Where are they now? Catching up with our past Clean50 Emerging Leaders (Part One)
Each year, Clean50 recognizes 20 Emerging Leaders across sectors who are moving Canada’s sustainability transition forward. This first installment of our new weekly series catches up with past honourees whose impact just keeps growing. This week, our leaders’ work spans just-transition advocacy, industrial decarbonization, real-estate decarbonization, climate policy and trade, employee-engagement tech, sustainable finance, Arctic research, carbon removal, and corporate ESG. In their own words below, you’ll see how Clean50 recognition helped open doors, sharpen strategy, and build lasting connections and community. We’re proud to have played a part in their journeys, and prouder still to amplify the work they’re leading now. We’re thrilled to share where they are today, and what’s next. Check back next week to hear from more leaders.
Aliénor Rougeot, 2021 Winner
Prior Role: Coordinator at Fridays for Future Toronto
Current Role: Senior Program Manager, Climate and Energy at Environmental Defence
Canada’s energy transition must protect workers and communities and hold industry to account. At Environmental Defence, Aliénor Rougeot led that work. She built labour-backed coalitions, coordinating lobbying, media, and outreach. After 2.5 years, Parliament passed the Sustainable Jobs Act, with many amendments drafted by the coalition she led. Partnering with Indigenous nations affected by tar-sands contamination, she led a multi-year campaign that secured parliamentary scrutiny and fines, paused proposed toxic-water releases, and motivated a federal risk assessment. Promoted to Senior Program Manager in 2024, she supported the final push for the Clean Electricity Regulations, closing loopholes for new gas. She wraps up this summer to begin her Master of Public Policy at Oxford. She credits the Clean50 with breaking silos, connecting her to senior decision-makers, sharping her strategy, and clarifying a public-policy path.
“The Clean50 Summit allowed me to meet and have meaningful exchanges with people I would have never met before, from senior executives in the private sector I rarely cross paths…to the Environment Minister and some of his senior staff who were key decision makers on the files I was working on.”
– Aliénor Rougeot
Ariel Feldman, 2022 Winner
Prior Role: Director, Sustainability & Environmental Programs at Choice Properties REIT
Current Role: AVP Capital Projects & Sustainability Execution at Choice Properties REIT
By 2022, Ariel’s work in ESG led Choice Properties REIT to become one of the first Canadian companies to set science-based net-zero targets. On top of that, Ariel got his MBA from Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program and switched into a leadership operations role. Now responsible for the allocation and execution of Choice Properties’ annual maintenance capital, ranging over $80M per year, Ariel has underlined Choice Properties’ commitment to meeting climate goals through innovation by piloting low-carbon building materials, and expanding their HVAC electrification, renewables and high-efficiency equipment programs. Ariel continues to work collaboratively towards solving some of the real estate industry’s toughest problems, like availability of low-carbon materials and equipment or tenant demand for those technologies.
“The Clean50 recipients are an incredible and collaborative group of individuals… solving some of the real estate industry’s toughest problems, like availability of low-carbon materials and equipment or tenant demand for those technologies.”
– Ariel Feldman
Andrew White, 2017 Winner
Previous Role: CEO at CHAR Technologies Ltd.
Current Role: CEO at CHAR Technologies Ltd.
Decarbonizing heavy industry means replacing coal in steelmaking and cutting fossil gas on the grid. At CHAR Technologies, CEO Andrew White is pursuing both. He has collaborated with ArcelorMittal to develop a drop-in biocarbon for steel, which led to a $6.6M investment, making the company one of CHAR’s largest shareholders. He is advancing multiple projects that pair biocarbon production with renewable natural gas for grid injection; in Thorold, Ontario, Thorold will be producing biocarbon by the end of 2025, with RNG expected by fall 2026. CHAR has also partnered with BMI Group to integrate high-temperature pyrolysis into distressed forestry facilities, creating a roadmap for future sites. He says the Clean50 Award opened a network, introducing financial and industrial partners that accelerated CHAR’s trajectory.
“The Clean50 Award opened up an entire network…I was able to grow my network, and was able to be introduced to financial partners and industrial partners, which helped accelerate our overall trajectory.”
-Andrew White
Faith Edem, 2024 Winner
Prior Role: Economic Advisor at Environment and Climate Change Canada
Current Role: Policy Advisor at Environment and Climate Change Canada
Positioning Canada as a world leader in sustainable trade is no small task- and Faith has emerged as an important figure contributing to that cause. In her recent role as a Policy Advisor for Environment and Climate Change Canada, she was a member of the Canadian Delegation coordination team for the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution: the successful implementation of the negotiation session won a Departmental Award. Concurrently, Faith participated in the 2025 Carleton University’s Trade Negotiation certificate program and joined the CXC Changemakers for the Planet 2025 Fellowship. Faith’s participation at the Clean50 summit led her to a role on the Board of Directors of the Black Environmental Initiative (BEI), as well as invitations for roles in other organizations.
“Since being awarded by the Clean50, I’ve had the great opportunity to explore other areas of climate policy… it was impactful as it provided an opportunity to connect with other leaders.”
