Two Kent veterinary practices have been recognised by a national accreditation scheme for the significant strides they have made to offset their carbon footprint.
Linnaeus-owned Cinque Ports Vets and Milbourn Equine, which together have seven practices across Kent and East Sussex, have seen their ambitious green efforts rewarded with a bronze award from Investors in the Environment (iiE), an accreditation scheme created to help businesses assess and reduce their environmental impacts.
The teams at Cinque Ports and Milbourn set up a dedicated ‘green group’ and introduced a raft of changes across their practices to gain the recognition from iiE, which last year teamed up with Linnaeus in a unique partnership that sees up to 50 per cent of the group’s practices across the UK taking part in the accreditation scheme.
To achieve the highly-regarded bronze award, Cinque Ports and Milbourn have implemented a raft of changes such as reducing their electricity usage in a bid to dramatically offset its carbon footprint.
Clinical director Luca Gaffuri is leading the sustainability drive at Cinque Ports and Milbourn. He said: “As a team, we have always been aware of our environmental impact and formed a group of environmental enthusiasts to help put together a plan of action to achieve this iiE recognition.
“Our ‘Green Champions’ team is comprised of staff from across our practices, with at least one champion situated at each site, along with others to support wherever possible.
“We meet regularly to discuss how we can reduce the carbon footprint at our practices and we have already introduced a number of improvements, some major and some minor, which are transforming the way in which we care for the environment.
“One such initiative is the Linnaeus ‘Paws to Turn Off’ campaign, which urges team members to switch off lights and air conditioning in a bid to reduce our annual electricity consumption.”
Ellie West, environmental sustainability lead at Linnaeus, said: “I’m delighted to see Cinque Ports and Milbourn Equine receive this bronze iiE award.
“Linnaeus focuses strongly on quality of care and this translates to becoming a sustainable business and upholding our responsibilities to our clients, associates and communities.
“I am so excited to be leading this ambitious sustainability agenda that will strive to deliver a better future for everyone and we’re thrilled to see another of our Linnaeus partners really achieving excellence.”
April Sotomayor CEnv MIEMA, from iiE, said: “Congratulations to Cinque Ports Vets and Milbourn Equine on achieving the bronze award.
“We were impressed with their high staff engagement levels across all seven practices, creating a positive eco-friendly culture.”
