The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS)

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is both a Royal College and regulatory body for the veterinary professions in the UK. As a regulator, we set, uphold and advance veterinary standards. As a Royal College, we promote, encourage and advance the study and practice of the art and science of veterinary surgery and medicine. We do all these things in the interests of animal health and welfare, and in the wider public interest. As such, we feel we are well placed within the veterinary sector to lead the way on sustainability. At an organisational level, we have already taken big steps towards improving our environmental footprint, by reviewing our facilities processes, procurement policies and supply chains to ensure they are sustainable. We have also driven staff engagement with sustainability initiatives through our employee ‘Green Team’, who have planned activities to acknowledge events such as annual environment week and Earth Day, and worked successfully to improve staff awareness of, and behaviours around, environmental issues in the workplace. We have also set up an Environment and Sustainability Working Party to develop environment and sustainability policies, both internally for the RCVS and more widely for the veterinary professions through our regulatory mechanisms. And, in 2020, we were delighted to join the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change to work collaboratively alongside other health organisations that advocate for tackling climate change with a public health focus. We are now working towards iiE environmental accreditation to cement the work that we are already doing and to stimulate further improvements.