It’s Lonely Being First
The Veterinary Sustainability Alliance rolled out our new website on Monday, December 1, and along with that came the launch of the Green Paw Certification, North America’s first and only environmental certification program for Veterinary Clinics! The excitement amongst the VSA Directors was palpable, and we were all keen to get our clinics’ certifications submitted for the bragging rights of North America’s first certified sustainable clinic. I was blessed (?) with a slow week on clinics, and was able to spare 2 hours to pull together the required documentation and be the first to click the submit button.
Year round commuting by bicycle IS possible, EVEN in Canada.
But it is lonely being the only one. So I am encouraging you all to begin the process of getting your clinics Green Paw Certified.
If you are an old hand at sustainability, your clinic, like mine, may already have completed 5 Action Items, and getting certified may be a simple clerical task. Everything you need is at the Clinic Certification page of the VSA Website. Once you are there, you need to download and fill out the required forms, gather supporting documentation to illustrate your sustainability efforts to date, submit the forms and documentation (they must all be submitted at the same time), and pay the certification fee. The VSA directors will review your submission, may ask for additional documentation, and ultimately approve your certification.
Wouldn’t you love to have this decal on your clinic door….?
On the other hand, if you are just beginning your sustainability journey, then you are in the right place. Start by reviewing the VSA Nautilus which illustrates the three pillars of sustainable practice: Core; Clinic, and, Community.
The VSA Nautilus
Getting Green Paw Certified may look daunting, but it is not!
The first step is to form a Green Team at your clinic - a group of environmentally minded individuals who want to make your practice greener. Strive to get people from different areas of the clinic, including management, veterinarians, technicians, animal care and client care teams. Convene a meeting and discuss your goals.
Measure your current environmental impact, so you can see and celebrate the impact and changes you make on this journey.
Then pick 5 sustainable actions, big or small, from at least 2 of the 5 pathway categories (Energy, Water, Waste, Procurement and Transportation).
Actions can be Small (getting TerraCycle boxes to recycle traditionally non-recyclable items; switching from bottled water and Kuerig coffee to filtered water and shade-grown whole bean coffee; using reusable rags for basic cleaning jobs; or, making sure there are sufficient reusable dishes for staff meetings), Medium (offering bicycle delivery to your clients for food and medication, making sure your staff and clients feel supported in coming to the clinic by sustainable means; or, swapping out your regular thermostats for energy saving smart thermostats) or Large (swapping out all your lights for energy saving LEDs). The possibilities are endless - the above list is just a subset of what we have done at The Animal Clinic.
Once you have completed the actions and measured the impact on your footprint, it is time to brag! Let your co-workers know what you have accomplished, tell your clients how great you are, convince other clinics in your area to follow your lead. You can put up posters in the clinic, post on your socials, write articles in local, state/provincial or national VMA publications or talk at local, regional or national meetings.
When you have a good story, like LEDs saving energy AND money, why not write an article for a VMA publication?
Once you are done bragging, you’re ready to apply for Green Paw Certification. Come join me where the grass is decidedly greener (and maybe also native, drought resistant and pollinator friendly)!