One Welfare and Sustainability Center established at college through sponsorship from LVMH Métiers d’Art

LVMH Métiers d’Art has announced a transformational sponsorship to The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine to create and expand the college’s One Welfare and Sustainability Center (OWSC).

“One Welfare” is an emerging multidisciplinary science that explores the relationship between animal welfare, the environment, and people. It encompasses considerations for conserving animal species, caring for animals throughout all stages of life, promoting sustainability and environmental protections, ensuring good working conditions for farm and production workers, and respecting local communities. This sponsorship will support the establishment of OWSC and its mission to become a center for species welfare and sustainability through research, knowledge, training, outreach, and expertise.

The OWSC is poised to become a global leader in animal population health, welfare, and sustainability, with a focus on conservation-based systems. Through this new sponsorship, the OWSC will develop a comprehensive training program for animal health specialists such as professional veterinary students, graduate students and veterinary clinical residents and seek to ensure global awareness of the health, welfare, and sustainability of animal populations in production systems using novel species at all levels of production management.

Since its creation in 2015, LVMH Métiers d’Art has brought together a global community of people striving to produce the quality LVMH is known for in a sustainable way. Craftsmen, small entrepreneurs, scientists, communities, and families across five continents help weave this web. Using a global network of state-of-the-art laboratories that promotes innovation with constant attention to sustainability, enabling significant reductions in emissions and streamlining the production process, LVMH Métiers d’Art has created a network of people that has become, in itself, an ecosystem.

With an ambition to Be The Model® comprehensive college of veterinary medicine in the world, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine is focused on innovation, collaboration and excellence in education, research, patient care, outreach and service. According to Rustin Moore, DVM, PhD, dean of The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, it is expected that the outcomes of the center would benefit everyone involved in managing animal populations in production systems by having better- trained professionals with expanded knowledge and expertise.

“The center will play a crucial role in the conservation of multiple species around the world. With this sponsorship, the OWSC can expand its focus to train veterinary professionals to support the health, welfare and sustainability of animal populations used in production systems. Thanks to the sponsorship of LVMH Métiers d’Art, the entire luxury industry will benefit from an expanded knowledge base to create best practices and conservation strategies. But the true winners of this sponsorship are the animals we conserve, the people we work with, the communities we work in, and the ecosystems we are preserving for generations to come,” said Moore.

Mark Flint, BVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACAW, will serve as the inaugural director and Jaylene Flint, PhD, will serve as the associate director for research and education. The OWSC at Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine will serve as a hub for promoting animal welfare and species conservation and sustainability through research, education/training, outreach, and expertise within a network of researchers and managers serving all species of welfare and conservation concern. The center will contribute to the advancement of conservation and welfare science and create innovative solutions that support sustainability while transferring skills to the next generation of experts in the field and providing education and guidance to people working with these animal populations and associated industries. The OWSC will align with conservation work already ongoing within university centers like the university’s Global One Health Initiative (GOHi), Infectious Disease Institute, Sustainability Institute, and others. In addition, we will continue our collaborative work with local organizations like the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, The Wilds, Ohio Wildlife Center, Center of Science and Industry (COSI), Columbus Humane, animal agricultural commodity groups, and others.

Mr. Matteo de Rosa, who has led LVMH Métiers d’Art to exponential growth since he began his tenure as CEO in 2021, said, “We are working to ensure a future, by giving new opportunities to the local excellence of craftsmanship which, alone in the new scenarios of the luxury industry, struggles to maintain an international projection. This sponsorship is an innovative holistic approach that we hope will address the complexity of ecosystems and is destined to become a reference for the luxury industry. We are embracing a new and revolutionary approach to scientific research applied to the luxury industry. Collaboration across the university and beyond is a core tenet of the college’s successful research programs, and the One Welfare and Sustainability Center, sponsored by LVMH Métiers d’Art, will be the ideal vehicle to continue to achieve this and support a healthy and sustainable world for animals, people, and the environment.”

Mrs. Hélène Valade, LVMH Global Environmental Development Director, praises the creation of this first-of-its-kind sponsorship between the Luxury Industry and an academic research center. “Now is the time to embrace the synergy between research and creation. With the support of science, the concept of responsible use of natural resources is oriented towards conservation and sustainability. Preserving and regenerating habitat and fauna, sustaining traditional know-how and income, advancing towards improved animal welfare and knowledge. This sponsorship is an invitation to all academics and industry pioneers to come together and work jointly towards this common ambition.”