From outgoing CEO, Steff Goldring

 

Dear VfCA members, volunteers, donors and community supporters

I've been thinking about how to write this email for some time. I've decided to do this the way I've approached this role: with honesty, warmth, and a great deal of gratitude.

After four years with Vets for Climate Action (three as CEO), my tenure concludes on 10 July. While I've been preparing for this moment, I find myself feeling more deeply than I anticipated.

What an extraordinary privilege it has been

When I joined VfCA, I had a great deal to learn about the veterinary profession: its language, its culture, its remarkable depth and breadth. Over four years of conversations, collaboration, conferences, masterclasses and late-night emails, I've learned how to say anthelmintics, come to understand the impact of the veterinary workforce shortage, and witnessed, again and again, just how much this profession cares.

This is a genuine, deep care, central to veterinary work. For animals. For people. For the world we share.

It has been my privilege to work alongside you.

The world has changed. And the stakes are higher than ever

When I joined VfCA, the world was already grappling with what some call a polycrisis - the compounding issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecological breakdown.

What has become clear is that the impacts of climate change on animals are not a future problem. They are a present one. As I write, bird flu has arrived on our shores, El Niño events are intensifying, heatwaves are sweeping Europe, ocean temperatures are breaking records, and species loss continues to accelerate.

The climate emergency is an animal health emergency. And the trusted, science-based, and community-connected veterinary profession has a critical role to play in naming that, and responding to it, using a One Health approach (an important tenet of the profession as I have also come to understand).

The conversation has changed

When VfCA began seven years ago, talking about climate action in the veterinary profession was, for many, unthinkable. Over the past four years, I've watched that discomfort shift, slowly at first, then unmistakably. The profession is engaging. Vets and nurses want to act. Practice owners want to lead. And our community has been part of making that possible.

What we have built together.

None of what VfCA has achieved happened without the heroic effort of this community. Volunteers giving their time and energy, donors contributing what they can, vets and nurses sharing our content and engaging how they can. Together, it has added up to something genuinely significant:

• 🌿 The Climate Care Program, the world's first online sustainability and emissions reduction program for vet clinics now has 54 practices across Australia, New Zealand and the US
• 🐴 Sustainable Equine Futures has grown from concept to a nationally recognised program with eight pilot practices and a live learning platform
• 🌍 The World Veterinary Environmental Alliance (WVEA) now connects veterinary climate organisations across Ireland, Uganda, France, South Africa, Japan and beyond
• 📣 We have visited Parliament House, contributed to government submissions, and helped shape climate policy for the veterinary profession
• 🎓 We have run masterclasses, presented at major conferences, and helped thousands of veterinary professionals find a practical path toward sustainability

The solutions exist. The science is unambiguous. And this trusted, solutions-focussed, and passionate profession is perfectly placed to lead.

What comes next?

As you will have seen in recent communications, VfCA is transitioning to the Australian Veterinary Environmental Alliance (AVEA), a name that is broader, more inclusive, and better positioned to attract the partnerships and funding that will allow this work to scale, both here and globally through WVEA. The charitable purpose, constitution and tax-deductible status all remain unchanged. This is an evolution, not a departure.

It may not always be straightforward. Change rarely is. But the benefits of this work are real and tangible. I leave knowing that AVEA is in good hands, with a committed Board, dedicated volunteers, and a community of supporters who genuinely care. And I will be cheering loudly from the sidelines. 

With that said, AVEA needs your support to make the most of this next chapter. There are volunteer opportunities shaped around what you can offer. Please reach out to Board Chair Dr Catherine Harper at [email protected] if you can gift your time or expertise. 

And if you are able to make a financial contribution - a one-off gift or a regular donation - every dollar goes directly to powering what comes next. Donate here. 🌿

Thank you

To every volunteer, donor, and supporter: Thank you. There are too many of you to name individually so just thank you. 

To our Board, past and present, and particularly Chair Dr Catherine Harper,  thank you for your leadership and trust in these recent months.

To the team, past and present, thank you for your passion, commitment, professionalism and expertise. 

To Jeannet, who started all of this before most of us knew how significant it would become: Thank you for the vision, and the reminder that change begins with one person deciding to start. And thank you for your support and generosity. 

And to you reading this, caring about this, being part of this: Thank you. The veterinary profession is called a caring profession for good reason, and I have seen that care in action every single day.

It has been the greatest privilege of my professional life to work with you. 

With warmth and deep gratitude,

Steff Goldring
Chief Executive Officer

P.S. If this has inspired you to do one thing, please let it be this: reach out about volunteering, make a small regular donation, or share this email with one colleague who might want to get involved. Every single action moves us forward. 🌿