October 11-13, 2017

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Lake Louise, Alberta

Keynotes

  • Sudhir Suri

    L’OEUF Architects

    An innovator in collaborative process, Sudhir has investigated and designed architectural, landscape and living systems for over 20 years. Convinced that ‘sustainability’ sets the bar too low, his ‘resonant design’ work has been awarded multiple prizes, including the Green Energy Benny Farm project, judged the most sustainable project in North America and third in the world by the Swiss Holcim Foundation. Sudhir also designed the living systems and ecosystem services framework for the Petit Rivière Master Plan, and designed the first structural, insulated rammed earth house in Quebec. His recent work was shortlisted for the Saint-Laurent Sports Complex competition, the Pierrefonds Public Library competition, the Montreal Biodome competition and most recently for the Chambly Center for Knowledge, History and Culture.

Session Speakers

  • Alex Villeneuve

    Ceres Solutions Ltd.

    Alex Villeneuve is a third year apprentice chef, recent graduate of the brewmaster and brewery-operations-management program at Olds College and director of Ceres Solutions Ltd. Alex’s passion for local and sustainable food, waste up-cycling, permaculture, and of course craft beer all played a role in the creation of his company. Ceres takes an innovative and environmentally conscious approach to adding value to the tons of spent grain produced as a by-product of the beer brewing process. Ceres uses these otherwise wasted spent grains as a substrate to cultivate gourmet mushrooms which can be sold to local restaurants and farmer’s markets. As a result of the mushrooms’ growth, the protein content of the spent grain substrate is drastically increased making it a valuable animal feed. Alex’s company has won a number of prestigious awards since its incorporation in 2015 and has been featured in media profiles across the country including Macleans, CBC, Canadian Living, and The Walrus.

    View Ceres’ promotional video at http://www.ceres-ab.com

  • Allen Langdon

    Recycle BC

    As the Managing Director for Recycle BC, Allen oversees the first 100% Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program in North America where industry has assumed full financial and managerial responsibility for the residential recycling system.

    Allen has extensive experience in sustainability and extended producer responsibility, and previously served as the VP of Sustainability for the Retail Council of Canada and the VP of Environment for the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.

    Allen is also the Managing Director for the Multi-Material Stewardship Western (MMSW) Program in Saskatchewan.

  • Aman Adatia

    FARE Community

    Aman Adatia (along with his wife and partner Stephanie Shields) first changed Calgary’s curbside dining when he elevated the food truck concept from ‘street meat’ to a highly sought after, award winning, restaurant on wheels – Eat Naaco. It was a unique entrepreneurial model that allowed Aman to serve kick ass food, build community, and care for the environment.

    As a born and raised Calgarian, and first-generation Canadian, the opportunity to now build a multi-dimensional, highly impactful, community-focused hospitality organization, truly encompasses his life’s accomplishments to date. Aman deeply believes that
    social enterprise is the future of capitalism. Not only does the product have to be compelling, but that the social good comes with the product – ensuring a story that has social, environmental, and economic measures, are embedded into the organizational DNA.

    Aman has been fortunate to cultivate meaningful friendships with well-respected leaders in both the private and public sectors, many of whom act as mentors to ensure that his ambitious goals, and trademark ‘go get ’em Tiger’ attitude is directioned, not stifled. Aman is a valued board and committee member, a coach to aspiring food entrepreneurs, and an engaged citizen.

    Chef, entrepreneur, and activist – Aman is a big systems, strategic thinker, who will continue making a FARE difference.

  • Barry Friesen

    CleanFARMS Inc.

    Barry Friesen is general manager of CleanFARMS Inc., a non-profit stewardship organization committed to environmental responsibility through the proper management of agricultural waste. Under his leadership, CleanFARMS programs have earned a reputation of excellence around the world.

    A professional engineer, Barry’s influence in waste management spans over two decades. He is a recipient of numerous industry accolades, including the 2016 Executive of the Year award. Barry Friesen is the founding board member of the Canadian Product Stewardship Council, a board member of the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association, and is active in his local Rotary Club.

  • Bill Stitt

    Cascades Recovery+

    Bill Stitt is the General Manager, Calgary Operations, at CASCADES RECOVERY+, a Division of Cascades Canada ULC.

    He was born in Montreal and decided to move to Vancouver in 1979.Two weeks later, he was in the Recycling Industry! He was transferred to Toronto in 1985, then to Calgary in 1990 where he continues to reside and work.

