Sieske Valk is a Dutch social entrepreneur, ex-veterinary nurse, and End of Life Doula for pets. She recently set up Autumn Animals, a holistic palliative and hospice care organisation for London’s elderly and ill pet community. Autumn Animals offers in-home veterinary care, supplementary therapies, Quality of Life assessments and ongoing emotional support for the caregivers.
As an organisation, Autumn Animals has a strong impact statement and a distinctive approach – tell us more about your thinking.
Coming from the veterinary care profession, I want to make sure we provide top-notch care for both client and patient, but also our employees. And also coming from a climate change adaptation profession, I want to make sure we provide all of that without having a negative impact on the environment.
During the inception of the business, I spent a lot of time setting up a clear impact statement on the subjects of Mental Health, Personal Growth, Environment and Diversity. I believe that even though we are a business that needs to make a profit to remain financially sustainable, we don’t have to forego environmental sustainability to do so. I cringe when I see clear cases of greenwashing with companies that claim how “green” they are but are still investing in mineral oils or have set their net zero goal so far back in the future that we’ll all have evolved into being able to live under water by the time that year comes.
This is why we are a carbon neutral company; all our employees’ private and business carbon emissions will be offset with Ecologi. Obviously, offsetting is not the answer to climate change, so we also limit our single-use waste as much as possible and make sure we travel to clients either by foot, bicycle (or e-bike), public transport or e-scooter. The travel expenses for these modes are covered by the company, to really help our employees leave their cars at home. We’re also a member of 1% For The Planet, meaning 1% of our revenue will be donated to the charity to invest in a healthier and more socially-just planet.
“I believe that even though we are a business that needs to make a profit to remain financially sustainable, we don’t have to forego environmental sustainability to do so.”
There are many more things we do to make the business as environmentally friendly as possible, including plant-based food for team meetings and locally planting a tree per patient we have had to say goodbye to. This way we memorialise a life by giving a life (and hopefully being able to pick the fruits as well!). At the moment I have set my sights on Stave Hill Ecological park, in South East London where I walk the dogs daily. They have a beautiful orchard that could do with a few more lush fruit trees.
As a woman of colour who has worked in the pet sector for twenty years now, I have never worked with another person of colour. Lately, I have seen more people of colour in the veterinary care sector but we’re still very underrepresented. That’s why I strive to create a team that is as diverse as the London-based community we serve.
I’ve done my best to create an environment where flexible working is supported, with fair wages so staff don’t feel like they need to work long hours just to be able to survive. 9-5 jobs aren’t suited to everyone, and care does not stop at 5pm! We’re not just automatons that work productively every day; we’re living beings who get tired, have other responsibilities, are affected by hormones and seasons, and also want to take a day off once in a while.
If we want to keep providing that top-notch care, we also need to make sure we’re all continuously learning, both about what’s happening in the veterinary sector, but also how we can grow personally. I’ve gained so much from life coaching over the past decade and I want to make sure every team member will get that opportunity too.
Your structure favours team-based decision making, flexible working, team sponsors and a coaching approach to management. How do your values of diversity and personal growth benefit your clinical practice?
I think that if a person has ownership of the type of work they choose to do, when to work and how to do it, informed by the knowledge they have gained from experience, they are more likely to be happy in their work and to go that extra mile for the client and patient. They’re also less likely to suffer from burn-out and have support from their team when the going gets tough. This translates to a team that is focused on ensuring the best kind of care for their patients, not a washed-out group of people who are just doing the job to make ends meet and not feeling appreciated or fulfilled.
I want to see a team that feels inspired to inspire others to take good care of themselves first and foremost, in order to take care of their patients and support each other throughout. Everybody should find their niche, the place they feel they have found their “flow”, whether that’s within this organisation or somewhere else – I want to make sure we’re wasting nobody’s time and brain cells.
How do you feel that company culture can be supportive towards women in veterinary careers?
What I’ve described in the previous questions breathes “women”. Although the veterinary profession is dominated by women, it’s still the (white) men that are in charge most of the time. This translates to the work culture in many veterinary practices. Even if run by a woman, practices (and the rest of the world) still run according to the circadian (male) rhythm. There’s limited space for the female rhythm, based on the 28-day cycle or the various second (or third, fourth…) shifts women take on outside of their paid job.
By offering flexible working hours based on what works for individuals, whether that is based around family care, hormonal fluctuations (including menopause or your regular 28 day cycle) or hobbies, we can make work really work for an individual. Historically, women have been supportive to each other when living together and I feel the time has come to translate that into the working sphere.
The environment is a strong element of your company values. How can veterinary businesses lead the way on sustainability?
The veterinary industry is historically one that is not kind to the environment. Think of all the single use items discarded after surgery or the antibiotics used in conventional farming. There are a few great organisations that have done lots of research on sustainability in the veterinary sector, such as Vet Sustain. They have checklists for veterinary practices that help them reduce their carbon footprint. After that, practices can offset their carbon emissions with organisations like Ecologi. In cities, staff can consider the use of public transport and (e-) bikes and scooters – even when one would need a lot of equipment to carry to a client, you could still use an (e-) cargo bike. The Department of Transport and some other organisations even pay towards companies transferring from car to (e-) cargo bike! In addition, it makes the person using it fitter, happier, and more in touch with their local environment.
What are your future aspirations for decreasing the environmental impact of your practice?
We’re striving to become a B Corp before the end of 2023, working towards collective action to address society’s critical challenges.
We use environmentally friendly suppliers where possible, using Ecosia as a search engine and hosting our website through Ecohost. As the organisation grows, the patients will be cared for by local teams, minimising their time spent travelling and maximising the time spent caring. And finally, we’re still looking for a partner that offers aquamation, the more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.
How can veterinary businesses aim for high standards of social and environment entrepreneurship?
They can start by becoming a member of the organisations mentioned above and chatting to someone from VetSustain. Practice owners can talk to staff about what they think you can do socially and environmentally to serve the local community and environment. You’d be surprised by their inventiveness!
A good exercise is to start listing the little things you take for granted: all those blood results printed on paper when they could be checked on a tablet, or the lights left on at night for appearance’s sake. Consider your providers of electricity and webhosting, your bank and phone company – yes, you even have environmentally friendly phone companies! There are so many things businesses can do to become more environmentally and socially sustainable.
For exclusive access to more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly newsletter
Sustainable flexible working in an ‘always-on’ world
Ellie West – Veterinary Specialist and sustainability champion