How CVS Group Cuts Medical Waste in Vetinary Practise

Can healthcare firms meet their sustainability goals despite the hurdles posed by medical waste? CVS Group’s latest results suggest they can. Through its CVS Care Plan 2025, the veterinary group has halved the amount of waste it sends to landfill.

The company’s latest sustainability report details strong progress toward its waste reduction targets, showing meaningful improvements in recycling and resource efficiency across its extensive veterinary network.

Advancing medical waste reduction

Between July 2024 and June 2025, CVS Group cut landfill waste by 53.5%, far exceeding its initial 10% objective. The Group also raised the share of non-medical waste recycled to 39%, surpassing both last year’s 34.9% result and its internal goal of 38%. These figures highlight how targeted sustainability measures can deliver measurable impact in a large, complex healthcare organisation.

The CVS Care Plan 2025 – a comprehensive framework for environmental, social and governance goals – credits these achievements to a blend of behaviour change and operational innovation.

“Every veterinary practice has access to step-by-step waste disposal guidance and many have Environment Champions steering the effort at ground level,” says Rosie Naylor, CVS Group Procurement Director and Sustainability Lead. “This is leading to less waste going to landfill and more being recycled.”

Central to the plan’s success is CVS’s network of Environment Champions, who coordinate waste reduction and recycling programmes across more than 500 practices, hospitals and laboratories in the UK and Australia. Their work has driven improvements in waste segregation, staff engagement and collaboration with suppliers.

About CVS Group

CVS Group is one of the largest integrated veterinary service providers in the UK and Australia, working across small animal, farm animal, equine and laboratory services. Its activities include general practice, specialist referrals, diagnostic laboratories and crematoria. With over 500 sites, the Group serves thousands of clients and patients daily, placing environmental stewardship at the core of its leadership in veterinary healthcare.

Through initiatives under the CVS Care Plan 2025, sustainability has been embedded throughout its operations, spanning responsible procurement, waste management, employee wellbeing and community engagement. The plan embodies CVS’s vision for a more sustainable veterinary sector that combines environmental responsibility with high-quality patient care.

The CVS Care Plan 2025

This strategic framework guides the Group’s sustainability efforts, setting clear targets aligned with national and industry goals on waste, emissions and social value. Waste management remains a major focus area, supported by targeted actions that follow the principles of reduce, recycle and reuse:

• Reduce: CVS has eliminated unnecessary packaging from selected own-label medicines, including removing the outer layer from its Endectrid product range, cutting down on materials and associated emissions.

• Recycle: The Group has introduced “zero waste boxes” to collect and recycle difficult-to-process materials such as soft plastics, diverting more waste from landfill.

• Reuse: Reusable sharps containers were rolled out across UK practices in the past year, preventing around 21,000 single-use bins from incineration annually.

Looking ahead, CVS intends to cut landfill waste by a further 10% and boost non-medical waste recycling to 41% within the next reporting period.

“We want to reflect the importance of our clients and our communities in our sustainability plan,” says Richard Fairman, Chief Executive Officer, CVS Group. “We need the support of both in order to deliver further success.”

Navigating complex healthcare waste

Despite its strong results, CVS acknowledges that challenges persist. The veterinary sector generates intricate waste streams, combining medical and non-medical materials that demand careful handling and segregation. Maintaining consistency across hundreds of sites is complex, especially as waste regulations and recycling infrastructure vary by region.

Another persistent challenge is balancing clinical safety and compliance with sustainability targets. While medical waste must meet strict infection control standards, CVS continues exploring technologies and partnerships to lower its environmental footprint.

In its next phase, the Group will prioritise supplier collaboration and enhanced staff training to further reduce waste generation. Improved data tracking, waste audits and cross-functional teamwork will underpin the next stage of its sustainability journey.