Past Events

PAST EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS

26 April 2023: SCN Webinar: Small Island Nation Sustainability Model – The British Virgin Islands
On April 26th 2023, SCN hosted a webinar where experts discussed how to implement a sustainability model for island nations, based on the British Virgin Islands experience. Key members of the organization BVI Green presented and responded to audience questions on how to achieve sustainability goals in a small, relatively closed environment, as well as how those lessons could be applied in other communities. Webinar recording is below.

Our Speakers were:

Charlotte McDevitt, Executive Director, Green VI
Corina Corea, Materials Manager, Green VI
Mark Lichtenstein, Chief Sustainability Officer, SUNY ESF

You can watch the recording of the webinar here.

15 Nov 2022: SCN Webinar: Certified B Corporations™- A Path to a Regenerative Future
On November 15, 2022, SCN hosted a webinar on the power of businesses to shape our collective future. Our four guest speakers shared their path to building a certified B Corporation™ and highlighted the importance of corporate responsibility in advancing society and supporting the environment.

Our Speakers were:
Warren Rangoonanan – Partner, WRD LLP
Aladdin Diakun – Corporate Lawyer, WRD LLP
Tanya Darisi – Co-Founder, Openly
Andrew Simpson – CEO, Ecotone Software Consulting

You can watch the recording of the webinar here.

30 Nov 2021: SCN Spotlight: Net Zero Emissions and Canada – What you can do!
Sustainability Consultant Network in collaboration with Impact Net Zero held a webinar about actions all of us can take to make an impactful change in today’s world. Our speaker, Charles Lin, also shared his sustainable life journey and highlights of his professional career.
Charles Lin is founder and lead of Impact Net Zero, an environmental grassroots initiative to educate, engage and empower Canadians on energy transition. In 2019, Charles was a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative of Harvard University. From 1979 to 2017, he was a professor at the University of Toronto and McGill University in Canada, and a senior manager in the Canadian federal government, Environment and Climate Change Canada, where he led research in weather, climate and air quality science.

You can watch the recording of the webinar here.

22 June 2021: Kitchen Table Climate Conversation: The Impact of the Climate Crisis in the GTA
Sustainability Consultant Network hosted the webinar in a kitchen table format and discussed many issues related to food security, food prices and food nutrition, all of which are affected by the climate crisis. The presentation was followed by engaging discussion, filled with many good ideas and comments from the audience.

You can watch the recording of the webinar here.

25 May 2021: SCN Spotlight: Introduction to Sustainable Investment
SCN hosted a webinar on socially responsible investment decisions which anyone can make with Sucheta Rajagopal. Sucheta has been involved in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) for over 20 years, advising clients on how to integrate environmental, social and corporate governance issues into their investment portfolios. Sucheta manages one of the largest exclusively SRI books of business in Canada. Using plain English and a practical approach, Sucheta helps clients align their investments with their values.

You can watch the recording of the webinar here.

03 Dec 2020: SCN Spotlight: The Plastic Dilemma – Does Plastic Have a Place in Our Lives?
The SCN Webinar on the future of plastics and recycling sparked vigorous discussion around the future of plastics in society.

Our Speakers were:
Elena Mantagaris, VP, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
Crystal Howe, Sustainability Manager, Ice River Springs & BMP Recycling
Dr. Patricia Corcoran, Associate Professor & Department Chair, Department of Earth Sciences, Western University
Speakers each presented on a particular aspect of the plastics dilemma – how do we trade off the utility of plastic against environmental harm? – followed by questions from the audience.

19 Feb 2019: Prosperity Without Growth report and Post-Growth discussion

Are there limits to growth? Every year countries and companies are chasing economic growth. Although there is an increased use of renewable resources and improved efficiency and technologies, decoupling economic growth and the overuse of resources continues. Exploring this huge elephant in the room – we presented some findings from the report Prosperity Without Growth by Tim Jackson from the Sustainable Development Commission in the UK. Meaningful discussions with the attendees followed.

23 Oct 2018: Sustainability Initiative Objection Handling Clinic with Dr. Bob Willard

Suppose you find yourself on an elevator with a senior executive and decide this is your opportunity to convince them to integrate sustainability into their core business strategies. How would you open the conversation? When they throw objections at you, how will you respond?

Back by popular demand! This time around, Bob Willard ran a great workshop on how to manage objections from senior managers when you’re trying to advance sustainability in your workplace. Bob distilled proven techniques from his book “The Next Sustainability Wave” to prepare the attendees for an “elevator speech” sales call on a skeptical senior executive. Bob covered the three most likely objections to sustainability initiatives from senior managers who do not yet “get sustainability” and described several effective ways to confidently and graciously handle each objection. Some great learnings, networking, and a lot of fun was had by all!

