iiE

Sustainability

Our mission

The Green Team at Eastcott is committed to helping reduce the hospitals’ environmental impact through a journey of continual reflection and improvement.  We achieved our Investors in the Environment (iiE) Silver accreditation in May 2025. This national accreditation scheme is designed to help organisations reduce their impact on the environment and champion best practice by giving tailored support and expert advice in order to operate in a more sustainable way.

Our goals

Our environmental commitment can be demonstrated in our established objectives and goals.

• Having an environmental policy in place
• Appointing environmental champions
• Monitoring key resource usage and implementing conservation techniques to achieve our environmental targets
• Implementing a waste and recycling policy and a sustainable procurement policy
• Working with suppliers to ensure they acknowledge and reduce the environmental impact of their products and transportation
• Minimising unsustainable transport use
• Taking part in a One Health sustainability project with our team
• Publishing and distribution of an annual organisational sustainability report

 

What have we achieved so far?

Environmental Policy

In our Environmental Policy, we acknowledge that our practice has an effect on the environment and state the key environmental aspects that contribute to our environmental and carbon footprint.  These include:

• Consumption of electricity, gas and water
• Use of paper
• Use of anaesthetic gases
• Waste generation
• Transport emissions
• Use of raw materials, including prescribed drugs and medicines
• Procured goods and services and their environmental impact

We have committed ourselves to improve our environmental management system. We will convey this policy to all our employees, ensuring that they are provided with training to increase awareness of environmental matters.

Resources usage – Energy, Gas, Water, Paper, Anaesthetic gases

• All our electricity comes from renewable sources.
• We have solar panels fitted to our main Dorcan way hospital to help generate electricity.
• We routinely use ‘Low Flow’ anaesthesia techniques and take other steps to minimise our use of anaesthetic gases.
• In 2026 we have installed Sage Tech anaesthetic recapture devices to collect waste anaesthetic gases which are an important part of our greenhouse gas emissions.
• Replacement of fluorescent light-bulbs with low energy LED bulbs.

• We have encouraged our staff to cancel unwanted magazine subscriptions.
• From July 2020, pay advice slips were made available online, reducing the amount of paper used within the practice.
• All referral letters are being emailed rather than posted to the referring vets.
• Sleep mode, a low power mode for electronic devices, has been implemented on our computers and printers.
• Printers have double-sided printing set as the default.
• ‘Energy Saving’ stickers have been placed around the practice to remind everyone to play their part and to switch off air conditioning units, computers, printers and lights.

Waste

• We’ve introduced additional recycling points throughout the hospital including recycling of food waste, batteries, printer cartridges, coffee pods, pet-food packaging and soft plastics.
• We are always looking for ways to reduce the amount that we use and to ensure that all staff understand how they can recycle as much as possible and ensure waste that cannot be recycled goes to the lowest environmental impact waste stream that is appropriate.

Projects

• We are involved in a number of environmental and local social projects including:
  • Fund-raising for the Bee-Friendly Trust
  • Fund-raising for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
  • Against Breast Cancer bra recycling scheme
  • Fund-raising for The Big Breakfast Plus
  • Fund-raising for Cat’s Rescue Gloucester/Swindon
  • Took part in 2026 RSCPB Big garden bird watch
  • Toy donation to GWH children’s ward each Christmas

What’s next?

We’re committed to play our part towards looking after the environment. Projects currently underway include:

• Continued efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.
• Use of the Green Theatre Checklist
• We will look to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by moving to anaesthesia gas capture solutions.
• Updated air conditioning policy to optimise environmental conditions for our staff, patients and clients whilst minimising our energy use.
• We will improve the outside areas of the hospital to encourage wildlife and link this to improved mental wellbeing at work.

For more details on any of these initiatives please contact us at [email protected]