#115: The Path To Zero Carbon Clinics: Transforming Veterinary Practices for the Planet. With Dr Jeremy Watson.

The Vet Vault

You know you want to do it, but you don't know where to start. It's a daunting task for sure - veterinary practice is not known for being soft on the environment, so the thought of acting to reduce the impact of your veterinary workplace can seem paralysingly complex. So where DO we begin? Well, you can begin with this podcast.

Dr Jeremy Watson is a veterinarian and practice owner. His desire to take action on climate change was put into motion in 2011 when a practice rebuild commenced, marking the beginning of his journey towards establishing a vet business with environmental sustainability as one of its core values.

In 2020, Jeremy joined Vets for Climate Action, driven by a passion to highlight the vital role of veterinary teams in inspiring urgent action on climate change. Following on from his sustainability-focussed clinic rebuild over ten years ago, Jeremy's clinic has recently snagged accreditation as Australia's very first certified carbon-neutral veterinary practice, and Jeremy now works tirelessly to get other vets on board with the same eco-friendly approach.

In this conversation, Jeremy talks us through what his experience looked like, what he learned from it, and what the 'levers' are that can be pulled to have the greatest impact in the right direction.

Jeremy also introduces us to Vets for Climate Action's Climate Care Program, a program that aims to overcome that paralysis of knowing it's a problem, but not knowing where to start. He discusses what that process looks like, what the most common stumbling blocks are, and what the short-term wins are, beyond it simply being the right thing to do.

Topic list:

04:02 - Bad Decisions and Good Stories

05:11 - The Human Nature of Climate Inaction

07:09 - Resistance to Change and Climate Paralysis

09:10 - The Climate Care Program for Vet Practices

11:40 - Surprising Environmental Impacts in Vet Practices

13:01 - Business Case for Environmental Sustainability

17:31 - The Process of Becoming Carbon Neutral

19:04 - The Importance of Reducing Anaesthetic Gas Usage

20:10 - Financial Benefits of Sustainable Practices

24:22 - The Climate Care Program's Support and Structure

28:03 - The Unexpected Impact of Bedding on the Environment

29:05 - Alternatives to Traditional Pet Cremation

32:10 - The Benefits of Going Paperless

33:01 - Joining the Climate Care Program

35:07 - UN Definition of Sustainability

36:09 - The Role of Vets for Climate Action

37:37 - The No-Brainer of Solar Panels for Vet Practices

38:41 - Importance of Collaboration in Climate Action

40:08 - Impacts of Some of Our Practices on the Environment

47:15 - The Climate Care Program's Role in Vets for Climate Action

48:03 - Global Collaboration for Veterinary Sustainability

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