In the 21st century, sustainability generally refers to the capacity for the natural environment and human civilisation to coexist. In response to concerns over degradation of the biosphere, particularly global warming, earlier this year MPs in the House of Commons approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency.
For many employed in optics, working to improve sustainability will be a worthwhile pursuit regardless of financial implications. Those less keen may wish to consider the rising desire for sustainable retail choices among the general public and the fact that some actions (such as fitting energy reducing light bulbs) that increase sustainability actively save practices money.
Starting small
According to Phil Mullins, operations director at National Eyecare Group, independent practices are well placed to quickly match consumer demand. ‘Although the public at large are waking up to the need for a more sustainable lifestyle, businesses across the UK are still to respond in any major way,’ he says. ‘Obviously large businesses will take time to make changes, but small businesses such as independent optical practices can react quickly and take the initiative by leading the green revolution.
‘Changes don’t have to be big to start with. Simple actions like replacing plastic bags with paper, joining a contact lens recycling scheme and embracing the new paperless eGOS system, will all save resources. More substantial changes could include moving to use remote edging, which reduces the need to send frames around the country. You could even look at introducing a digital printing system of frames, where you don’t hold stock and each frame is 3D printed for each patient.’
Keith Sheers, managing director of Optisoft, underlines the benefits gained by reducing paper waste in practice.
‘A good practice management system offers a big increase in sustainability through the ability to send examination reminders via email or SMS instead of letters by post,’ says Sheers. ‘This method is environmentally friendly and there are a lot of financial savings to be made too. For example, posting a reminder costs around £1 – taking into account the cost of stamp, paper, envelope, time – whereas SMS is circa 5p and offers instant and increased response rates.’
Chain reaction
Meanwhile Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care is seeking to lead the way for chains of practices in terms of sustainability.
‘We’ve launched a new sustainability initiative across our group which starts by talking to all our suppliers and asking them to share details of their commitment in this area. It’s really important that we partner with responsible suppliers,’ says Ryan Leighton, chief executive officer of Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care. ‘Our approach is to seek out and work with partners who have built products and services around social and environmental care rather than those who just take a retrospective approach. We are also reviewing our own approach to recycling and appointing practice sustainability representatives. We are being pushed by the practice teams to make strides in this area, which is great to see.’
Furthermore, Leightons has committed to raise funds for the Woodland Trust, a charity dedicated to tree planting and protecting existing woodlands and wildlife.
‘Planting trees is one global, long-term solution to sustainability,’ says Leighton. ‘It is close to our hearts and the hearts of our customers, so we want to be a part of it. Our target is to raise funds to help restore acres of woodland. In addition to our contributions, we will be offering customers the opportunity to make small donations.’
While identifying actions to improve sustainability is relatively straightforward, implementation will require people to change some, possibly long standing, work practices.
Mullins comments: ‘Whatever changes you decide to make, ensure your staff are on board, if not it just won’t get done. You could even make it a team building exercise, with staff suggesting the best ways to go green. Above all have some fun with going green.’
Case study
Hereford practice BBR Optometry is well ahead of the curve in exploring sustainability in practice.
‘We have PV cells [solar panels] on the roof,’ says Nicholas Black, chief executive officer and dispensing optician. ‘As a business we can use the electricity as it is generated because we are operational during the day. Our practice is in a listed building so obtaining planning permission was challenging but the system has produced £300 feed-in-tariff [from exporting spare energy to the National Grid] and £700 worth of free electricity over the past 24 months. Depending on where you are located there may be other sustainable energy options like air pumps or wind turbines.’
BBR use a pedicab to transport waste to recycling hubs, although the need for this has been reduced by expanded collection services in the Hereford area. ‘Confidential waste is collected in recyclable bags by Enviroshred, a specialist in this area, to be shredded and then used in local farming environments,’ continues Black. ‘We also collect milk container tops to recycle separately for charity,’
IT use within the practice is designed to minimise paper use. ‘Our clinical records moved onto the i-Clarity practice management system in 2012. We send our old computers to be reconditioned by a local charity for further use elsewhere. We also use IT to bundle deliveries and orders into clusters to reduce costs, processing time and carbon footprint. In the same vein, we prioritise local services whenever possible and look to build enhanced relationships with optical suppliers that manufacture in the UK like TD Tom Davies, Norville and Nikon,’ says Black.
In other measures, the practice deploys LED lighting to reduce energy consumption, provides a contact lens recycling box for public use and staff deliver local GP letters by hand. ‘We have a re-useable patient journey card with a wipe clean and reuse function that travels around the practice with the patient,’ says Black. ‘The team also participates in litter picking with the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.’
Black outlines further measures that will be implemented soon including use of the new eGOS system, installing a Glaskar system of refillable lens cleaning bottles and placing dual function bins around the practice. Further into the future, aspirations include increasing the number of solar panels on the practice roof, working with suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging and developing a sustainability charter for the business.
Ten steps to increase sustainability
In order to make an optometric practice more sustainable and attractive to patients looking for ecological eye care, Dr Susan Blakeney, clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, suggests the following actions.
• Use electronic records where possible, they help reduce waste, and may reduce unnecessary printing of visual field and imaging reports.
• Maintain good stock control, to avoid expiry date waste of consumables such as eye drops and contact lens solutions.
• Make frame cases optional, people may be happy to use their existing cases. Alternatively you can get eco-friendly cases.
• Set up refillable spectacle cleaning sprays, this will be good for the environment and for practice footfall and retention.
• Encourage patients to use larger spectacle cleaning cloths which can be washed.
• Talk to patients about what they can do with their products once they have finished with them. Tell them not to flush used contact lenses down the toilet and remind them of this at check-ups.
• Make sure you’re putting everything possible in your business recycling waste stream, where available. Especially hard plastics, such as empty contact lens solution bottles and the plastic outer part of minims – only the inner vial of the minim needs to be put into pharmaceutical waste for incineration – it saves money and the environment.
• Where possible, shop around with different product manufacturers and ask what they’re doing to cut down on plastic waste.
• Invest in a zero-waste box and put it in a prominent place in the practice.
• Donate unwanted spectacles to organisations such as Vision Aid Overseas instead of throwing them away.
Make a difference today with these simple actions:
• Shut down computers and other electricity supplied equipment overnight
• Install energy efficient light bulbs
• Offer customers paper bags rather than plastic and make receipts optional
• Set up printers to use both sides of a sheet of paper
• Switch to refillable non-toxic cleaning products such as the Ecover range, find a refill station at ecover.com/store-locator