The sustained commitment to the cause of sustainability shown by UK dentist and practice owner Dr Davinder Raju was recognised on June 22 when he was inducted as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists at the European section annual conference in Cyprus.
The ICD was established in 1920 and has 12,000 members who have all been awarded the title of FICD (Fellow, International College of Dentists). By invitation only, fellowships are awarded to dentists who have shown ‘outstanding professional achievement, meritorious service and dedication to the continued progress of dentistry for the benefit of humankind.’
Dr Raju’s fellowship recognises his work in raising awareness of sustainable dentistry and developing the Greener Dentistry Global (GDG) toolkit and accreditation programme, launched in 2023. The programme is inspired by the Dove Holistic Dental Centre, the UK’s first sustainable practice, established by Dr Raju in 2017.
GDG empowers dental practices and groups to tackle a critical challenge – minimising their environmental impact and aligning with the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.
Two imminent developments are the addition of a carbon calculator created by Brett Duane, the academic who was the first to carry out research into the carbon footprint of dental practices in 2011. Dr Raju is building the calculator into the GDG app with a user-friendly interface. He is also adding a reporting facility, enabling members to draw up reports on their progress in meeting ESG goals in an internationally recognised format.
Dr Raju commented: “I am very grateful to the ICD for inducting me as a fellow. It is tremendously exciting to achieve such high-level recognition for my work on sustainability, which I hope will inspire more dental practices around the world to sign up and be part of the movement for change.