– Faith Edem
Jack Bruner, 2023 Winner
Prior Role: Co-Founder at Carbon Neutral Club
Current Role: Co-Founder at Mammoth
Making sustainability accessible is incredibly important to the fight against climate change. Jack Bruner is on a mission to help do that on a corporate level. He co-founded Mammoth in 2021 to help organizations educate and engage their employees in sustainability initiatives and other purpose-driven priorities. The platform combines company-specific content, personalized employee experiences, micro-engagement, and incentive models to allow employees to understand, connect, and engage with the relevant material. Mammoth is scaling rapidly and is on track to have its first profitable in 2025. Their customers are global industry leaders such as Manulife, Mastercard, RBC, IGM Financial, University of British Columbia, Gitlab, and more. Jack credits his Clean50 Emerging Leader win in 2023 as a turning point for Mammoth.
“Mammoth’s trajectory totally changed. As a result of that award, and the Globe & Mail article, we signed University of British Columbia as a customer. This set off a chain reaction”
Kim Hallwood, 2016 Winner
Previous Role: Head of Sustainability at HSBC
Current Role: Currently Pivoting
Canada’s shift to a low-carbon economy hinges on mobilizing capital to real businesses. At HSBC Bank Canada, Kim Hallwood focused on that. Since winning in 2016, she launched sustainable-finance products, established and chaired the bank’s first climate business committee, helping mobilize $9 billion, and created a sustainability masterclass for leadership. In 2020 she joined the board of HSBC Asset Management (Canada). As a member of HSBC’s Canada’s leadership team, she later helped oversee the transition to RBC and developed ESG strategy across four business lines, advising on climate, inclusive prosperity, and engagement. She was a WXN Top 100 honouree (2018), among BC’s Most Influential (2021- 23), and WEF’s Young Global Leaders (2022). She says Clean50 put her and HSBC Canada, “on the map,” and expanded a network that continues to shape her work.
“[Clean50] put me and HSBC Canada on the map for our early and continued leadership in sustainability! It also enhanced my network of like-minded and powerful individuals working on climate in Canada.”
– Kim Hallwood
Marianne Falardeau, 2018 Winner
Prior Role: PhD candidate at McGill University
Current Role: Assistant Professor at University of Quebec (TELUQ)
As a PhD researcher at McGill, Marianne studied arctic food systems, developing strategies to foster resilience of Arctic ecosystems and communities. Since then, as a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Laval between 2020-2024, she contributed to two major transdisciplinary projects, FISHES for Genome Canada and Marine Arctic Resilience, Adaptations and Transformations (MARAT) for Belmont Forum. Additionally, Marianne received a post-doctoral fellowship from the L’Oréal-UNESCO excellence program for Women in Science and the Weston Family Foundation. In 2024, Marianne was appointed to a professorship at TELUQ Remote Learning University, part of the University of Quebec network, where she is continuing community-engaged research on Arctic marine social-ecological systems in Inuit Nunangat (Inuit territory in Canada).
“The Clean50 Award had a significant impact on my trajectory, establishing me as an emerging leader in environmental research and sustainability in Canada.”
– Marianne Falardeau
Phil De Luna, 2021 Winner
Prior Role: Program Director at National Research Council of Canada
Current Role: Chief Science & Commercial Officer at Deep Sky
Innovation in climate tech is incredibly important. Phil De Luna is an emerging leader in the field, working with Deep Sky as their Chief Science and Commercial Officer, leading commercialization and revenue generation efforts. He has generated $75M CAD in series A investment and acquired a $40M USD grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. From 2023 to early 2025, Phil worked as Deep Sky’s Chief Carbon Scientist & Head of Engineering. While in that position, he evaluated 100 direct air capture technologies and designed the $100M “Deep Sky Alpha” pilot and innovation facility to accelerate carbon removal deployment. Since his 2021 Clean50 win, Phil has received the Governor General’s Gold Medal and been recognized by Forbes (30 Under 30 – Energy), The Globe & Mail (Top 50 Changemaker), and Toronto Life (Top 2025 Rising Star).
“Winning the Clean50 Emerging Leader Award was a turning point in my career. […] Being recognized alongside some of Canada’s top sustainability leaders gave me the confidence to think bigger about how I could make an impact.”
– Phil De Luna
Ruth Legg, 2017 Winner
Prior Role: Manager, Sustainability at HSBC Bank Canada
Current Role: Vice President, ESG at Concert Properties
We all know that effective corporate sustainability strategies are incredibly important and hard to come by. Ruth Legg is an expert in sustainability strategy development, implementation, and execution. She started at Concert Properties a year and a half ago as their Vice President of ESG, after two decades in sustainability roles at a diverse range of organizations. She led the development of Concert Properties’ Social Purpose and ESG Strategy in under a year and plans to publish their net-zero transition plan in 2026. She has also been serving as Board Chair at Modo for the past five years, leading the Board of Directors in the organization and delivery of its Social Purpose, and is currently supporting a leadership transition as Past Chair. Ruth won her Emerging Leader award in 2017. She tells us that winning the Clean50 award has expanded her network significantly and increased her knowledge within her own field.
“The connections I made through the Clean50 network have been invaluable, allowing me to access innovative tools and methodologies that have significantly enhanced my work.”
– Ruth Legg