    In August 2017, Bill started his 39th year of service in the Recycling Industry. During this time, he has worked for numerous companies but only because of ownership change, not because he moved to other companies.

    When ownership changes so do a lot of the work processes. Whenever Bill hears an employee say, “but we have always done it that way”, he looks at them with an optimistic smile and says; “hey, things change, I used to have long wavy hair down past my shoulders.”

    Positions also held over the years include: Plant Manager, Regional Manager – Prairies, Director of Operations – Western Canada, Vice President & General Manager – Western Canada. Plus, Bill has the honor of being a two-time (recycled) Past President of the Recycling Council of Alberta.

  • Carla Bitz

    Feeding the 5000 Calgary

    Carla’s passion for re-connecting with our food, building community, and preventing waste finally intersected through starting a grassroots organization called Alternate Root. They offer affordable workshops that teach food skills, including anything from preservation to cooking simple fresh meals; all with a strong focus on how to use up what you already have in your fridge.

    Carla most recently worked for The City of Calgary. Her work there was focused on waste and recycling education and exploring opportunities to prevent food waste. She collaborated with other local food waste champs to co-organize Calgary’s first Feeding the 5000. The event successfully fed 5000 people utilizing surplus food and ‘ugly’ produce that may have otherwise been destined for the landfill.
    She believes in the magic of bringing people together to connect through the platform of food and in the power of reclaiming how each of us consume.

  • Carol Blaind

    Beyond the Blue Box

    Carol Blaind is a long-time advocate for people with disabilities as evidenced in her work at Queen’s Park in the 1990s and her work with a provincial advocacy group promoting community inclusion.

    As a Legislative Assistant in the Ministry of Citizenship with responsibility for Disability and Seniors Rights portfolios, Carol brought her special experience, knowledge and concerns regarding health and social issues to this very demanding and complex work.

    In her current role of Executive Director at Access Community Services, a Ministry of Community and Social Services funded agency providing services to adults with Developmental Disabilities, Carol continues to promote full rights of citizenship and participation for the individuals in her agency and the broader community.

    In her role as Chair of the Board of Beyond the Blue Box, she enjoys the uniqueness of this environmentally conscientious and successful social enterprise that provides employment and volunteer opportunities to individuals with disabilities and those who may be otherwise disadvantaged in community.

    Beyond the Blue Box, having been founded on the premise of “it takes a village”, began as a volunteer organization supported by the Association for Community Living in Cobourg where people could go to learn, work, connect and develop skills. As Beyond the Blue Box is celebrates its 25th year, it has grown to welcome in many new employees and volunteers. Beyond the Blue Box is recognized for the significant reduction in waste to landfills and is a shining example of social enterprise, being financially sustainable without reliance on external sources of funding.

  • Cedric Tetzel

    London Drugs Limited

    Cedric Tetzel has been the Merchandise Manager for Computers and related products for the past 22 years at London Drugs Limited.

    He is part of a company-wide team that has helped London Drugs offer numerous take back programs covering computers and electronics to smoke detectors and packaging; divert 93% of its waste from landfill; and, using carefully vetted processors, recycle over 5 tonnes of material annually.

    As the leader of the foreign sourcing program for computer products, Cedric has created an ongoing program using sourcing criteria that views suppliers’ environmental responsibility and product safety under the same lens used to evaluate their products’ functions and designs and insists on meeting higher environmental standards.

    Cedric also served as a Director of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) and served as Chair of the Electronics Recycling Program’s Industry Council for 8 years.

    Last year, Cedric was honored with a Canada Clean 50 award recognizing his contribution to the sustainability efforts by both London Drugs and ARMA.

  • Dave Sylvester

    Oxford Properties Group

    An innovative and deeply experienced Operations Manager with a passion for sustainability and waste reduction. Dave oversees all aspects of building operations at Centennial Place and Eau Claire Tower including the HVAC systems, Energy Management, Capital Planning and Project Management. Dave joined the Oxford team in 2015 and has improved the existing waste and recycling program by taking the waste diversion on a journey from 75% to over 90%.

  • Diana Grant-Richmond and Ashika Thaker

    Unravelled Yarns

    Diana Grant-Richmond and Ashika Thaker are the co-founders of Unravelled, a zero-waste yarn company that transforms laundered corporate t-shirts into high quality, easy to use t-shirt yarn. With a passion for the fashion industry and sustainable living, Diana and Ashika have built a business that locally diverts corporate textile waste destined to be shipped overseas or mass dumped into landfills. Diana is a recent graduate of Mount Royal University with a BBA degree in General Management, and Ashika is in her third year of her BBA degree, majoring in marketing and minoring in innovation and entrepreneurship.

