Nicola Eden, Sustainability Lead at 608 Vet Practice, which has earned national recognition for its sustainability work
A leading Solihull vet practice has received national recognition for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and increase sustainability.
Linnaeus-owned 608 Vet Practice, which has practices in Solihull, Bentley Heath and Acocks Green, has received a bronze award from Investors in the Environment (iiE), which encourages UK firms to introduce cleaner, more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly ways of working.
Nicola Eden, sustainability lead at the popular vet practice, is delighted with the award and is determined to build on it with further recognition and the iiE’s Green award is her ultimate objective.
Nicola said: “At 608 Vets, we acknowledge our operations have an effect on the environment and have identified key areas that contribute to our environmental and carbon footprint.
“We are now focused on reducing that impact by cutting our emissions, our energy use, our waste and by increasing our sustainability and embracing reusable items.
“Naturally we are delighted to have received this bronze award from iiE and we will continue to improve our environmental management system and increase awareness of environmental matters amongst our team.
“The iiE recognise we have made an encouraging start but we will now be working with them to do more and more as we aim for their silver award, better still their top award, the Green award.”
The iiE’s report highlighted 608 Vet Practice’s development and implementation of an Environmental Management System including an environmental policy, action plans and a waste management plan.
The report read: “The practice has monitored electricity, gas, isoflurane and clinical waste; using this data to build baseline datasets and produce a carbon calculation.
“The practice has built strong foundations from which it can now work to maximise its resource efficiency and minimise its environmental impact.
“The Green Champion Nicola, and wider Green Team, should be commended for their hard work and for the excellent actions they implemented, particularly regarding waste management.
“The practice should now work towards silver level accreditation by addressing travel and transport, with a view to decarbonisation, and widening the scope of operations targeted in sustainability actions.”
Among the sustainability initiatives at 608 Vet Practice are a pet sachet recycling bin at the Solihull branch and a bee friendly garden at Bentley Heath.
Ellie West, environmental sustainability lead at Linnaeus, added: “This has been a terrific effort by 608 Vets and the whole team should be very pleased with themselves.
“They have put in place a strong platform from which they’re now aiming to make even further strides to operate in a far more sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion.”
To find out more about 608 Vet Practice, visit www.608vets.com or search for 608 Vets on social media.
