Media Release

By: Gavin Pitchford, Executive Director

Canada’s Leading Sustainability Award releases list: Canada’s Clean50 for 2025

Three MPs, Halifax Mayor, Senior Executives from Co-operators, IKEA, Fortis joined by leading sustainability executives, venture capitalists, ENGO chiefs and 20 Emerging Leaders on latest Clean50 lists; Gather Today for 14th Clean50 Summit in Toronto. Notably excluded?  Bankers & Fossil Fuel Developers.

Toronto, October 10th, 2024:

The Clean50 award recognizes leaders from across Canada who have done the most to advance climate action and develop climate solutions. Today’s lists acknowledge the recent accomplishments of 50 senior leaders, 20 Emerging Leaders, and reveals 5 Lifetime Achievement
Awards, selected from over 1000 nominations collected nation-wide over the past few months.

75 incoming individual Honourees, members of 25 Project teams and 35+ existing Clean50 members engage today in a full day of intense discussions, designed to identify actionable solutions to the climate emergency that Canada and Canadians can implement, followed by an awards ceremony.

Awardees are forward-looking leaders representing the most effective and progressive organizations taking on climate change from every sector, balancing mitigation with adaptation.

Notably, three MPs from three different parties: the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois, agreed to be recognized as a single team.  Julie Dabrusin. Liberal, is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change and Natural Resources, and Laurel Collins and Kristina Michaud are the climate critics for the NDP and BQ respectively: Three differing parties but three powerhouse women sharing a goal to drive climate action in Canada.  Notably missing: anyone from the Conservative Party who might publicly share their beliefs. 

Mayor Mike Savage won recognition for the extraordinary steps he has led in Halifax, as residents voted to raise property taxes by 3% to fund the city’s effort to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and harden the city’s infrastructure against extreme weather events.  Halifax now leads Canada in both areas, with a plan to get to net-zero emissions within 16 years.


PEI shares the same “net-zero by 2040” goal, led by Progressive Conservative Minister of Environment and Climate Action Steven
Myers and Sustainability Director Derek Ellis. 

Other awardees are entrepreneurial, bleeding-edge, clean tech CEOs and young researchers figuring out salt water batteries, how to transport hydrogen, eliminating PFAs, and removing harmful bacteria, viruses, and pesticides from water, as well as venture capitalists, renewable energy developers, property developers and leaders in the circular economy.


“The ingenuity of these 75 individuals is extraordinary,” observed Gavin Pitchford, Executive Director of the award. “Canada must reduce 730 MT of carbon pollution annually, and the 2025 Clean50have made significant strides toward that goal with more to come. If we’re to meet our commitments, we will owe it to people like them.” Pitchford also noted, “For the second consecutive year, there are no big five bankers on our list. Until they stop greenwashing and genuinely decarbonize their investment and lending portfolios, the Clean50 awards won’t acknowledge their positive contributions.”

The full list of Canada’s 2025 Clean50, Clean50 Emerging Leaders and Lifetime Achievement Honourees appears below, and more details behind all of the award winners can be found on the Clean50 website: https://www.clean50.com     Media are welcome for awards ceremony.  

Media contact: Gavin Pitchford gpitchford ~at~ deltamanagement.com

416-925-2005 / M 774-330-6606

The List for 2025

Advocates

  • Scott Skinner*, President & CEO, Clean Foundation (Dartmouth, NS)
  • Eddy Adra, CPA, CA, CEO, Coast Funds (Vancouver, BC)
  • Alison Cretney, Managing Director, Energy Futures Lab (Calgary, AB)
  • Julia Croome, JD, Director of Litigation Practice, Ecojustice Canada (Toronto, ON)
  • Sabine Dietz, PhD, Executive Directors, CLIMAtlantic (Sackville, NB)
  • Adam Scott, Executive Director, Shift: Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health (Toronto, ON)