  • Eileen Benedictus

    North Bay Regional Health Centre

    Eileen has worked at the North Bay Regional Health Centre for over 12 years.  She is the Chair of the Go Green Committee and Supervisor for Environmental Services which includes waste and linen. Eileen is also a member of the Climate Change Resiliency Mentoring Program through the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare. She has headed many initiatives within the organization and off-site campuses to improve recycling practices and education.

  • Elias Tomaras

    The City of Calgary

    Elias has been working with The City of Calgary since 2010. He is currently the Project Manager for The City’s Waste in Public Spaces (WIPS) project, a corporate initiative to improve public waste diversion across Calgary.

    WIPS has brought together business units from across the Corporation to create common standards around signage, bin placement, garbage-to-recycling ratios, among others. Over the past 12 months, WIPS has focused on implementing these standards, significantly improving access to public recycling. This past summer, WIPS also conducted an in-depth public waste composition study, differentiating between sidewalks, bus stops, light rail transit, parks, and many other special-use public spaces. WIPS has ambitious plans to continue building on these successes making Calgary a leading municipality in public waste diversion.

    Elias has an MSc from the University of Calgary and a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation. Prior to his work on WIPS, he conducted physiology research for the University of Calgary and various industry clients. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Discovery Channel, CBC’s The National, as well as published in several academic journals. After years of managing projects related to physiology, Elias is thrilled to be using his skills on more pragmatic and socially responsible projects that benefit his community and Calgary’s environment. Being relatively new to waste management, he depends extensively on the remarkable knowledge and expertise of his colleagues at The City of Calgary.

  • Emmett MacLeod

    Cree Nation of Mistissini

    Emmett MacLeod graduated high school in Mistissini, and graduated Algonquin College in 2002 with two diplomas, civil engineering technology and construction building technician. He started working in 2002 for the Cree Nation of Mistissini as land registrar for 1 year. Then he moved on to the Cree Nation Government’s technical branch called the Cree Regional Authority (CRA) from 2003 to 2010. In 2010, Emmett became the Director of Municipal Services for the Cree Nation of Mistissini and still today holds that position. Emmett has four young kids and a wife who works for the Cree school board.

  • Fabrizio Bertolo

    Town of Cochrane

    Fabrizio has over 15 years of progressive solid waste management and project communication development experience in the public and private sector. He worked on integrated waste management programs for several municipalities in Italy and Alberta. Oversaw plants for domestic waste disposal, treatment and recovery in Italy and developed strategies for reduction of residential waste generation and maximizing of recycling through separate collection for several municipalities in Alberta.

  • Glenda Gies

    Ontario Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority

    Glenda established Durham Recycling in 1978 and worked with local municipalities and the Region to introduce recycling services to residents and businesses across the Region. After working as an independent consultant with Canadian and international organizations, governments and private companies, Glenda joined Waste Diversion Ontario as Executive Director on April 1, 2003 and provided oversight of industry funding organizations in the development and implementation of diversion programs under the Waste Diversion Act. After leaving WDO in December 2010, Glenda provided consulting services in the field of producer responsibility, including leading project teams to develop a producer responsibility program for residential packaging and printed paper for Multi-Material British Columbia and a shared responsibility stewardship program for residential packaging and printed paper for Multi-Material Stewardship Western. On November 30, 2016, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change appointed Glenda as Chair of the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority.

  • Jackson Wyatt

    Greenlid Envirosciences

    Jackson Wyatt, with his brother Morgan Wyatt, develops biodegradable products made from end-life recycled cardboard to replace plastics with the goal of reducing waste from landfills and promoting proper food waste recycling. They launched their first product, Greenlid, the world’s first compostable compost bin, on the show Dragons’ Den where they partnered with Arlene Dickinson and Dave Chilton. Following the show, Canadians and Americans have purchased over 2 million green lid containers diverting over 8 million kg of waste from landfill to be properly composted. Jackson’s goal is to keep helping people easily recycle their food in the kitchen without the mess and smell and continue to develop new products to reduce waste and promote recycling.

  • Jacob Petovar

    Canadian Bumper Recycling Ltd.

    Jacob Petovar is President and co-founder of Reclaim Plastics and Canadian Bumper Recycling Ltd. Jacob has a background in recycling, education, and real estate. He works alongside his partners Alex Petovar and Andreas Kronen on innovative solutions on diverting ICI plastic waste from our landfills. Reclaim Plastics is an Edmonton based plastic recycling company with services across most of the Province of Alberta.

