Sustainable anaesthesia offers benefits in practice

Veterinary anaesthetists are well placed to tackle one of the profession’s most pressing challenges: reducing the environmental impact of healthcare, while improving clinical efficiency and saving money. 

Professor Gudrun Schoeffmann and Dr Sabina Diez Bernal, Anaesthesia Specialists from the Anaesthesia Service at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Hospital for Small Animals, highlight how small, deliberate changes can help veterinary practices yield significant environmental and economic benefits without compromising patient care. 

Inhalation gas selection

The veterinary profession uses a variety of inhalational anaesthetic gases such as desflurane, isoflurane, nitrous oxide and sevoflurane to safely maintain general anaesthesia during diagnostic and surgical procedures. Although essential for many procedures, these agents are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute significantly to healthcare’s carbon footprint. Simply opting for lower-impact alternatives like sevoflurane and avoiding high-emission gases such as desflurane and nitrous oxide, veterinary practices can reduce anaesthesia-related greenhouse gas emissions by over 70%.

Low-flow techniques 

Reducing fresh gas flow rates during anaesthesia is a simple, high-impact strategy to curb carbon impact. Switching from 3 litres per minute to 0.5 litres per minute can cut the use of volatile agents and greenhouse emissions by more than 60 per cent, according to UK audit data. High-flow anaesthesia leads to unnecessary waste, while low-flow techniques mean less anaesthetic gas is purchased and released, reducing both environmental impact and drug expenditure. 

Safety remains paramount, but with appropriate monitoring and equipment checks, low-flow anaesthesia is a safe, practical and cost-effective approach to greener veterinary care.

Intravenous and balanced anaesthesia

Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) or partial intravenous anaesthesia (PIVA), along with balanced protocols that combine intravenous agents with locoregional techniques, can eliminate or sharply reduce volatile emissions. Studies show that overall greenhouse-gas footprints of intravenous agents are far lower than those of inhalational anaesthetics. Careful dosing, monitoring and airway management are required, but these methods can improve cardiovascular stability, streamline recovery and reduce the use of inhalation gases significantly.

Effective equipment 

Using effective, regularly serviced equipment significantly enhances sustainability in veterinary anaesthesia. This minimises the release of greenhouse gases, reduces waste and resource consumption, and enables the adoption of more environmentally conscious techniques. Buying anaesthetic machines which have been refurbished after they have been retired from the human healthcare system can be more cost-effective than new veterinary only equipment as these are designed to provide low flow anaesthesia. 

Responsible housekeeping

Efficient theatre workflows, rigorous waste segregation, and judicious ordering of pharmaceuticals all cut energy use and clinical-waste disposal costs. Simple steps such as turning off unused equipment, using reusable drapes and breathing circuits where appropriate, and switching to lower-carbon energy sources—reduce overheads while supporting climate goals.

The economic case is clear: purchasing less volatile agents, lowering energy bills, and reducing clinical waste charges translate directly to savings.  

For veterinary surgeons, adopting greener anaesthetic practices is not just an ethical choice - it can be a practical, economical one too.