Angels & Venture Capitalists

  • Zoltan Tompa*, BASc, Partner & Team Lead, BDC Capital (Ottawa, ON)
  • Isabelle Dubé-Côté, MBA, President & CEO, Écotech Québec (Montréal, QC)
  • Kathryn Wortsman, MBA, Managing Partner, Amplify Capital (Toronto, ON)

Building & Real Property Development

  • Sandrine Tremblay*, ing, P.Eng, Co-President & Chief Technology Officer, Kolostat (Montreal, QC)
  • Philippe Bernier, M.Phil., P.Eng, EVP Strategy & Growth, JLL Canada (Toronto, ON)
  • Milfred Hammerbacher, CEO, s2eTechnologies (St. Jacobs, ON)

Clean Tech

  • Mo AlGermozi*, CEO, GIT Coatings (Dartmouth, NS)
  • David Kratochvil, PhD, P.Eng, President & CEO, BQE Water (Vancouver, BC)
  • Jean-Simon Venne, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, BrainBox AI (Montreal, QC)

Consultants & Enablers

  • Ryan Duffy*, Founder & CEO, Blackstone Energy Services (Toronto, ON)
  • Fiona Oliver-Glasford, MBA, SCR, Chief Revenue Officer, ClearBlue Markets (Toronto, ON)
  • Emily Thorn Corthay, CDI.D, P.Eng, Founder & CEO, Thorn Associates (Etobicoke, ON)

Cities & Municipalities

  • Mike Savage*, Mayor, Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax, NS)
  • Dan Kutcher, JD, Mayor, City of Summerside (Summerside, PEI)
  • Shanon Zachidniak, Councillor, City of Regina (Regina, SK)

Education & Thought Leadership

  • Maria Maisuradze*, CFA, Founder & CEO, Education for Sustainability (ED4S) (Montreal, QC)
  • Basma Majerbi, PhD, Founder & Director, Impact Investing Hub, University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)
  • Husein Moloo, MD, Director of Planetary Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON)

Financial & Services

  • Rob Wesseling*, President & CEO, Co-operators (Guelph, ON)
  • Jamie Bonham, Head of Stewardship, NEI Investments (Toronto, ON)
  • Rachel Guthrie, VP, ESG Integration, Export Development Canada (Ottawa, ON)
  • Lenka Martinek, Managing Partner, Nordiis Capital (Montreal, QC)

Manufacturing & Transportation

  • Meghan Sherwin*, President, Keilhauer (Scarborough, ON)
  • Sue Ozdemir, CEO, Exro Technologies (Calgary, AB)
  • Jason Scherr, MBA, BA, Manager Environmental Sustainability, Prince Rupert Port Authority (Prince Rupert, BC)

Primary Resources

  • Michael Riedijk*, Founder & CEO, Lucent BioSciences (Vancouver, BC)
  • Shane Harker, Founder & President, Rethink Resource (Toronto, ON)

Public Sector

  • Julie Dabrusin*, MP, (LIB) Parliamentary Secretary MOECC and MNR, Government of Canada (Toronto, ON), Laurel Collins*, MA, Member of Parliament (NDP), House of Commons (Victoria, BC) & Kristina Michaud*, MP, Member of Parliament (BQ), House of Commons (Amqui, QC)
  • Ron Hallman, MA, President & CEO, Parks Canada (Gatineau, QC)
  • Vincent Klassen, Director General, Sustainability, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Gatineau, QC)
  • Steven Myers, MBA, Minister & Derek Ellis, BA, MES, Sustainability Division Director – Ministry of Environment and Climate Action, Government of PEI (Charlottetown, PEI)
  • Benoit Tessier, Director General – Automotive, Digital & Industry Skills, I.S.E.D Canada (Ottawa, ON)

Retail & Consumer

  • Selwyn Crittendon*, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Canada (Burlington, ON)
  • Andreanne Dandeneau, CEO & Designer & Jodi Benson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Anne Mulaire (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Jennifer Harper, Founder & CEO, Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics (St. Catharines, ON)
  • Leigh Pearson, FMP, RFMP, Sr Director – FM, Engineering, Sourcing + Sustainability, Staples Canada (Richmond Hill, ON)