  • Jeremy Webb

    Port of Seattle / Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

    Jeremy Webb is an experienced Environmental Program Manager at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) where he leads the Airport’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Programs. As the ninth busiest and fastest growing U.S. large-hub airport in recent years, SEA hosted over forty-six (46) million passengers in 2016 and continues to grow. Jeremy spent the past decade expanding and refining SEA’s waste reduction and recycling programs, including composting, food donation, and deplaned and construction waste programs that received local and industry leadership recognition.

    Jeremy oversees a wide range of program and project management functions focused on diverting landfill bound waste generated by SEA passengers, tenants, and employees. From policy analysis and development to performance monitoring and everything in between, Jeremy oversees all aspects of SEA’s programs. A graduate of Washington State University, Jeremy has over 15 years professional experience managing environmental projects, programs and information systems in the aviation industry.

  • Jodi Tomchyshyn London

    Alberta Used Oil Management Association

    Jodi has 15 years’ experience of working in the fields of waste minimization and recycling policy. In 2016, she formed a company, JTL Squared Consulting Inc., and currently provides services to several clients including: the Alberta Used Oil Management Association (AUOMA) where she acts as their Executive Director, and CleanFARMS, where she acts as their Alberta Outreach Advisor.

    Before venturing out on her own, Jodi held senior positions with Waste Diversion Ontario, where she was their Manager of Policy & Planning, and the governments of Ontario and Alberta where she acted as a senior policy advisor. During her time with the Alberta government, Jodi was also seconded to New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment as a senior waste policy advisor.

    Jodi holds the degrees of Master of Environmental Design (Environmental Science) from the University of Calgary, and Bachelor of Science (Environmental Biology) from the University of Alberta.

  • Joe Hruska

    Canadian Plastics Industry Association

  • John Longchap

    Cree Nation of Mistissini

    John Longchap had completed high school in Chibougamau and earned himself a diploma in Business Administration in Hull (now Gatineau) Quebec. For many years, John served on the local Council of his community. He became the first full-time Deputy Chief for his community. He was elected as Chief in 2000-2010. In his tenure, the Cree Nation has signed a 50 year agreement with the Government of Quebec and a 20 year agreement with the Government of Canada. John is now the Director General for the Cree Nation of Mistissini since 2015.

  • Josh Taron

    University of Calgary

    Joshua M. Taron is an Associate Professor of architecture at the University of Calgary Faculty of Environmental Design where he co-directs the Laboratory for Integrative Design (LID).  His current research focuses on using digitally prefabricated building assemblies to augment system performance in integrated infrastructural networks. This work is done in partnership with a variety of disciplines such as computer science, transportation engineering and waste management. His work has been published internationally and orients itself toward finding new ways of revitalising and sustaining the already-built environment.

  • Julien Rosset

    Stantec

    Julien Rosset completed his engineering studies in France and holds a Masters of Technological Innovation and Industrial Management. Since 1998, Julien has had the opportunity to develop his waste management expertise at all stages of projects’ life cycle: planning, feasibility study, design, construction, operation, assistance and training. He has managed various projects for municipalities, aboriginal communities and private companies in Canada and Europe.

  • Krzysztof Palka

    AlwaysBLU

    Krzysztof Palka has diverse expertise in sustainability focused business strategy, renewable energy, sustainable operations, technology development, lean manufacturing and oil and gas production optimization along with an executive education from Harvard Business School and MSc in Mechanical Engineering. He is a serial entrepreneur with a keen sense for innovation, process improvement and personal bias towards applying simple, knowledge based solutions to solve complex problems. Krzys is committed to pursuing his passion for a sustainable future by focusing on business opportunities in clean technologies, carbon-negative plastics and energy efficiency.

  • Mark Badger

    Canada Fibers Ltd

    Mark Badger currently serves as President of the Urban Resource Group of Companies and also as an Executive of Canada Fibers Limited. In these roles, he is engaged in expanding recovery and recycling of valuable materials post-use.

    After graduating from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1980, Mark held executive positions with leading firms in the North American building products and chemical industries, including Royal Group Technologies, BF Goodrich Corporation and Georgia Gulf Corporation. While at Royal Group, he served in a series of senior executive roles, helping the company to grow exponentially. In 2005, he was appointed by Royal’s Board of Directors to lead the process of soliciting bids for the NYSE and TSX listed company, which was sold to Georgia Gulf Corporation at a 43% premium to market. Subsequent to the acquisition, Mark assisted the CEO of Georgia Gulf with integration, as well as investor interface activities.

