History
SatiVite is a very different kind of medical cannabis company, one with a vision for a new sustainable kind of production and medicine. SatiVite was established by a diverse group of experienced farmers, scientists, innovators, researchers and patients, and not just in some big city boardroom by a bunch of suits. Our mission is to provide the best, sustainably produced medicinal cannabis products to patients in Australia and beyond.
Where We’re Coming From
SatiVite’s roots are in sustainable agriculture and patient advocacy for medicinal cannabis. As patients ourselves, we know that medical professionals want assurance they are prescribing safe, effective and affordable treatments to their patients. A growing body of research globally is proving that medical cannabis, while not a cure-all, can be that safe, effective and affordable treatment for a range of symptoms and conditions, often with fewer risks and side effects than traditional pharmaceuticals.
Medical cannabis is very different than what can be purchased from the “black market”. Medical cannabis, available only from specially licensed companies, is produced in compliance with strict regulations to ensure safety and quality, e.g., using tested, non-contaminated soil and water, only naturally derived fertilizers and strict pest-management protocols, as well as stringent laboratory testing to ensure that what’s promised on the label is actually what’s in the package.
In addition, many medical professionals and patients care about the environment and the impact on it of what they consume, including their food and medicine. We do too. As farmers, our roots are in sustainable agriculture. As researchers, we rely on science to consistently improve our sustainable methods, safety and quality outcomes. And, as patients, we believe in the power of the plant, grown as naturally as possible, to naturally treat a range of health issues.
What We Do
We combine decades of sustainable agricultural know-how, deep expertise in the medicinal cannabis industry, and international business experience to bring the best medical cannabis products available globally to patients throughout Australasia.
Currently, as a licensed medical cannabis wholesaler, we seek out, import and distribute the best cannabis – selected varieties of high-quality organically and sustainably grown dried flower and broad-spectrum extracts with a range of profiles, as well as the best cannabis-based medicines and delivery devices we can find from leading licensed suppliers in countries that have also legalized cannabis for medical and research purposes. In keeping with our sustainability ethos, each supplier is also evaluated for their environmental stewardship.
We provide these products – all certified to global standards such as EU – to patients with medical authorizations/prescriptions through our medical and pharmacy partners and soon, from Sativite’s own Brisbane-based distribution centre and on-line pharmacy.
Where We’re Going
As licensed growers and researchers, we’re developing and cultivating field-grown, high-CBD hemp varieties in Queensland and New South Wales. We’re also ramping up to produce Australian-grown, GMP-certified medical cannabis in our own custom-designed-and- engineered glass houses in New South Wales.
As experienced agronomists and farmers, we’re also investing in research and breeding programs, in collaboration with open-science projects in Australia and abroad, to develop new cannabis varieties specifically grown for the treatment of a range of medical conditions and to boost their ability to thrive in local growing environments in order to build Australian-owned intellectual assets and knowledge.
As innovators and environmentalists, we know it’s essential to reduce all kinds of waste in the production of hemp and medicinal cannabis, including the excess raw plant material, which shouldn’t be wasted. So, we’re also investing in R&D to explore alternative uses for this material, including seeds for food, animal grain and oil, and fibre from plant stalks for use in everything from geotextiles to packaging and fine linens.
Sativite is supplementing its existing suite of licenses with medicinal cannabis cultivation and research permits. These applications are pending ODC approval in 2021.
Becoming Part of the Solution
At Sativite, we are focused on providing safe, effective products to patients as sustainably as possible. For example, our medical cannabis is grown outdoors in green-fields operations using environmentally friendly cultivation methods, including the use of organic and regenerative agricultural practices. Our goal throughout our operations is to produce affordable, high-quality medical cannabis with a minimal carbon footprint.
“We’re doing things like building up soil quality through natural methods rather than pumping the soils full of fertilisers, which then run off into nearby water resources.”
Mike Cleary, CEO
- 80-90% of all steel ever produced is still in use today.
- Recycling 1 ton of steel conserves 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,400 lbs of coal and 120 lbs of limestone.
- Steel tins today weigh 33% less than they did 25 years ago. Thinner, stronger rolled steel requires less raw material.
- 71% of steel tins are recycled/re-used.
- 1810 was the year the steel tin was invented, to feed Napoleon’s army.
Sativite is also tackling the packaging waste issue head-on. We’re working with our suppliers to implement innovative packaging solutions to ensure patients receive the freshest product while reducing waste. For example, since oxidation affects flavour, aroma and potency of cannabis treatments, our dried flower products are packed in steel tins, not plastic. These custom-made tins are not only 100% recyclable, they are finished with liquid nitrogen, a safe, odourless gas used in food packaging of all kinds to reduce oxidation and inhibit the growth of mould, yeast, and aerobic bacteria. Yes, they cost a bit more. But they also enable us to deliver a better product to patients while significantly reducing waste and demand on landfills.
