World Environment Day event

On 4 June 2022, Prof Veena will be the keynote speaker on World Environment Day at an event at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra, hosted by the Conservation Council

She will talk about various UNSW SMaRT Centre sustainability initiatives and technologies as well as an overview of the new national Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub that she is Leader of.

Event site

Details from the organisers:

Join us on Saturday 4 June for a gala fundraising dinner at the National Museum of Australia.
Support the Conservation Council’s work protecting the ACT’s environment.

World Environment Day is a powerful day for environmental action. This year, join us to celebrate the 50th year of World Environment Day.

On June 5, 1972, global governments gathered in Stockholm for the first world environment conference – the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The Stockholm Declaration was agreed, outlining key principles of environmental protection that hold true to this day. 

“Only One Earth” was the theme for the 1972 Stockholm Conference. 50 years on, this truth still holds – this planet is our only home. And with nature in emergency mode, the 2022 World Environment Day campaign #OnlyOneEarth calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet.

Join us at dinner to celebrate World Environment Day 2022 on June 4 at the National Museum.

World Environment Day Dinner brings together Canberrans who share a passion for sustainability and protecting the wonderful environment in our region. Take time to catch up with friends and fellow environmentalists, and forge meaningful connections with political, government and private sector representatives.

We are honoured to welcome Professor Veena Sahajwalla as our guest speaker. 

You might know Veena for her regular appearances as a judge on the long-running ABC TV series ‘The New Inventors’ and as a guest on ‘Q& A’ and the ‘War on Waste.’ Veena is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She was elected as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2018.

Veena is at the forefront of developing solutions for a more sustainable planet, and understands that we really do have #OnlyOneEarth.

Renowned for pioneering the transformation of waste, Veena launched the world’s first e-waste microfactory in 2018.  As the founding Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at UNSW she is producing a new generation of green materials and products made entirely, or primarily, from waste. 

A circular economy

Did you know that over 14,000 tons of batteries and 70,000 tonnes of coffee waste are destined for landfill each year in Australia? Yet these waste streams are, in fact, renewable resources if the valuable materials can be ‘unlocked’ and at a suitable scale. Veena heads the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘green manufacturing’, a leading national research centre that works in collaboration with industry to ensure new recycling science is translated into real world environmental and economic benefits.

The event 

World Environment Day Dinner is the Conservation Council’s largest fundraising event of the year and provides vital support to our work advocating to protect the environment and building a sustainable community. 

Held at the National Museum of Australia, tickets include a delicious three-course vegetarian meal, with wine, beer and soft drinks. There will be time to talk with other guests, a live music performance, and an opportunity to bid on our live auction during the proceedings.