    Following Georgia Gulf, Mark was appointed CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, leading the association to financial stability through strategic focus on value-added services, cost cutting and divestitures of non-core assets. The association turnaround along with Mr. Badger’s contributions to innovation in the industry was recognized when he was appointed the Plastics Industry Leader of the Year in 2011.

    During the period 2011 through 2013, Mark Badger served as President and CEO of Switchable Solutions Inc., a start-up company commercializing a revolutionary clean technology invented at Queens University.  Under Mark’s leadership, Switchable Solutions applied its proprietary clean technology to efficient, effective, and environmentally-friendly processing of oil sands. Switchable Solutions attracted substantial investment capital and advanced its technology successfully to pilot stages through partnerships with oil producers. In 2013, Corporate Knights recognized Switchable Solutions as one of the leading emerging clean technology firms in Canada..

    Mark Badger graduated from the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Education Program in January 2012 and is an Institute of Corporate Directors Certified Director (ICD.D). He has served on the boards of Royal Group, Switchable Solutions, CPSC, CPIA and The John Howard Society.

    He received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada in 2002, in recognition of his leadership roles with charitable organizations.

  • Mark Scharf

    University of Calgary

    As the Director of the Project Management Office for the University of Calgary, Mark is responsible for the delivery of capital projects across the organization. Annual workload entails approximately 240 projects a year and an annual project spend of $70M. Mark brings 20 plus years of public sector experience with both post-secondary and health organizations. Mark takes pride in building strong teams and engaging diverse stakeholders in achieving outstanding results. A key success criteria for the delivery of capital construction entails a focus on sustainability in securing LEED certifications on new builds and with the diversion of construction waste from landfill at a rate of 75% plus.

  • Mary Forbes

    Potato House Project

    Mary is a retired oil patch Archaeologist and formerly Parks Canada Award Winning Interpreter in Lake Louise. Mary has brought her skills to her hometown of Williams Lake in fun, engaging Waste Wise Education Programs taught regionally over an area approximately three times the size of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

  • Monika Wiela

    Give Back Box

    The dreamer of the dream immigrated from Poland to USA 10 years ago. Monika Wiela soon realized this is indeed the land of possibilities when she sold the first pair of shoes on the internet. Shortly after, she started www.Cherrymad.com, a successful internet fashion businesses. In 2012, upon an accidental encounter with an homeless guy, she came up with GiveBackBox™, an effortless and cost-free solution to help both people in need and the environment. Her mission lead her to collaborate with the biggest online retailers and educate shoppers to help others and improve the environment through reusing shipping boxes as vehicle for donating items to charity. She is well known speaker, featured in TED, Forbes, Fast Company, and many more.

  • Olena Olafson

    Calgary Board of Education (CBE)

    Olena Olafson is the Sustainability Coordinator at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). Olena is a professional engineer who has worked at the Calgary Board of Education for over 10 years. Olena’s role is to develop, promote and implement sustainability initiatives that involve and engage both internal and external stakeholders at the Calgary Board of Education. She led the development of the CBE Sustainability Framework, was involved in the creation of the CBE Waste Management Strategy, and helped conduct the (first ever) CBE Greenhouse Gas Inventory. She looks forward to sharing the CBE’s Waste Reduction story  with the RCA Community.

  • Oliver Berger

    Potato House Project

    Raised in the countryside of the Cariboo Chilcton by a couple Swiss immigrant hillbillies is where Oliver has his roots. His schooling is compromised of his many adventures and travels throughout the world. Always ready to give a big wave and thanks to the local garbage truck driver, Oliver is very passionate about managing our waste, or better yet not creating it in the first place. Currently, he is working in his home town of Williams Lake helping the community with various recycling projects and is also working at the Potato House Project with compost and sustainable living education.

