Vet Sustain are excited to be offering one of the first veterinary specific carbon literacy courses in the world.
Getting started on your sustainability journey, as an individual or as a practice, can be a daunting task. There’s so much to think about and so much information out there, some of it useful, some of it not, and some of it conflicting!
It’s very easy to feel like we don’t know enough about which are the most impactful choices, and often we might lack confidence to share our thoughts and ideas with others in the practice.
This is exactly where the new carbon literacy for the veterinary profession course from Vet Sustain comes in.
Whether you feel like you know a little or a lot about climate change, whether you are taking your first steps to more sustainable change or are already a long way down the road, carbon literacy really is for everyone in the veterinary team.
Carbon literacy is defined as “an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.”
The carbon literacy course aims to help participants understand the impact that we’re having as a profession on the environment, and where our emissions are coming from.
But it also empowers and equips attendees to have climate conversations, to make changes and share with others what they are doing.
From a veterinary perspective, knowing where our emissions are coming from on a practice- and profession-wide level, means that we’re better equipped to make the decisions needed to ensure that we are not only upholding our oaths to ensure the health and welfare of the animals committed to our care, but are also able to consider the impact of our actions on the environment.
“I recently attended the carbon literacy course with Vet Sustain and it’s some of the best hours I have invested in CPD,” Dr Ebony Escalona, BSc (Hons), BVSc, MRCVS, PhD, AHE, founder and chief creative officer, Vets Stay Go Diversify.
“You come away with the personal things you can do that are achievable and you feel empowered to find what will work for you.”
According to a 2019 British Veterinary Association survey, 89 percent of vets said that they would like to play a more active role in the UK sustainability agenda.
The carbon literacy course from Vet Sustain is a brilliant way to start to understand our impact, and then to inspire action!
“I’m so pleased there are courses like this available now, when I started out on my sustainability journey it took me months of research and webinars to gather all this info, now it’s all wrapped up in one neat bundle.” Laura Binnie, MRCVS, BVM&S, BSc (Hons), Paragon Vets.
Run in collaboration with Jen Gale, from Sustainable(ish), the course is delivered via eight hours of online interactive learning, culminating in the creation of two carbon reduction pledges.
Successful participants receive a carbon literacy certificate and over 59,000 people worldwide are now certified as carbon literate.
Our next course starts on the 4 July 2023. Find out more or come and join us on the website.
