How do I get my boss to care about sustainability?

A common question from members of the practice team who would like their working environment to be more sustainable, is “How do I get my boss/ manager to care about this?”. Well, there may be many reasons your boss appears to have little interest in sustainability, but try not to assume that they don’t care about it.

Things to remember before you ask…

We all know how difficult the past couple of years have been for everyone and managers are often not only dealing with the stress of running a clinic, but also often stepping in to do extra clinical work to cover shortages. Unsurprisingly, creating a sustainable veterinary business may be low down on their list of immediate priorities. So, if you are keen to improve this aspect of your practice, you need to be proactive about making it as easy as possible for your boss.

If you march into the office and demand that practice should be installing solar panels and a ground source heat pump, you probably won’t get very far! Challenges will also vary depending on whether your practice is independent or part of a corporate group. Corporates will usually have a sustainability policy and someone to head this up who you can contact for advice. In independent practice any policies are decided in house, which may or may not make things easier, but either way the principle remains the same that the ‘boss’ is under a considerable amount of pressure already and the best way to make changes is to do the legwork yourself.

Gather information on the changes you want to make first

Start small. Do you have recycling bins in place? Are your repeat prescriptions going out in plastic bags that could be replaced for paper? Do you have space for a washing line to reduce tumble dryer usage? Whatever it is that you find that you want to improve try to gather as much information as possible before presenting to your manager, eg:

• Why is it important that you change this?
• What benefit will it have for the environment and is there any benefit for the practice?
• What might the financial implications be?

Get support for your cause

One barrier to the practice becoming more sustainable is getting the whole team on board - it’s all very well having recycling bins in place, but if no one is using them it doesn’t make an actual difference. Likewise, using the bins as much as possible highlights the amount of recyclable waste that is being produced and brings into focus how much unnecessary waste was being sent to landfill (or worse, being sent along with the costly clinical waste).

Peer pressure is a marvellous thing for positive change but it can take time to seep in and become an unconscious action. If there are already others in the practice that are keen on sustainability, get them involved as a ‘green team’. Work together to highlight the positives of taking action and lead discussions at team meetings. Have a notice board at work dedicated to the topic and include a section or box for ideas. It is much easier to action things when more people are on board and, importantly, can spread the load needed to make things happen. It is also harder for your boss to ignore things when ten people want to do something than just one!

Highlight the positive PR opportunities

Sustainability is a hot topic everywhere now, the general public - including your clients - want to be more environmentally friendly. As people who care about the animals, we should set a good example to the public of this extending into our wider environment. If you promote this on your practice website and social media, it can create good engagement which will show the business in a good light and may bond some clients to the practice more. Take photos to highlight what you are doing and the changes you are making. Do clients have ideas of how you could improve things? Maybe they have noticed things you have become blind to.

More information

Vet Sustain has a multitude of resources for vets, including the Greener Vet Practice checklist that can be printed out and put up on that notice board. BVA has also developed a range of resources that can help you with ideas.

Jen Gale also has an excellent website focusing on the small personal changes we can make that can cross over into practice life. For example, simply unsubscribing from unnecessary emails and deleting messages you no longer need can reduce your carbon footprint.

Even a tiny change can make a big difference over time, you don’t need to do everything at once or be perfect. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.