Rules for thee but not for me.


'The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has introduced environmental sustainability requirements as part of the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS). These requirements aim to address the global climate crisis and encourage veterinary practices to lead the way in sustainability. The key points include a written environmental sustainability policy for all practices and nominating a dedicated sustainability champion or team.'

More virtue signalling from the College, more pointless paperwork for overworked vets. Good for big corporations with compliance departments. Bad for the smaller practice tied up with inconsequential trivia such as ... oh, I dunno ... patient care ? 

But don't be downhearted, help is at hand. China might be building two large coal fired power stations per week, but the Greener Veterinary Practice website has some useful hints to help us all do our teeny tiny bit. These include, 'reducing the use of disposable surgical textiles,' creating, 'A travel policy to reduce emissions from business travel and commuting,' and 'reducing carbon emissions from conferences, education and practice meetings.' 

It's not for a mere practitioner like me to question the Panjandrums of the RCVS but shouldn't they practice what they preach?  In July 2023 ex-President Sue Patterson and the CEO, Lizzie Lockett attended the AVMA Conference in Denver Colorado. Assuming they flew economy (unlikely) the carbon cost of that little jaunt was was 5.8 metric tonnes ... that's a lot of paper drapes. 

Fun fact: The carbon cost of a return trip to Machu Picchu in Peru is 4.4 metric tonnes ... (if you know, you know ... but if you don’t, here's a clue).



Here's a suggestion for our sustainability champions on the RCVS. Maybe you should be helping vets cure and fix broken animals, not burdening them with tokenistic garbage to cure and fix a broken world.

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