Borders vet practice wins national honour for eco efforts to protect planet

​Galedin Vets won the Best Waste Reduction Award for its outstanding commitment to sustainability at the 2024 iiE Awards, which celebrate the green achievements of UK businesses and organisations.

The awards are part of Investors in the Environment (iiE), a national accreditation scheme designed to help organisations save time and money, be more eco-friendly, and get recognition for their progress.

Galedin Vets has been working to reduce its carbon footprint at its practices across the borders in Berwick, Eyemouth, Coldstream, Duns, Galashiels and Kelso.

Judges praised the team’s efforts to reduce their clinical waste and improve their stock control, both of which save resources, money and carbon. The judges also liked their introduction of a wormery at one of the practices and their switch to digital communications thanks to more than 1,600 clients agreeing to receive invoices, receipts and admin communications by email.

Other measures include recycling boxes around the practice for paper, cardboard and plastic; reducing water, gas and electricity consumption with LED lights and lighting sensors; and encouraging colleagues to switch off appliances where necessary.

Practice manager Sean Dickson said: “This award is recognition of the team effort to make Galedin Vets as green as possible. This is something we felt strongly about doing and we’ve made a lot of progress towards our goal to be more sustainable so it’s lovely for that to be celebrated.”

Antony Gough, National Lead at iiE, said the practice’s progress was a fantastic achievement.

He added: “This year’s competition was tougher than ever, showcasing the extraordinary efforts of our members. Their dedication is further reflected in the record-breaking number of accreditations, award entries, and the sizeable impacts we’ve achieved together.”