  • Ozzy Lang

    Green Cup

    Ozzy Lang is a professional hippy and outdoor enthusiast. As his love for climbing grew, so did his drive to protect the world around him. He started Green Cup with a mission to change the face of waste through coffee cup advertising, but it was not until he looked at the system underneath coffee cup waste that he found true purpose. With this, Green Cup changed to focus on educating and connecting communities back to nature to show how much impact individuals can have. “Small changes can make huge impacts”

  • Peter Duck

    Bow Valley Waste

    Peter holds a Master Degree in Environmental Studies. His career has included ecological studies and environmental impact assessment along with many years as an interpretive naturalist in the mountain parks. He has been working on waste management projects in Alberta since the early 1990s and in 2006 he began working with the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission, currently serving as the Regional Zero Waste Coordinator. Typical projects have included facilitating the start-up trials for Town of Banff kitchen organics diversion and establishing a special events Toward Zero Waste program to put recycling on display in the Commission’s member municipalities. Peter believes that responsible waste management lies at the crossroads of sustainability and is a catalyst that will stimulate the economic efficiencies and environmental stewardship essential to supporting healthy lifestyles.

  • Ralph Torrie

    Beyond the Blue Box / Torrie Smith Associates Inc.

    Ralph Torrie is an independent expert on sustainable energy and a senior associate of the Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research initiative at the University of Calgary.  He has a special interest in the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of materials reuse and recycling, and served on the board of Beyond the Blue Box, an innovative social enterprise in Cobourg, Ontario.

  • Rob Morphew

    Calgary Co-op

    Rob is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional and Environmental Practitioner. He holds a certificate in Environmental Resource Management form the University of Alberta and has a diploma in Business Management (online studies).

    Rob has been with Calgary Co-op for 12 years and oversees a department responsible for Health and Safety, Food Safety, and Environment including waste management. He has been moving Calgary Co-op forward in their waste management program, taking them from a 40% diversion rate in 2007 to 90% in 2017.

    Rob is going to share with us some of his experience moving a retail grocery company that generates over 300 tonnes of assorted waste monthly that was mostly going to landfill to a company that is on a path to diverting 90%+ in 2017.

  • Shawn Sohal

    sons Bakery

    Shawn Sohal has been in the food industry for the last 14 years, working with McCain Foods, Lassonde Industries, and most recently with sons bakery.

    In this time, he has learned a wealth of knowledge in food and beverage and what it takes to reduce waste, produce safe quality products while keeping employees safe. He has been involved in numerous projects to streamline process / reduce wastes and improve efficiencies in facility and production.

    Currently, he holds the roles of Maintenance Manager / Health and Safety Manager in the Calgary facility and the role of Corporate Sustainability for the company which includes plants in Brampton, Ontario and St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Shawn enjoys coaching soccer, mentoring younger players. He is an avid Hockey player and enjoys camping, just being outside.

    Shawn has been married for 22 years. He is the father of two beautiful daughters ages 12 & 15, and a small farm of animals, three dogs, a hamster, a rabbit, and one fish!

  • Sion Lanini

    Planet Protector Academy

    Sion Lanini is the Opportunities and Operations Alchemist for DreamRider Productions, a registered charity inspiring kids to become environmental superheroes and agents of change in their families.

    Sion works with municipal governments and corporate partners to engage communities in behaviour change on waste, climate change and water conservation through their digital-led program, the Planet Protector Academy. Since joining the charity 3 years ago, he has helped scale the program to over 70 cities in 6 provinces across the country, including Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.

  • Tania Potts

    Boomerang Bags

    Tania is the co-founder of Boomerang Bags, a community based Not-For-Profit based on the Gold Coast, Australia, known for its pristine sandy beaches and surf culture. Tania’s working life began in the RAAF after which she became a regional airline pilot who gave up flying to home-school her four children for 17 years. Then, some five years ago, inspired by the documentary ‘Bag-It’, she felt obligated to create something locally to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution. Tania’s journey began with exploring ways to raise awareness and foster sustainable behaviours as alternatives to single use plastics such bottles and plastic bags. Since the launch of Boomerang Bags in a small Gold Coast beachside suburb in 2014, more than 450 communities worldwide have adopted the Boomerang Bags model with more communities coming on board weekly.  What began as a shopping bag share scheme that used volunteer power to upcycle material destined for landfill to make reusable bags, is now a model of reuse and community connections. Tania’s fulltime volunteer role is to support new and existing Boomerang Bags communities through workshops, gatherings and education.

  • Zachary Champoux

    Nomad EcoProducts

    Zachary has been working to launch a successful business for almost a decade. An upcycled clothing company and a raw, vegan, protein bar company are two of the five ventures he has poured his energy into. After watching The True Cost, Zachary’s passion for environmental sustainability found a focus point – textile waste. Now he has created the brand “Consciousful”, selling meditation cushions. Each cushion sold diverts 7 pounds of polyester waste from landfill. Zachary feels optimistic about his current venture, and enthusiastically considers other market spaces to serve with textile waste.