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. We will be ably guided through the evening by MC Lish Fejer, from ACB Radio Canberra. There will be time to talk with other guests, an opportunity to bid on our live auction during the proceedings, and a live music performance from Alinta Barlow.

About Alinta

Alinta Barlow is a local Ngunnawal singer/song writer. She has been performing covers and original pieces since she was 15. She studied a bachelor of music at the university of Newcastle and has came back to Canberra to be with family and friends. She’s recently started incorporating Ngunnawal language into her songs and hopes to share her love for this newly learnt language with others.

Join us this World Environment Day to connect with your community while raising important funds for the work of the Conservation Council ACT Region. 

Together, we can create a sustainable future for the ACT and region.

Sponsor for this year’s speaker.