A sustainable society has certain characteristics:
If the 4 system conditions are adhered to, this is what a vision of a sustainable future might look like.
In that sustainable vision:
- Everything we use would be cyclic, with zero waste.
- All energy would be renewable clean energy (the diagram shows this as solar, but any renewable clean energy could be used.
- Everything we do would be safe - safe chemicals, safe working practices, safe environments for people to live in, safe both physically and emotionally.
- Our lifestyle would be social - showing care for the people.
- Products and services would be affordable, and financially sustainable.
- We would be efficient - doing more work for for less energy - this is energy efficient as well as consuming fewer resources, less stress and so on.
So what does a sustainable veterinary clinic look like?
The following image is not meant to depict exactly what a vision of a sustainable veterinary clinic is - its mean to be a conversation starter.
This image shows a multifunctional facility including: veterinary clinic, groomers, doggy daycare, boarding facility for cats, dogs and small mammals and a cafe (which allows pets). It also includes community facilities such as dog walking area, community garden, memorial garden and a meeting room that can be hired to community groups. It is designed to be a community focus for the companion animal loving people in a given community.
This vision is sustainable because it is:
- Cyclic - This facility produces zero waste.
- Solar - power is provided by photovoltaic panels and wind power
- Safe - all chemicals are environmentally safe at all stages from production to disposal, the working practices also look after the safety of the employees. Products are check to be sourced from sustainable sources for example paper, to avoid further degradation of the environment.
- Social - this facility provides a family friendly work place, it is inclusive of all employees in decision making, all employees have the option to purchase shares, working hours are in place that suit individual requirements. It provides spaces for staff, the clients and the community to meet formally (eg meeting room which is available for booking by staff, clients and the community as a whole) and informally (eg the cafe, community garden, dog exercise space and the memorial garden). Fairtrade products are used wherever possible.
- Affordable - the multi use facility which incorporates several smaller businesses working together provides efficiencies in use of space, energy and sharing resources. It also has the ability to draw in members of the community to spend more time at the facility so this contributes to them spending discretionary cash at the facility (eg coffee and dog treats) rather than at a megastore that is not owned locally. These all help to reduce overheads and therefore reduce costs to clients.
- Efficient - efficient use of space, sharing resources, renewable energy, working smarter (reduced working hours - for example 8.30 - 5.30 + one late night and a saturday morning once a month rather than 7am - 8pm Monday to Sunday as an extreme example but packing more in for example) allow the facility to function very efficiently.
How does this apply to your own life?
Have a go at creating your own vision for your own home, workplace, or community. Once the vision is in place, it is easier to set achievable goals to attain it.
Next week - how do we get to our vision from where we are now?
Have a great week.
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