Methods
Company survey:
A list of companies serving the veterinary industry was developed from the Compendium of Veterinary Products– US edition, and the Compendium of Animal Supplements– US edition. Details on how these databases collect company information is available on their websites. Online databases were last accessed on November 8, 2021.
An online survey was created using Qualtrics software. The survey consisted of both closed and open ended questions intended to capture basic respondent information, company demographics and details on publicly facing sustainability efforts.
Sustainability questions in survey:
- Does your company have a publicly available policy on sustainability? If so, where can it be found
- Please provide a brief (<200 words) summary of the sustainability policy that can be used in the guidebook. Of particular interest are objective metrics and future targets including progress towards targets.
- Does your company have a person, group, and/or committee dedicated to corporate sustainability efforts? If so, please describe.
- Does your company, or any of your company’s products, hold any certifications from an independent authority relevant to sustainability?
- What, if any, additional information regarding your company’s environmental sustainability practices would like to share?
In November 2021 the online survey link was sent to email addresses found under the company link on the Compendium of Veterinary Products list. If any companies had representation at Colorado State University (student or corporate) then the survey was additionally shared through the appropriate representatives. Companies that were included in the first edition of the guidebook were invited to update their information for the new edition. A reminder email was sent in January and responses were due Feb 15, 2022.
When companies had no contact email listed, or the email was non-deliverable, but a company website was listed, that site was searched for an alternative contact email or webform to share the survey information. If there was no email or contact form the company was called at the phone number listed, using a script to ask for electronic contact information. If there was no answer after the two calls, the company was listed as a non-responder.
Survey Responses
Responses were sorted according to whether the company had a publicly available sustainability policy that could be validated by the research team. If the link provided had no policy, metrics or other relevant sustainability information they were excluded from further review.
Companies with publicly available sustainability policies were included in the guidebook using a standardized page template that aligned with survey questions. If respondents from the first edition of the guide book failed to respond to the second edition survey, relevant information from their first responses were reformatted in accordance with the new edition. Prior to publication templates were shared with the survey respondent.
Information presented on each company page includes:
- Company summary: brief statement on purpose and products based on survey responses and any ‘About’ pages on their website.
- Our Assessment/Sustainability Policy: overview of publicly accessible information with additional information from the respondent summary as appropriate. Measurable metrics were included only if they were also listed online. If broad claims of environmental sustainability were made but no details were given, this was noted. If the company was a subsidiary or had any relevant partnerships, this was noted.
- Where to Find Policy: URL provided by respondent was checked for accuracy and updated as needed.
- Dedicated Company/Person: noted if provided, but otherwise marked as ‘unknown’.
- Certifications: if respondent reported certifications could also be found on their public facing sustainability page, links were provided to the original certification website.
- Additional Information: if respondents provided additional details regarding sustainability efforts that could be validated in some way this information was included.
- Company Size: To help put sustainability information into perspective, we asked the respondent to categorize the company as one of the following:
- Micro (10 full-time equivalent employees or less)
- Small (50 full-time equivalent employees or less)
- Mid-sized (250 full-time equivalent employees or less)
- Large (more than 250 full-time equivalent employees)
- Year Added/Updated: Year of addition to the guidebook was noted by year (first edition in 2021, second edition in 2022). Year of update in the guidebook was also noted, to help differentiate the companies that were new to the series, and ones that did not respond for the second addition.