The projects that make a difference

The Clean50 Top Projects annually recognize those projects completed in the prior two years based on their innovation, their ability to inform, and inspire other Canadians. The Top Project of the year is then selected each year at the Clean50 Summit, from votes cast by both incoming and Alumni members of the Clean50.

2020

Eden Mills: Going Carbon Neutral

It takes a really amazing village: Eden Mills Going Carbon Neutral Let’s begin by making it clear that no one was tossed out for not participating in the Eden Mills’ efforts to go carbon neutral. Residents’ participation in…

2020

GreenQ Partners: Refrigeration Optimization

Stone cold savings; GreenQ Partners find chilling efficiencies in a warming world Refrigeration plants are typically one of the biggest electricity consumers at food manufacturing facilities. They are a highly complex system able to meet a consistent cooling…

2020

HP Canada & Lavergne Group: Upcycling Plastic Waste

Message, and more in a bottle; Upcycling Ocean-Bound Plastic Waste into High End Tech Products In Haiti bottled water is about the furthest thing from a luxury. As the country works to recover from the devastating earthquake of…

2020

Pembina Institute: Business Coalition for a Clean Economy

Business Coalition for a Clean Economy // Building a Business Coalition to Support a Clean Economy The narrative we’re used to is that the business community is pro-development and pro-economy and that conservation and pro-climate sentiments lie with…

2019

BOMA Toronto & Toronto Hydro: race2reduce

Building on the legacy of their CivicAction Award winning  program, which wrapped up in 2015, the Toronto Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA Toronto) teamed up with Toronto Hydro for race2reduce. The goal of the program is to…

2019

City of Waterloo: Poop Power

Dog waste, while it is a small price to pay for the glory that is dogs, is a stinky reality. It collects and overflows in garbage receptacles in parks everywhere. This collection method attracts flies, detracts from park…

2019

CN: EcoConnexions: Major Cross Canada Reforestation Program

CN’s EcoConnexions From the Ground Up program was launched in 2012 to promote environmental sustainability through the greening of communities, including Indigenous communities, along their rail network in Canada and the United States. Working together with their partners,…

2019

Dextran and Enviro-Stewards Inc.: Saving Water & Energy

Dextran Products, a Toronto-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, was looking to slash their water use in order to save money, comply with municipal programs, and become a more socially-responsible company. With the assistance of the Toronto Regional Conservation Area’s Partners…

2019

Ecology Action Centre (EAC): Deep Energy Retrofit

In 2013 the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) found themselves with what is, in many ways, a happy problem — they needed more space to accommodate their growing number of staff and volunteers — and for which they found…

2019

Embedding Project: The Road to Context

The road to Road to Context is easier than it might seem.  Several of the corporate members of the Embedding Project — a long-term partnership hosted at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University involving dozens…

2019

Enbridge Gas: “Saving By Design” Program Review

Science tells us that expanding our use of fossil fuels is bad for humanity and the ecosystem.  While alternative solutions exist, they’re often more expensive (for now) as technology evolves, and so new home and condominium construction continues…

2019

Network for Business Sustainability: Collaborating with Competitors

Addressing sustainability challenges can make unlikely bedfellows. Yet if messy, complex sustainability issues, such as climate change, deforestation, and fisheries management are to be tackled, organizations far more comfortable competing must sometimes learn to collaborate. Simply managing one’s…

2019

Plug’n Drive: Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre

In 2015 Plug’n Drive conducted a secret shopper study that uncovered some of the reasons why electric vehicle (EV) sales at the dealers were less than they ought to be be. The results of that study showed that…

2018

Bowery Project: Mobile Urban Farms in Vacant City Spaces

Using that now iconic building block of urban life, the milk crate, Bowery Project engages communities in transforming vacant lots into productive, literally blossoming spaces.Their mobile urban farm model — all the food is grown in the crates,…

2018

Canadian Tire Corporation – Resource Recovery Centre

Canadian Tire Distribution Centres located primarily in Brampton, Ontario overhauled a facility designed to sort and recycle damaged products from the supply chain and reverse flow processes. The overall objective of the project was to implement streams to…

2018

City of Nelson – Community Solar Garden

There can be a lot in a name and the fact that the solar power project model chosen by the City of Nelson, in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia is called a “Community Solar Garden” tells you…

2018

Credit Valley Conservation – Greening Corporate Grounds

In an ever-urbanizing watershed, the impact of development can be reduced by restoring wildlife habitat and increasing biodiversity, but going natural isn’t going to happen on its own. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) created the Greening Corporate Grounds (GCG)…