The four pillars of sustainability can be used to develop a positive workplace culture.

BVNA president Jo Oakden explains how to consider environmental, social, human and economic factors in the workplace.

BVNA president Jo Oakden kickstarted day two of BVNA Congress in Telford (2-4 October) with an interactive session entitled 'Practice culture and sustainability - getting your team on board'.

Jo’s talk explored how to approach sustainability and how it can be incorporated into day-to-day practice life.

Explaining why she chose sustainability as her presidential theme for 2021, Jo said: “We hear about sustainability all the time. It's on our clothing labels, it's on food, it's advertised in what people refer to as 'greenwashing', but are these products sustainable? 

“The reason why I chose sustainability as my theme this year is that it is a bit of a buzzword. When you think about it, it can feel quite overwhelming! Where do you start? What does it mean? I generally associated it with being environmental, but I did a bit more research and found out that sustainability is actually four pillars, and it just made a lot more sense.”

The four pillars

Jo explained that the four pillars of sustainability are human, social, economic and environmental - and that to achieve sustainability in practice, each one should be taken into consideration when trying to bring about positive change.  She gave the example of wanting to introduce a water distiller in her practice, and applied each pillar to that decision:

Human – will the water distiller be easy to use and maintain?
Social – will this task end up falling on one person and cause resentment
Environment – will it have a positive impact on our waste?
Economic – will it be expensive, what is the cost of maintenance and upkeep, will it save us money?

Practice culture and how it impacts sustainability

Another hot topic for the profession is practice culture , and Jo stressed that while not every practice culture will suit every person, but there need to be some basic guidelines in place. She urged delegates to refer to the BVA's Good Veterinary Workplace resources, which highlight the core principles and values every workplace should have.

Jo stressed that while she recognises practices are incredibly busy at the moment, it is important to hold regular meetings to decide what values are most important and how you can create a culture in which everyone looks after each other.

She spoke about how the BVA good workplaces guide was a good place to start, but that the four pillars are equally important in ensuring a sustainable veterinary practice. For example:

Human – a team that feels supported to develop their career pathways and skills
Social – a team that feels they have a 'work life' balance and feel supported in 'real' life outside work
Environment – a minimised carbon footprint, non-excess use of resources and reduced waste
Economic – a business that is successful and can reinvest back into the team and workplace to provide an improved service.

Concluding the session, Jo directed delegates to some other useful resources to encourage a sustainable workplace culture, including the Greener Vet Practice Checklist and BVNA's Chronic Illness Campaign, which supports those with differing needs.