AN ACCELERATOR FOR SOCIAL ENTERPRISES SCALING PROMISING PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Social entrepreneurs are turning the climate crisis into an opportunity to build the more resilient, clean, and low-carbon economy of the future.
Over two years, the Centre for Social Innovation is supporting 38 enterprises working on climate change solutions. Please note that applications are now closed, but you can still join Climate Ventures, our incubator for climate entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates.
After a rigorous selection process, 20 enterprises joined our first cohort for Agents of Change: Climate Solutions. Over 12 months their revenues grew by 120% to $1.4M, they created 14 new full-time equivalent jobs, increased volunteers by 55% to 160, and attained greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 640 TC02e while being on track to achieve thousands more. Read this blog post for more updates.

Alert Energy helps building owners save energy and water.

Colin Campbell (LinkedIn)
Better Current is a renewable technology company launching the world’s first smart solar charger for home use to efficiently charge devices from the sun every day.

Enviromentum mitigates climate change impacts by helping people to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours. Through applied behavioural change science, we empower people and organisations to lead a low carbon cultural transition.

FTA advances fashion sustainability through education, awareness and collaboration. Our Fashion Impacts Challenge introduces youth to the sharing economy with school-wide swaps, and also helps them prevent GHG-producing textile waste.

Michael Smith (LinkedIn) & Mark Juhasz
Future of Protein provides leaders with business intelligence on sustainable livestock production. We are examining sustainable animal feeds and developing a new tool to help leaders reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Junction Geo is a pilot project showcasing a new approach to bringing geoexchange heating and cooling to homes in older urban areas.

Green Story is a marketing and analytics platform that helps green companies connect with customers by showcasing their positive environmental and social impact.

Jessica Machado & Sarah Brigel (LinkedIn)
Microbe Hub aims to reduce a community’s carbon footprint by using composting as a method of diverting organic waste and as a platform for science literacy programming.

The Organic Council of Ontario is the voice for organics in Ontario. We represent organic farmers and businesses and help them to grow Ontario organics from field to plate.

Peggy Sue Collection Inc. is a clothing company founded upon the beliefs of revitalizing the North American fiberscape with a transparent and traceable Supply Chain of Farmers, Mills and Makers.

Jessica Correa (LinkedIn)
Random Acts of Green™ is a social enterprise that offers social media advertising services. We advertise for our clients utilizing our engaging and empowering brand to showcase environmental initiatives.

Ripple is a social enterprise working to combat food insecurity throughout Canada. Focusing on vertical farming techniques, Ripple operates out of Canada’s first Urban Farming Unit at the Evergreen Brickworks.

Daniel Adirim (LinkedIn)
Groundswell Grid Energy is a geoexchange utility dedicated to making it easy for building owners to switch to a less expensive, safer and lower carbon space heating and cooling technology.
These experts are contributing their time and expertise to help our enterprises grow.

Ahmed Badruddin
CEO, WatrHub Inc.
Expertise: Fundraising, Investment, Technology
Ahmed Badruddin is the CEO of WatrHub Inc., a fast-growing Infrastructure Intelligence company that has introduced a novel Water Industry Analytics solution that enables businesses to focus their sales efforts on their most promising water utility prospects. Prior to WatrHub, Ahmed worked in various technology leadership roles at Microsoft.

Chris Caners
General Manager, SolarShare
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Investment, Product Development, Technology
Chris is a professional engineer with more than a decade of experience in renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions verification and management, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Prior to joining SolarShare, he worked with ICF (an environmental consultancy), M-KOPA Solar (Kenya) and the University of Toronto Sustainability Office.

David Berliner
CEO, CoPower
Expertise: Investment, Policy Change, Product Development
David is co-founder and CEO of CoPower, an online clean energy investing firm. David has been named “Emerging Solar Leader” by the Canadian Solar Industries Association and “Top 30 Under 30” by Corporate Knights. David holds an M.P.A. from Columbia University and a B.Sc from the University of Toronto.

Jeremiah Raining Bird
Associate, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP
Expertise: Advocacy, Aboriginal and Environmental Law
I work exclusively for First Nations and their members. My work is varied but often involves advocating for stronger environmental protections before regulatory bodies such as the NEB and environmental tribunals as well as through the negotiation of agreements between First Nations and industry.

Joanna Reynolds
Associate Director, Centre for Social Impact, Smith School of Business
Expertise: Convening, Education and Training, Investment, Product Development
Find me at the Smith School of Business, Centre for Social Impact at Queen’s. Coming from a great run with the Centre for Social Innovation as the Director of Social Enterprise. Before all of that, I was at MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (2011-2015) and Social Innovation Generation (2008-2011).

John Smiciklas
Director, Energy & Environment, BOMA Canada
Expertise: Community Engagement, Policy Change, Technology
John Smiciklas is the Director, Energy and Environment for BOMA Canada. In that position John leads the BOMA BEST program, Canada’s largest sustainability certification program for existing buildings, Canada’s first tenant focused certification program and Canada’s first protocol for commercial building adaptation for severe weather events.