Our Sustainability Commitment
Today’s cannabis industry has some major waste problems. For starters, did you know …?
- The U.S. state of Washington’s legal cannabis industry produced 1.7 million pounds of plant waste between 2014, when cannabis cultivation was first legalized there, and 2017. Three years later, with medical and/or legal cannabis having been legalized in another 34 states, the amount of plant waste in the U.S. alone has grown to millions of pounds per year – and most of it is being sent to landfills. (Plant waste includes stalks, roots and other plant parts not used in production and left over from processing).
- Indoor cannabis cultivation facilities are one of the most energy-intensive business sectors. One 2012 study suggests that, from a consumer vantage point, the energy use for growing a one 1-gram “joint” creates 10 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution, equivalent to running ten 10-watt LED light bulbs (or one 100-watt incandescent bulb) for 76 hours. Embedded in each average indoor-grown plant is the energy equivalent of 70 gallons of oil. A small “grow house” with ten grow lights consumes approximately as much electricity as 10 average U.S. homes.
- According to a 2018 Canadian media report, for every gram of cannabis sold, there can be as much as 70 grams of packaging waste, much of it plastics. U.S.-based hemp packaging manufacturer Sana Packaging estimates that more than one billion units of single-use cannabis plastic packaging will be discarded in North America in 2020.
Our Leadership Team
Unlike most players in Australia’s emerging medical cannabis industry, all of Sativite’s founders have formal qualifications in agriculture and in-depth, hands-on experience in growing medical cannabis, industrial hemp as well as other crops.
Complemented by a variety of business experience in building and running companies, international trading, import/export and banking and finance, our leadership team brings the best of both worlds to the company’s day-to-day operations and strategic growth.
Ross Munro
Chairman
Ross is the owner of BMC Partnership and one of the cotton industry’s best design engineers. He brings vast experience from his front-line involvement in Australia’s cotton revolution since the 1980s. Having led multifaceted business including Cotton Harvesting, Manufacturing, Hemp Growing, Composting, Logistics and Transport, Ross is applying his wealth of design and innovation experience into developing large scale manufacture and harvesting techniques for the medicinal cannabis industry.
Michael Cleary
Chief Executive Officer/Director
Michael is involved in successful, sustainable farming enterprises in hemp and grain production with an interest in emerging agricultural markets. Previously, Mike worked for 15 years in the banking/finance industry in senior executive roles in agribusiness and as a director of Regional Business Finance. Mike has been a participant in the medicinal cannabis trials held in Australia since 2018 and is an advocate for improved patient access.
Brian White
Chief Technology Officer/Director
Brian is a Plant Biochemist with a unique background in horticulture and international business. Brian previously owned and operated a high-production native plant nursery and has been a trader in Asia for 15 years with thousands of trades in technology and services. Brian holds a Cannabis Researcher license and was a co-founder of Cannatrek Limited. In that role, Brian secured medicinal cannabis production, processing, and research licenses for Cannatrek, and recently project-managed and completed construction of Cannatrek’s greenhouse facility near Brisbane.
Matthew Barnes
Director
Matthew is a qualified Agronomist and licensed cannabis grower with decades of practical experience in an agricultural production environment. Matt is a director of CQ Composting Pty Ltd, a producer of composted fertilizers and innovative crop enhancement products. Matthew is also a founder of Soil Planners, a group of sustainable agriculture specialists with over 300,000 hectares currently under management in sustainable agriculture.
Daniel Timcke (BSc, BPharmSci, MPharm)
Pharmacist, Industrial Chemist, GMP Auditor
Daniel brings over 15 years of process and operations experience working for multinational, ISO9001 accredited manufacturing companies, as well as nine years of practice as a registered pharmacist. Transitioning from community pharmacy in 2013 to his research and consulting business, PolyRxn, Daniel has been engaged with domestic therapeutic and international biotechnology companies advising on regulatory affairs.
The 2016 changes in legislation presented an opportunity to focus on medicinal cannabis and its alignment with the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM), focussing on the safety and efficacy, pharmacology and production of final dosage forms. Daniel is a Cannabis Dispensing Pharmacist licensed with Qhealth, Industrial Chemist and a licensed GMP Auditor.
Paul Thaw (BEC, (Hons), CPA, MBA)
Chief Financial Officer, Company Secretary
Paul is an experienced finance executive and Company Secretary with more than 20 years’ experience, gained locally and internationally, across a range of organizations from growth-orientated start-up’s to ASX listed multinational companies. He has extensive experience in corporate governance, corporate strategy, capital raising, financial reporting and compliance. Paul has worked as CFO in a number of industries including Medicinal Cannabis, Pharmaceuticals, Mining/Exploration, Telecommunications and Waste Management. He also has public practice experience, providing business advisory, taxation and audit services to a diverse range of clients.