29 May 2018: Become a Sustainability Champion Workshop with Dr. Bob Willard

Bob distilled lessons from his book The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook about practices of effective change leaders, and provided practical guidance on how to convince others to want to make the change that you propose, even if you have limited position influence. Bob outlined a seven-step sustainability change process, including how to frame the business case justification for the change; seven leadership practices to use throughout the change process; seven paradoxes that enable successful change strategies; and seven derailers to avoid. Bob detailed how to lead a transformation to a smarter and more sustainable enterprise that will thrive in the new economy.

Watch video highlights of the workshop here!

28 March 2018: Green Career Workshop

Click here to watch the complete event video! Funding generously provided by the Government of Ontario.

The five featured speakers were:

Indra Maharjan: Program Manager, Energy Conservation, Resource Recovery and Climate Change at Ontario Clean Water Agency

Indra spoke of his journey from Nepal to Canada in 2010 with two Masters degrees, and the steps he took to find a career in his field. Indra started as an Energy Analyst with the City of Toronto before ultimately landing his current position as a program manager with the Ontario Clean Water Agency (part of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change). Indra recommended that newcomers and those looking for a career in sustainability find a mentor to help them sort through the noise of available information and understand what’s important. He also identified networking as a key activity. He noted that the Ontario Clean Water Agency expects to see about 20% of staff retire in the next two years, leading to opportunities for younger people in an area of secure employment. However, since it’s a regulated industry, appropriate training and licenses are necessary.

Lily Lin: Sales and Marketing Coordinator at Panasonic Eco-Solutions Canada, and President of Toronto Renewable Energy Network

Lily discussed her experience in coming from China in 2008 and how her dual passions for nature and problem solving led her to involvement with various sustainability and environmental groups. She noted that working in various customer-facing roles early in her career provided her with valuable experience in dealing with people which can be used in any job. As current President of the Toronto Renewable Energy Network, Lily talked about plans to rebrand that organization, including a new name and expanded focus.

Akhil Sivanandan: Co-Founder of Green Story

Following an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Akhil finished his MBA at the Rotman School of Management . He worked in several roles before taking a position with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change as a program advisor on cap and trade and other programs. He subsequently decided to venture out on his own, founding Green Story. Green Story works with companies to assess the sustainability value of their products and services and presents that information in a straightforward way to their customers. The goal is to encourage consumers to understand and to make greener choices. Green Story has grown from 1.5 people to 8 since its founding in March of 2016.

Ana Zotovic: Support Assistant, Economic Development and Culture, City of Toronto

Ana spoke to the way that the City of Toronto breaks down the sustainability sector in terms of achieving efficiencies, reducing risk, and studying and managing environmental impacts. At the high level, these include Clean Energy, Green Buildings, Sustainable Transport, Resource Management & Environmental Protection and Bio-Products. The Economic Development Office works to create green jobs in two ways: indirectly via the Sector Development Office Core Activities, and directly via the Green Market Acceleration Program (GMAP). GMAP accelerates the development of Made-in-Toronto Green Technologies through collaboration with the City.

Sahra Shojaie: Sustainability Consultant at Sustainability Consultant Network

Sahra has a Masters in Environmental Applied Science and Management from Ryerson University, specializing in Biomass research. She works with numerous environmental groups, including the Ontario Community Energy Co-op, Women in Renewable Energy, International Renewable Energy Academy, and the Water Environment Association of Ontario. Sahra provided an overview of several programs which provide opportunities for sustainability/impact jobs. These include Natural Resources Canada – Science and Technology Internship Program, Bmeaningful, and the Professional Access Into Employment (PAIE) Bridge training program.

Panel Facilitator: Elena Jusenlijska, Manager, Corporate Engagement at ACCES Employment; Former Headhunter at Delta Management specialized in recruiting Green Professionals.

Q&A and Breakout sessions

The speakers were followed by a question and answer session which focused on how to get started in a sustainability career.

Key points:

Networking is a cliché, but a true one. Find a niche where what you’re passionate about intersects with what you’re good at, and focus on networking there. (Sahra)
Create a personal brand and enhance it constantly. Look ahead to what the market will need in the future, not just at what it’s doing now. Train and educate yourself for that future. (Indra)
Reputation is key. When networking and asking for a meeting, be sure and have a plan so that you’re not wasting that person’s time. (Akhil)
Develop a combined skill set and understand its value. Having a sales background was very valuable when working in project management. Define your strengths and what skills you want to apply. (Ana)
Use all avenues to develop your career, including online applications, social media, and networking events. There are many different avenues to career goals. (Lily)

The evening closed with breakout sessions, facilitated small-table discussions, and networking which gave the attendees a chance to meet with and ask questions of the speakers.