Katie Harper
Director, Project Neutral
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Community Engagement, Public Awareness
Katie Harper is Director of Project Neutral (Tides Canada), which helps residents reduce their household carbon footprint and join the transition to a low-carbon future. Previously, Katie worked in sustainability and engagement at Sears Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation. She holds a M.Sc. in Biology from McGill University.

Lawrence Alvarez
President, Institute for a Resource-Based Economy
Expertise: Advocacy, Community Engagement, Mentoring and Coaching
President of IRBE, and co-founder of the Toronto Tool Library and the Sharing Depot. I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and he have lived in Botswana, Canada, South Africa and Argentina. My passion lies in travel, exploring human relationships and our shared experience, and finding the connections between us.

Mary Pickering
Vice President – Programs and Partnerships, The Atmospheric Fund
Expertise: Collaboration, Policy Change, Urban Climate Action Design and Implementation
Mary Pickering has been with The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) since 2004. As VP Programs and Partnerships, she leads TAF’s multi-sectoral collaboration initiatives and oversees design and implementation of TAF’s grantmaking and urban greenhouse gas reduction programs.

Paul Bubelis
Executive Director, Sustainability Network
Expertise: Capacity Building, Collaboration, Convening
Paul Bubelis is the Executive Director of the Sustainability Network which he co-founded in 1997. He is a founding Director of Sustainability CoLab and advises the Ontario Nonprofit Network and Green Living Enterprises. Prior to his work at Sustainability Network, he worked at the Ontario Environment Network and Environment Canada.

Managing Director, Sustainability CoLab
Expertise: Capacity Building, Collaboration, Community Engagement, Scaling a Social Innovation
Priyanka oversees all aspects of how CoLab runs, from its strategic direction to supporting her team in execution. She holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biochemistry, and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. Among other notable achievements, Priyanka was named to Canada’s Clean16 in 2016.

Rahul Raj
VP of Marketing & E-Commerce, ecobee
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Product Development, Public Awareness
I unlock the potential of brands to better the world and the bottom line. As the VP of Marketing & E-Commerce, I helped transform ecobee from relative obscurity to the #2 thermostat brand in North America with a run rate of 1,000,000 thermostats this year.

Executive Director, Our Horizon
Expertise: Advocacy, Behaviour Change, Policy Change
Rob Shirkey is a lawyer and founder of Our Horizon, a non-profit organization that engages governments to mandate climate change risk disclosures or ‘warning labels’ for gas pumps. He has given lectures on the topic across North America and has been featured in media around the world.

Sandra Odendahl
Board Chair, The Atmospheric Fund
Expertise: Collaboration, Investment, Policy Change
Sandra is Chair of The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), where she also sits on the TAF Grants Committee. From 2007 to 2016 she led RBC’s Corporate Sustainability, Social Finance, and Social Innovation teams. Sandra has an M.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from UofT. She is a licensed P.Eng, and a CFA.

Sanjay Khanna
Futurist
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Capacity Building, Global Megatrends, Human Impacts of Climate Change
Sanjay Khanna is a futurist. Between 2011 and 2015, he was affiliated with the University of Toronto’s Massey College as Visiting Scholar and inaugural Resident Futurist. More recently, Sanjay was Futurist-in-Residence with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he explored arts and cultural innovation in response to unprecedented societal stressors.

Shaunna Bruton
Product Manager, SAMETRICA
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Product Development, Research
Social innovation and strategic impact investment are what drive me. Questioning how we can create greater social impact keeps me up at night. I have an MA from York University and a BA from McGill University. I received the Government of Ontario’s Leading Women, Building Communities award in 2014.

Sierra Frank
Program Manager, Ontario EcoSchools
Expertise: Behaviour Change, Community Engagement, Education and Training, Mentoring and Coaching
Sierra is committed to creating healthy, happy, and equitable communities, with an emphasis on environmental education. She has developed and managed a variety of programs for students, teachers, and community members. Sierra continues to develop her approach to teaching while maintaining a dedication to experiential and anti-oppressive education.

Theresa Ramirez
Data & Research Analyst, Ontario EcoSchools
Expertise: Mentoring and Coaching, Research, Technology, Business Analysis, Data Analysis
Theresa has a background in finance but has always had a passion for the environment and sustainability, which fits in great with her current role at Ontario EcoSchools. She is passionate about social equality and uses her stand-up comedy connections to promote awareness and raise funds for local housing initiatives.
“Congratulations to the 20 organizations that were selected for the Centre for Social Innovation’s (CSI) Agents of Change: Climate Solutions program.”
After a rigorous selection process, 20 early-stage enterprises joined our first cohort of Agents of Change: Climate Solutions. Over 12 months they achieved:
$1.4M in revenues and investments, up 120%
14 new full-time equivalent jobs & employing a total of 52.5 FTE jobs
640 tCO2e in GHG reductions
If you have any questions about the Agents of Change or other CSI acceleration programs and services, please contact Barnabe Geis, Director of Programs, at barnabe[at]socialinnovation.ca.
Part of the CSI Accelerates Initiative
At CSI, we support entrepreneurs with solutions that drive change through acceleration and incubation. Learn more about our approach here.
