You’ve hopefully seen the Eye on Sustainability save-the-date advert on the front cover of this week’s issue. If not, note Wednesday, October 2 in your diaries.
After a successful launch event at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth geological education facility, the Eyes on Sustainability conference moves to the south coast of England, at the i360 observation tower in Brighton for an elevated view of an increasingly important topic for the sector.
Feedback from last November’s event was overwhelmingly positive, so Optician is already hard at work developing even more content that will change the way you think about sustainability in your day-to-day businesses, whether that’s a practice, supplier or ophthalmic lab.
As we approach the end of the current CPD cycle in December 2024, there’ll be a haul of interactive points available, if your points total could use a top-up.
I was a little surprised, and slightly concerned, not to see sustainability feature on any of the education content at 100% Optical earlier this year.
I know there are some members of the optometry profession who don’t prioritise green thinking in their businesses, but that short term thinking is a mistake.
Even though NHS provision in optometry is currently on something of a knife edge, it’s quite feasible that optical practices contracting for the NHS will have to align with its carbon reduction plan and 2030 net zero commitment.
Consumer demand is also driving change, with retail experts at a recent Carl Zeiss event suggesting that for up to 20% of buyers, sustainability is top of the ‘buyerarchy’ for them.
Optician will once again be working with some of the leading figures in the optical industry to deliver presentation and lecture content that will engage and more importantly, inspire.