BEVA achieves silver accreditation from iiE

BEVA has completed the next stage of its sustainability journey by achieving silver level accreditation from Investors in the Environment (iiE).

The association began taking steps to reduce its environmental impact in 2020, including monthly monitoring of key resources, updating and expanding its environmental policy, introducing a carbon footprint calculator, a sustainable travel policy and setting up a sustainability working group for its members.

Working group

The steps and other measures have proven successful, with the iiE audit praising the growing number of resources that BEVA makes available to the veterinary community to encourage a greater understanding of lower impact practices.

The BEVA sustainability working group, made up of working equine vets, produces regular top tips and advice for practices.

David Mountford, chief executive of BEVA, said: “We are immensely proud to have made it to our silver award, just two years after our bronze accreditation.

“Our very credible score of 78% demonstrates our ongoing performance towards agreed environment targets and our total commitment to ensuring we operate in a sustainable way.”

Going for green

Specific achievements during the past 12 months include a reduction in carbon footprint of 25%, an 11% reduction in electricity usage and a 46% reduction in gas usage.

The audit praised BEVA for the initiatives set up for BEVA Congress and sustainability will continue to be a big focus for this year’s event, which is due to take place at the ICC in Birmingham from 13 to 16 September.

Rebecca Radley, sustainability project lead at BEVA, said: “As a team, we are really pleased that our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment have been recognised with our achievement of the iiE silver award.

“We will continue to work towards further reducing our carbon footprint with the aim of achieving iiE’s green accreditation in the future.”

To find out more about BEVA and BEVA Congress, visit the association’s website.