28 February 2018 – Sustainability Landscape and Trends in Ontario

Watch the video here. Funding generously provided by the Government of Ontario. Special thanks to Stephen Szucs from Sustainable Joes for his help in designing the format and outline of the event.

The Sustainability Landscape and Trends in Ontario Event on February 27, 2018, saw a full house of sixty attendees hear from industry experts on key trends and opportunities in the sustainability space. The event was facilitated by Stephen Szucs. Speakers and Topics included:

Jake DeBruyn: Ontario Government Initiatives in GHGs, Waste and Innovation

Jake is an engineer working on New Technology Integration at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Jake spoke to provincial sustainability initiatives and opportunities, especially around the production of renewable natural gas transportation fuel from biomass. Under a program supported by the government under the Climate Change Action Plan and other programs, farm by-products such as manure, food waste, crop material are converted to methane (natural gas) which can be used to fuel transport trucks in place of gasoline or diesel. Jake observed how the government drives sustainability programs through funding and regulation, which provides numerous opportunities for sustainability consultants.

Sandra Leigh Lester: Green Building and Transformative Architecture

Sandra is the CEO of sustainable architecture consulting firm Affecting Change Inc., and a visionary, award-winning expert on healthy building. Sandra identified three key trends in healthy buildings:

Wellness: The productivity benefits of providing a healthy work and living environment.
Carbon: Current government incentives to move large buildings towards renewable energy systems and the rise of affordable green energy for private homes.
Ecority: Integrating long-term, community-based decision-making and values into building design and governance.

Walter Kraus: Corporate Social Responsibility in Food Processing and Retailing

Walter is a Principal with Efficient2Sustainable Inc. & Former VP, Environment & Corporate Sustainability at Weston Foods (Canada) Inc. Walter spoke to the CSR landscape in the food processing and retail sector. The two main catalysts for CSR initiatives in the private sector include:

values-driven, which comes from desire in the executive suite to “do the right thing”, and
customer-driven, where change is initiated by customer demand.

Of particular interest to the sustainable consulting community was his assessment of what companies are looking for in order to enhance their CSR efforts, including transparency in the supply chain and KPIs by which success would be measured. Walter closed with tips on how to best achieve the incorporation of sustainability into the ongoing business of the company through executive support, a focus on material benefits, and close collaboration.

Franz Hartmann: Green Jobs, Climate Change and the Transform Toronto Initiative

Franz is the Executive Director of Toronto Environmental Alliance, which advocates with governments to adopt green policies. Franz spoke to the potential 327,000 person-years of work that could be created in Toronto through a Climate Action Plan that would include broad-based implementation of green energy and sustainability initiatives. In terms of practical, local benefits, Franz offered up the experience of a Scarborough high rise which was able to reduce the amount of waste that went to a landfill from 20 dumpsters per month to one, through relatively simple and inexpensive changes. Franz closed with the need for Toronto residents to demand that politicians allocate time and funding towards job-creating environmental initiatives.

Panel Discussion

What advice would you give to sustainability consultants looking to carve out their own space in the sector?

Find the sector where you’re connected, or want to be connected and meet with those people. Get involved. (Jake)
Find companies that share your values. Do your homework and understand what they do, then meet with them and don’t be afraid to share your thoughts. (Walter)

Is there a standard pitch to companies looking to implement sustainability programs?

Not really. Just be sure and speak the language of the person you’re talking to. (Walter)
Up and coming: ecological restoration will be big. Take the long view – two hundred years from now, synthetic biological architecture may be standard. (Sandra)
Good intentions and skills are not enough. Government regulation and incentives are key. We can’t assume that governments will do the right thing – they have to be pushed. (Franz)
Sustainability is often a side piece for companies, so know what programs are available that potential clients could take advantage of. (Jake)

One of TEA’s missions is to build a more equitable city. How do we get there?

TEA believes that environmental solutions must create social benefit. TEA pushes to ensure that municipal and provincial GHG reduction plans add local benefits – jobs, training, housing etc. (Franz)

How can consultants create value in their roles in a way similar to what was done in the Fogo building example?

