A group of veterinary businesses, member organisations, regulators, academic institutions and charities have teamed up to form a groundbreaking new partnership to catalyse sustainability initiatives in the veterinary sector. The Veterinary Sustainability Roundtable, convened by Vet Sustain, held its inaugural meeting at RCVS Headquarters on 3 October.
The Roundtable is a precompetitive space for sustainability solutions, partnerships, and education projects, with the aim of situating sustainability at the heart of the veterinary sector. Driven by the group’s collective concern for the multiple sustainability challenges facing the industry and society, it aims to leverage the unique role of veterinary professionals to help regenerate the health and wellbeing of animals, people and the planet balanced alongside profit.
Three workstreams are being devised to tackle specific challenges that the veterinary sector is uniquely placed to address. These workstreams will be clearly linked to the “6Ws” – Vet Sustain’s veterinary sustainability goals for welfare, wildlife, wellbeing, warming, waste, and water – and will be chaired and implemented by Roundtable members with support from Vet Sustain and subject matter experts.
“We’re excited to bring together this unique group of leaders, to face some of the most challenging issues facing the profession and wider society”, said Laura Gelder-Robertson, CEO of Vet Sustain. “During our inaugural meeting we created fertile ground for our future work together by clarifying competition regulations, co-creating our grounding principles, and exploring focus topics during an ideas lab.”
David Black, a founding director and treasurer of Vet Sustain, said “This is the start of an important and very exciting journey for the veterinary sector. This event was all about finding common ground and continuing to build relationships both in- and outside of the veterinary sector, and we look forward to supporting the group’s next steps to drive lasting change.”
The Roundtable invites all organisations across the veterinary sector and related animal health sectors interested in driving sustainability to join the group, by emailing Laura Gelder-Robertson.
