As you may have seen in a previous edition of our eNews or on social media, Dr Stephanie Stubbe, veterinarian and founder of AniPal was recently asked to speak at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand. This was an amazing honour and I was interested to find out more, so sent Steph a few questions….
Congratulations on being asked to talk to the United Nations in Bangkok. Were you speaking at a conference or a special meeting?
I presented at the SEA of Solutions Conference, which is an initiative run by The UN Environment Program in partnership with a variety of other organisations. The aim is to bring together different stakeholders in the plastic supply chain to develop market-based solutions and encourage policies to prevent marine plastic pollution in South East Asia.
They plan on hosting this conference in the nations who are most challenged and overrun by plastic pollution.
Who else was in attendance – were there other speakers?
Yes, it was a 4 day conference with over a 100 speakers from businesses, government, civil society, academia and UN bodies. The debate and discussion was fascinating, particularly between the large global plastic manufacturers and clean up organisations. It was great to meet Pete Ceglinski from Australian start-up Seabin, who are doing incredible work cleaning marinas globally.
How did you get asked to speak?
Plasticity, one of the partners involved in organising the event, is an amazing Australian organisation that works to drive forward the global circular economy. Plasticity has run conferences around the world linking different stakeholders involved in the circular economy. Anipal was selected to present as part of their pitching competition.
What was the message you were aiming to get across?
It is possible to harness the power of business and industry to make tangible positive impact socially and environmentally, achieving the triple bottom line.
Many in the veterinary and medical communities want to provide their care and services in a way that benefits not only their patients but the broader community, environment and wildlife.
There are ways we can do this!
What did you learn from the experience?
I learnt about the diverse organisations that are involved both directly and indirectly with plastics, from enormous waste picker community in India, the informal recycling community, INTERPOL and customs monitoring of illegal plastic trade to the frontline of scientific research into plastics.
The speakers and delegates were amazing people doing remarkable and inspiring things. I think that was my biggest take away.
Are there any other exciting speaking opportunities coming up?
There are a couple of podcasts pencilled in for next year as well as Plasticity’s conference which I’m looking forward to. Outside of that, I plan to really knuckle down to further grow and develop Anipal.
What’s next in the future of Anipal?
Every day, I have new ideas to help our industry transition to more sustainable practices (many not good I’m sure!). Focusing on what is both feasible and manageable has been a challenge for me (as someone who loves ideas) however by mid 2020, I hope Anipal will be able to provide a number of other more sustainable options for the animal and vet community.
Anipal in action at the UN – Plasticity Pitch
If you’d like to read Steph’s presentation at the SEA of Solutions Conference, click here…
If you have questions for Steph about Anipal or her recent presentation at the SEA of Solutions and Plasticity Conference at The United Nations, Thailand, ask her in the Comments section below
AniPal collars and leads – visit their website to find out how you can stock them at your veterinary clinic