A Yorkshire vet practice is celebrating after receiving national recognition for its environmental work and drive to cut its carbon footprint. 

Abbey House Veterinary Hospital in Morley, Leeds, has been awarded bronze accreditation by Investors in the Environment (iiE), a nationwide initiative which encourages firms to introduce cleaner, more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly ways of working. 

Led by the practice’s green team, Linnaeus-owned Abbey House, which is undergoing a major recruitment drive, has introduced a raft of measures to reduce energy use and cut its reliance on single-use items. 

Inside the practice, all lights are switched off when an area isn’t in use and recycling bins for different types of waste, including pens, batteries, plastic, paper, tin, glass and crisps packets have been introduced.

The practice has also installed a kitchen compost bin for teabags and food waste and an outdoor hot composter for grass cuttings. 

On the clinical side, all clinicians now use reusable fabric hats, which reduce surgical infection as well as being kinder to the environment. 

Vicky Lewis, lead nurse for training and education, and one of the green champions at the Linnaeus-owned practice alongside lead veterinary surgeon Daisy Roe, said: “We know how important it is for businesses to be more environmentally-friendly and it’s vital we back up our words with actions. 

“Our changes range from simple things, such as installing LED lights and switching off lights when not in use, to bigger changes such as using low-flow anaesthesia in theatre and using ethylene oxide to sterilise infrequently-used items.” 

The changes have not just proved to be popular with the staff, as one of the nurses’ grandmothers has knitted reusable covers for saline drip bags, replacing the single-use bandages used previously.

“We’re also using biodegradable aprons and making all our lab results online-only, to reduce the amount of printing we do,” added Vicky. 

“We are also part of the British Bee Veterinary Association and have made the Batley clinic bee-friendly to encourage biodiversity wherever we can.” 

Abbey House Veterinary Hospital is open 24 hours a day and is based in Morley, Leeds. It also has practices in Rothwell, Cleckheaton, Batley and Kippax. For more information visit www.abbeyvetspets.co.uk.

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