Awareness
We are all aware of the flooding happening across the world and the devastation this causes. We see forest fires on the news from America and Australia. We see droughts and the horrific effects this has on communities across Asia and Africa. These are all the effects of climate change and the imbalance in nature that we have caused.
We have seen animal species reach the point of extinction simply because their environment denies them life. We have seen types of crops become scarce because the environment has changed. Indeed, when we look at our oceans we can see the struggle that fish have as a result of us damaging our environment.
Your patients want you to be green
Patients are becoming more eco-savvy and there is a growing number of consumers who look at green credentials before they buy. A survey conducted by GlobalData last year revealed that around 45% of consumers want to buy products/services that are better for the environment and this is an upward trend. Indeed, DefactoDentists.com has introduced a specific section where clinics can advertise their new green credentials.
Demonstrating that you are playing your part in the battle against climate change could give you a competitive edge and attract these patients to your clinic.
A big plus for any business working out its carbon footprint is the chance to identify cost and carbon-saving opportunities. Maybe it has never occurred to you just how much money is spent on lighting and heating, but when you go through the steps below, you will start to realise there are areas to cut costs. We are targeting a 10% reduction in energy use over the first 18 months, and further reductions beyond that.
Regardless of the savings, the regulations and the chance to attract new patients, there is also the argument that it’s the right thing to do.
And if we are all going to try to cut our emissions and pollutants, we need a starting point, a benchmark that we can use going forward to see if our changes have made a difference. This is your opportunity.
The Net Zero Dentistry initiative has no political agenda. Collectively, as a profession, we simply want to bring about small degrees of change that will have massive impacts on our environment. This can be achieved by making small, gradual changes to the way that we dispose of waste, burn energy, consume single-use plastics, and even the procedures we use during treatments.
Net Zero Dentistry has tapped into some of the foremost experts in relevant fields in order to create an extensive education programme, possibly covering some subjects that you were unaware of.
We do not align ourselves with any activists or protesters we see on the news. We are the dental profession trying to bring about some behavioural changes that will impact considerably the environment our children will inherit.
It would be difficult to beat Sir David Attenborough when it comes to awareness of the issues affecting our planet. This is the reason we all want to do our best for our planet.