Responding to change: ethical choices to improve your practice and reduce your environmental footprint

It is not breaking news that the environment is in need of our help. It is not enough that we recycle at home, cut down on unnecessary packaging and avoid single-use plastics, or that we indulge fads like Veganuary each year or partake in meat-free Monday. These changes should stem into all facets of our lives, including our practice and there are two main reasons for this. The first is that there are plenty of aspects of running a cosmetic and aesthetic practice that are harmful to the environment (single-use plastics, hazardous waste, high-energy consumption, etc), so identifying these areas and making changes where, and if, possible will reduce carbon footprints in the long term and could also save practitioners money by reducing running costs. The second reason is that both current and potential patients are more aware of environmental and social issues and are making sustainable changes in their own lives, as this awareness is changing the way that they shop and make purchasing decisions, too. Therefore, if practitioners are not taking the initiative and making more environmentally friendly business decisions, then patients will go to the clinic that is and that most aligns with their outlook on the world and lifestyle choices. For a lot of businesses, recognising this is not the shocking or most difficult part, actually knowing what changes to make and understanding what it means to be more sustainable is, along with figuring out where to start and what direction is best to follow to support their beliefs, business and customers.