A veterinary practice in Cumbria has become the first in the UK to receive a prestigious award for its environmental sustainability.

Paragon Vets, which has practices in Dalston, Wetheral, and Newbiggin, has been on a three-year-long sustainability drive which has included encouraging the community to recycle their pets’ medication packs and investing in equipment to reduce anaesthetic gas emissions.

It was awarded an ‘outstanding achievement’ in environmental sustainability by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), a newly launched award.

The sustainability project, led by small animal vet Laura Binnie, began in 2020 when she was asked by Paragon directors to develop a ‘green group’ within the practice.

The aim of this was to formulate an action plan to look at all aspects of sustainability at Paragon, which has ultimately been recognised by this accreditation.

Ms Binnie said: “Everyone across Paragon has worked incredibly hard to achieve this status.

“It’s been daunting at times, and in an ever-changing world sustainability can be a bit of a minefield, however, we are very proud to have been able to develop the culture of sustainability within Paragon and achieve an outstanding accreditation.”

Some of the criteria for the accreditation were relatively simple tasks, such as switching to LED bulbs, recycling correctly and switching lights off when rooms were not in use, but some of the larger tasks required investment by the company and intense staff training.

Laura explained: “One of the major changes we have made is to use less isoflurane which is the gas we use to anaesthetise our patients.

“It was important to do this as both the manufacture and use of it emit harmful greenhouse gases into our environment, adding to climate change.

“To do this safely and to ensure our animals still had the same safe anaesthetic effect, which of course is the number one priority, Paragon has invested in new equipment and staff have had to retrain which has been challenging for them.”

Waste was also a huge factor to consider for the Paragon green group, and their considerations went far beyond packaging waste, which was addressed by buying in bulk.

Previously, animal incontinence pads were simply discarded, however, the significant amount of plastic contained in them means they have a huge impact environmentally.

Now, Paragon uses re-useable pads, which can be rinsed down and washed and ready to be used again.

The practice also has plans to plant a large woodland to lock in carbon, increase biodiversity and reduce flooding, and is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030.