Under classic capitalism, environmental and social impacts are seen as externalities, so decisions are made which have a negative long-term impact on society and the environment. We need to recognize that we are in a closed system. In 1994, I designed a mission to Mars, and learned that “Mars is not a very nice place to go – it is terrifying.” We need to make the environment a consideration in everything that we do. (Sandra)

23 November 2017: Carbon Accounting -“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Photo credit: Amanda Dell’Aquila – https://www.instagram.com/loveamandadell/

Lulu Li, Principle Consultant at Carbon Q
Jacob Sigler, Consultant at Carbon Q

Did you know that Canada has one of the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita among all countries in the world? Presented by Lulu and Jacob from Carbon Q, an innovative consulting firm that is committed to making a difference in business sustainability by helping its clients to report and manage their carbon emissions, this event provided a great opportunity to our members to learn more about carbon accounting.

The first part of the presentation focused on the importance and the mechanism of carbon accounting standards and calculations, such the three scopes that are used to categorize emission type of an organization by its activities. Then, the second part provided examples of some useful tools such as internal carbon price that helps organizations manage unpredictable climate change risks and reduce emissions. These tools are already implemented in companies like Microsoft and Société Générale.

This topic sparked many interesting discussions among like-minded professional attendees from diverse fields who enjoyed stimulated conversations about the challenges and opportunities for Canadian businesses and their stakeholders.

12 September 2017: Future-Fit Business Benchmark

Bob Willard, Award-winning Certified Sustainability Professional, Sustainability Advantage

Ever wonder how to move your organization ahead of the curve? What approaches one can take to create more values for the customers, the society, and the environment, while improving financial returns? These questions are more relevant to stakeholders today than it was five years ago. Accountability for supply chain conditions, resource scarcities, ecosystem destruction, climate destabilization, and new levels of transparency forced by social media are introducing new risks and opportunities into the game of business. Would a truly sustainable enterprise be better positioned to thrive on a more climate-disrupted, resource-constrained, water-constrained, and socially-unstable planet?

Yes. Bob highlighted how a new, free, open-source benchmark for a company’s required environmental and social performance can be a breakthrough resource for companies, investors, consultants, and standards organizations. He outlined the science-based environmental and social goals in the Future-Fit Business Benchmark; why it is needed now; how it relates to other sustainability reporting and ranking frameworks like GRI and the UN SDGs; the target audiences for its use; the business benefits of achieving its goals; and the Future-Fit Foundation’s strategy for deploying the benchmark in the business community so that companies can clearly see the goal line for their journey toward greater bottom-line profitability and resilience―that is, when they will be fit for the future.

24 June 2017: Whole Village Eco Village Tour

Whole Village, 20725 Shaws Creek Rd, Caledon, Ontario

This is a community with a commitment to sustainability and land stewardship seeking to live together in harmony with each other and with the natural habitat since 1995. This 191 acre farm features a hardwood forest (9 acres), a provincially significant wetland (27 acres), pasture land, and fertile crop land. The condition of the soil is mostly sandy loam with hills that are part of the Orangeville Moraine protected by the designation of Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI). This diverse, beautiful property is also protected by a conservation easement with the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy. Credit Valley Conservation has documented the natural ecosystem and created a conservation plan. Their assistance, and that of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, has been instrumental in developing the farm in an ecological manner. They also have an Environmental Farm Plan which guides improvements in a way that protects the land and its features. Find out more at

Whole Village.

May 08 – Eco Village Presentation: Anlong Village, China

Mark Takefman, Executive Director at Mark Takefman & Associates

Anlong Village is a small eco village 40 km outside of Chengdu that was developed by Chengdu Urban Rivers Association (CURA).

Mark spoke about how the idea for this village got started and about the components involved in setting it up, such as bio-digesters, constructed wetland, composting toilets. organic farming and Community Supported Agriculture.

Additional resources:

Pioneering eco-project helps cut pollution along Yangtze River

A Small Chinese Experiment With Large Environmental Implications

April 07: Anaerobic Digester & Renewable Energy Tour: Toronto Organics Processing Facility

Did you know that 140k tonnes of organic waste was collected in the Toronto Green bin program per year, and half of them got processed into biogas and fertilizer at the Disco Road Organics Processing Facility? This facility uses a wet anaerobic digestion system which is owned by the City of Toronto, has the capacity to process about 75,000 tons/year of residential and commercial organics collected in the Toronto Green Bin Program (TGBP) as source separated organics (SSO). This facility began operations in November 2013 and we learned how TGBP allows organic waste in plastic bags unlikely in other municipalities. Guided by the passionate and very knowledgeable plant management team, the tour provided like-minded professionals an opportunity to learn about the organic waste digestion process from start to end and sparked many interesting discussions!

Other past events: