Research Proves Green Medicine Can Work at Scale

Two hundred tons of waste avoided. Three tons of plastic packaging diverted from landfills. 100% renewable electricity across 2,300+ clinics. These aren't aspirational goals. These are actual results from Mars Veterinary Health's 2025 initiatives, and they're documented in the company's latest Science Impact Report.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the sustainability conversation in veterinary medicine (what can one practice really do?), this report offers something rare: proof that sustainable veterinary care can work at scale.

The Reusable Shipping Revolution

Here's a concrete example that matters. Mars partnered with one of its largest distributors to scale a reusable shipping tote container program across 1,300 U.S. clinics in just 12 months. The result? Two hundred tons of waste that didn't end up in landfills.

Think about your own clinic's supply deliveries. How many cardboard boxes do you break down and recycle every month? How much bubble wrap and packaging material goes straight to the trash? Now imagine that waste simply not existing. That's what systemic change looks like.

The program works because it operates at the distributor level, not at the individual clinic level. You don't have to figure out where to store reusable containers or how to return them. The infrastructure handles it. This is the kind of sustainability solution that actually scales because it doesn't add burden to already overwhelmed practice teams.

The Numbers That Add Up

76% of veterinary staff feel it's very important that their clinic strives to be environmentally sustainable. 65% of pet owners want to know about their clinic's environmental efforts.

There's clearly demand from both sides. The question has always been: how do we actually do it without compromising patient care or bankrupting practices?

Mars's approach offers some answers. They achieved 100% renewable electricity across their Banfield, BluePearl, Linnaeus, and VCA locations in the U.S. and U.K. They collected 18,000+ pet food packages for recycling since 2023. They're implementing anesthetic gas capture technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

These aren't small pilot projects. These are operational changes across thousands of clinics serving millions of pets annually.

Pharmaceutical Stewardship That Matters

The pharmaceutical stewardship research might be the most important part. Mars published pioneering studies on antimicrobial stewardship that reached millions of people worldwide. They conducted a point prevalence survey on antibiotic usage across 280 AniCura clinics to enhance antimicrobial management practices.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to both human and animal health. Veterinary medicine plays a critical role in addressing it, but we need data to guide our decisions. Mars is generating that data at a scale that can actually inform policy and practice guidelines.

The Banfield Veterinary Emerging Topics (VET) Report focused specifically on antibiotic use and stewardship. That's not just corporate responsibility. That's addressing a genuine public health crisis with veterinary medicine's role clearly defined and measured.

What About Your Practice?

The sustainability conversation often feels overwhelming because the problems are so big and our individual practices are so small. What difference does it make if you switch to reusable shipping containers when climate change is a global crisis?

But Mars's report demonstrates something important: sustainability at scale requires systemic solutions, not just individual heroics. When distributors implement reusable shipping programs, thousands of clinics benefit automatically. When corporate networks achieve renewable electricity, thousands of clinics reduce their carbon footprint without having to figure out solar panels and power purchase agreements individually.

This doesn't mean individual efforts don't matter. It means that systemic change creates the infrastructure that makes sustainable choices easier for everyone.

The Bigger Picture

Mars Veterinary Health is treating sustainability as a core business function, not a marketing campaign. They're measuring results, publishing data, and sharing best practices across the profession.

The 2025 Science Impact Report dedicates significant space to sustainability because Mars recognizes something fundamental: a better world for pets depends on a healthy planet. You can't separate animal health from environmental health from public health. That's the One Health principle in action.

Whether you work at a Mars-owned practice or an independent clinic, this report offers something valuable: proof that sustainable veterinary medicine is possible at scale, with real metrics and real results.

The full report is at marsveterinary.com/veterinary-science/reports/2025. If you've been wondering whether the sustainability conversation is just virtue signaling or actually actionable, this report provides answers.

And the answers suggest that green medicine isn't just possible. It's already happening.