Research & Development

  • Martin Larocque*, CEO, Electro Carbon (St-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC)
  • Greg Hanna, Founder & CEO, Destiny Copper (Thorold, ON)

Renewable Energy

  • Roby Douglas*, P.Eng, President, Natural Forces Solar (Halifax, NS)
  • Heather Shilton, Director, Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (Iqaluit, NV)

Traditional Energy

  • Jim Reid*, LLB, EVP, Sustainability & Chief Legal Officer, Fortis (St. John’s, NL)
  • Bruce Ander, P.Eng, President & CEO, Markham District Energy (Markham, ON)

Technology & Telecom

  • Winston Morton*, CEO, Climative (Fredericton, NB)
  • Terry Hickey, Manager – Sustainability, TELUS Communications (Vancouver, BC)
  • Sean Rudd, Founder & CEO, Agata Rudd, Co-Founder & Derek Robinson, Korotu Technology (Toronto, ON)
  • Sheida Shahi, PhD, OAA, CEO, Adaptis Technologies (Toronto, ON)

Lifetime Achievement Honourees

  • Kathy Bardswick, BSc, MBA, Board director (Burlington, ON)
  • Judy Fairburn, MSc, P.Eng, MBA, FCAE, ICD.D, Co-Founder & Fund Managing Partner, The51 Ventures (Calgary, AB)
  • Chris Henderson, BA, MA, Founding Executive Director, Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise (Ottawa, ON)
  • Vicky Sharpe, BSc, PhD, President, Sharpe Enterprises (Toronto, ON)
  • Merran Smith, President, Clean Economy Canada (Victoria, BC)

Clean50 Emerging Leaders for 2025 (35 years of age or younger)

  • Diana Virgovicova, CEO & Co-Founder, Xatoms (Toronto, ON)
  • Brennan Strandberg-Salmon, Co-Executive Coordinator, Climate Change Branch, BCCIC (Vancouver, BC)
  • Nicole Raytek, BBA, Hons, Senior Manager, Sustainable Programs, GLOBE Series (Vancouver, BC)
  • Mihskakwan James Harper, EIT, MSc, Business Development, NRStor (Toronto, ON)
  • Keith Cleland, MASc., CEO, Aqua-Cell Energy (Edmonton, AB)
  • Stephen Bacchus, Manager, Transit Fleet, City of Mississauga (Mississauga, ON)
  • Gregary Ford, Vice President, Swim Drink Fish Canada (Toronto, ON)
  • Benjamin Patton, CEO & Founder, TreeCycle Environmental (North Vancouver, BC)
  • Allison Reynaud, Co-Director, Partnerships and Development, Montréal Climate Partnership (Montréal, QC)
  • Roya Aghighi, CEO & Co-Founder, Lite-1 Vancouver, BC)
  • Ian Moran, Process Designer, WSP Canada (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Neetu Garcha, MSc, PMP, Project Lead, Grid Innovation, Alectra Utilities (Guelph, ON)
  • Mostafa Saad, MSc, Public Scholar & Researcher, Concordia University (Montreal, QC)
  • Joanna Klimczak, Senior Director, US & Canada, CREO Syndicate (Montreal, QC)
  • Afaf Azzouz, P.Eng, BEMP, MSc, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Climate Change, Deloitte (Montreal, QC)
  • Lauretta Pearse, P.Eng, Engineer – Distribution Improvements, ATCO Energy Systems (Calgary, AB)
  • Emily Hicks, BHSc, President, FREDsense Technologies Corp. (Calgary, AB)
  • Brandy Kinkead, PhD, Chief Technology Officer & Cofounder, Ayrton Energy (Calgary, AB)
  • Jennifer Wong, Manager, Sustainability, City of Markham (Markham, ON)
  • Nasreddine Guerfala, MBA, P.Eng., VP, Pre-Construction, SunGrid Solutions (Cambridge, ON)