Shrewsbury veterinary practice caring for the planet as well as pets
A Shrewsbury veterinary practice is proving it cares for the planet as well as pets after earning a prestigious environmental award.
Quarry Vets has earned an Investors in the Environment (iiE) bronze award for embracing a greener future and helping to lead the way in making the veterinary profession more environmentally friendly.
The iiE scheme is an environmental accreditation designed to help organisations reduce their impact on the environment by cutting resource use and waste production whilst also encouraging projects within the community.
Quarry Vets has been cutting waste by introducing a wide range of environmentally friendly initiatives, such as laminating in house laboratory forms, ordering glass-bottled milk and stocking syringes made from recycled plastic, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and the amount of single-use plastic in the practice.
As a result, they have seen their carbon footprint fall from 62.22 tonnes of CO2e, including electricity, gas, water, waste disposal, business mileage, and anaesthetic gases, in 2019/2020 to 55.9 tonnes of CO2e.
By setting limits and being mindful about how much they use, they reduced gas consumption by 11%, electricity by 19% and water consumption has been reduced by 29% in the last three years.
The team have also created a stunning wildlife garden at their surgery in Brassey Road, Old Potts Way in Shrewsbury, by introducing bird feeders, a bird table, a bug house and planting a wildflower garden to attract bees. It is proving popular with birds, including blue tits, great tits, blackbirds and dunnocks, as well as attracting bees, beetles and bugs.
The green initiatives are overseen by vet Charlie Hertel, who has a keen interest in sustainability and the environment, and leads their Green Group made up of nurse Hana Hemingway and receptionists Sally Vow and Rene Jones.
Charlie said: “We’ve all seen the effect of climate change with the recent heatwave, so it is even more important that we play an active role in protecting the planet. Veterinary practices produce a lot of waste, so at Quarry Vets we are aiming to take responsibility for our impact on the environment.
“Our success has been a great team effort and, as a practice, we want to embrace sustainable ways of working. The green team meet regularly, contributing new ideas to further reduce resource use and waste production.
“Signing up for the iiE accreditation has been worthwhile as it helps us to focus on what we need to work towards with regards to reducing our carbon footprint, and there is a huge sense of achievement in earning the bronze award. We’re now all really enthusiastic to continue our efforts and aim for the silver award.”
The iiE accreditation also recognises fundraising organised by businesses for charities and worthy causes. Quarry Vets recently raised more than £500 for the British Red Cross crisis appeal for Ukraine with a bake sale.
