considerations went far beyond packaging waste, which was addressed by buying in bulk. Previously, animal incontinence pads were simply discarded, however the significant amount of plastic contained in them means they have a huge impact on our environment, not only in their manufacture, but in their disposal as well. Now Paragon use re-useable pads, which can be rinsed down and washed and ready to be used again.

Another area for consideration was mileage travelled. This has been a little more difficult, said Laura: “Our vets need to be able to travel to clients, but the topography of Cumbria and the lack of electric vehicle infrastructure makes it impossible for our staff to rely on electric vehicles at the moment.

“Hopefully, when we come to replace vehicles, they will be electric or hybrid, as technology improves, but we are doing all we can in the meantime to reduce our carbon footprint when travelling around.”

Paragon Veterinary Group is not stopping there though, as it already has plans to plant a large
woodland to lock in carbon, increase biodiversity and reduce flooding, plus are committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, although the green group are aiming for well before then.

Lead PSS Assessor, Dr Alice Duvernois MRCVS, said: “It was fantastic to be able to visit the Paragon sites along with my fellow assessors. They have shown true dedication and passion when it comes to environmental sustainability and the awards are very well deserved.

“Paragon has gone above and beyond, but we hope that all practices will take some inspiration from them and start taking steps to becoming more environmentally aware.”

Laura is hopeful their ‘Outstanding’ achievement in Environmental Sustainability accreditation will
inspire other practices to follow suit, and if any inspiration is needed for this, the Paragon team
recently carried out carbon calculations, which they compared one year apart, and their carbon
footprint has reduced by 10% in just twelve months.

Paragon Veterinary Group has practices in Dalston, Newbiggin, and Wetheral, and includes small animal, farm, advanced breeding and equine divisions.