A Cumbrian veterinary group has been recognised nationally for its efforts to protect nature and combat climate change.
Paragon Veterinary Group was named Natural Environment Champion in the Investors in the Environment Awards and earned its silver investors in the environment accreditation.
It was also named Green Veterinary Practice of the Year in the Veterinary Green Awards while Laura Binnie, small animal vet and sustainability lead at Paragon, was awarded joint winner of Vet Personality of the Year.
Laura said: “To get this recognition is wonderful. We hope that, by winning these awards, we can encourage other veterinary practices to follow suit.
“The environment has always been a priority for me personally and, as a practice and a business, we feel we have a responsibility to do what we can to minimise our environmental impact.
“We have to think of the next generation. We can’t leave the world as it is and the way it is heading.”
Paragon is based at Dalston, near Carlisle, and has surgeries at Newbiggin near Penrith, Wetheral and Shap.
The awards recognise a swathe of initiatives designed to improve biodiversity, reduce waste and energy use, boost recycling and cut harmful emissions as Paragon strives to become net zero by 2030.
It has dedicated an area at each branch to develop into a well-being and wildlife garden. These feature bee and insect hotels, bird feeders, bat boxes and robin hides, plants for pollinators and long grass to suit hedgehogs. It also provides a pleasant outdoor area for staff to use.
The garden at Dalston has a bog garden and pond. Children from St Michael’s Primary School have helped plant trees and scattered wildflower seeds.
The most ambitious project is at Newbiggin where, with the help of a grant from the Forestry Commission, Paragon is planting a three-hectare native broadleaf woodland, reinstating and linking to existing hedgerows and incorporating a wildflower meadow.
The judges of the Investors in the Environment Awards praised Paragon for its breadth of actions taken to support nature enhancement.
The practice has recently adopted techniques to slash by a third emissions of isoflurane, a greenhouse gas used for anaesthesia, while trackers fitted to vets’ vehicles help to optimise routes and so eliminate unnecessary mileage. Solar panels fitted at one branch have cut electricity costs by a third.
Last year, Paragon became the first practice in the UK to be rated as outstanding under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons new environmental sustainability module and award.
It also won two RHS Cumbria In Bloom awards for the garden at Dalston – ‘gold’ in the biodiversity category and ‘outstanding’ in the neighbourhood category.
Laura added: “I am really, really proud of what we have achieved. We are up there, among the leading practices in sustainability in the veterinary profession.
“We feel we are setting an example to other vets, to our community, our employees and our clients.”
