Veterinary School success in Green Impact National Awards

The awards, organised by environmental charity SOS-UK, recognise outstanding sustainability leadership within universities, charities, hospitals and research institutions and celebrate colleagues who are going beyond the Green Impact programme.

Catherine and Hannah went up against strong competition from across the UK, earning the Runner-Up position in the Environmental Improvement Award category for their innovative sustainability module. Launched last academic year, the module trains 4th year veterinary students to conduct sustainability audits on local partnering veterinary practices, using veterinary sustainability frameworks such as the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, Investors in the Environment and Vet Sustains Greener Veterinary Practice Checklist. The module provides our students with sustainable education that directly links to their course (SDG 4 – quality education), encourages them to take sustainable action within their workplace after graduating (SDG 13 – climate action) and develops strong partnerships with local practices to make sector-wide sustainable change (SDG 17 – partnership for the goals). The judges were particularly impressed by the module’s forward-thinking approach, its potential for long-term impact on the veterinary sector, and its role in embedding sustainability into veterinary education.

Martin Wiles, Head of Sustainability said ‘congratulations to Catherine and Hannah for their success in this prestigious award. The module that they have created is leading the way and is a fantastic example of how embedding sustainability into our teaching can have a positive impact not only on our students, but also the local community too.’

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