Environmental Practice of the Year Award winners

A huge congratulations to Woodhouse Opticians who won the 2025 SightCare Award for Environmental Practice of the Year Award, sponsored by Optiswiss.

The winning entry stood out to the judges for the practice’s exceptional commitment to sustainability, incorporating eco-friendly practices throughout their business. The whole team in this family-run practice is dedicated to sustainable initiatives, engaging with eco-conscious suppliers and collaborating with local experts to offset carbon emissions. They inspire others to adopt greener practices, making sustainability a core part of their mission.

We spoke to Woodhouse Opticians about their recent win:

What was your initial reaction when you and your team found out that your practice had won the Environmental Practice of the Year Award?

Delighted of course and surprised as there are other independents with the same commitment and drive as we have and all equally eligible.

What do you believe was the key factor that set your practice apart and led to this win? 

I believe it was the fact that we are the only independent we know of to have achieved Carbon Neutral as a practice, or were at the time of submission.

Has this recognition inspired you to set new goals or be more ambitious in your practice? If so, how? 

We plan to keep striving for more ways to lessen our impact on the environment, one of which is more car shares.  We also have to start attempting to scope our down stream carbon footprint by mapping where the frames we make up go to when they leave the practice with the patients, ie. distance travelled and mode of transport etc.  Also longevity of wear.

What exciting developments or future plans can we expect from your practice following this achievement? 

We will of course be marketing this win on our socials, we hope to be able to maintain carbon neutral and  remain as ethical and lessen our impact on the environment for future generations.

How have you celebrated and shared this success with your patients, community, and staff? What has the response been like?

We have talked about it with patients and of course the team and family members are delighted with our success.  We display the trophy in practice and talk to whomever we can about the importance of sustainability. Every day we smile about winning the award.