Our commitment to sustainability and the environment has always been an important part of the induction process for staff, and is included in the Staff Handbook. At our AGM in 2020 our incoming President identified sustainability and the environment as key priorities for the Association. This demonstrates a commitment by Council members and work with staff to embed sustainability through the organisation long term.
Following our relocation to the new Arise Harlow Science Park in 2020 this helped demonstrate our commitment to improve our sustainability and reduce our environmental impact. Our business is strengthened by protecting the safety, health and environment of our employees, our members, and the people of the communities in which we do business.
We are actively working towards maintaining our accreditation for Investors in the Environment [iiE] which is a national environmental accreditation scheme. It is designed to help organisations save money and reduce their impact on the environment.
As part of this accreditation process, we have developed an Environmental Policy;
BVNA Environmental Policy
And are actively working on the below projects to help support our accreditation:
- Transforming the VNJ into a digital publication; inviting authors to write about good sustainability practices in the veterinary workplace
- Leading an annual Exhibitor Sustainability Award at BVNA Congress. This encourages exhibitors to be more conscious of their environmental practices, surrounding both attendance at our event and more generally as a business
- Reducing our overall printing across our activities – from reducing social event tickets, to flyers and leaflets at external events. We also provide recycling bins and lanyard recycling points at BVNA Congress
- Exploring ways to encourage our members to enjoy green space and the benefits of physical exercise, such as our parkrun at BVNA Congress 2023
- Encouraging BVNA Congress delegates and exhibitors to consider travelling via public transport or car sharing
Since joining the iie scheme, BVNA have made great strides in reducing our carbon footprint, and we’re committed to reducing our environmental impact even further.
BVNA has also teamed up with Vet Sustain, BVA and SPVS to provide the ‘Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist’ which outlines where to start and provides links to available guidance and green-options for practices.
