Sustainable Business Leadership

Vancouver Economic Commission—Supporting Circular Business Development

How can we collect city-wide information about circularity while also supporting circular business development in the region? The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) is seeking to find an assessment tool fit for Vancouver businesses engaging in or looking to adopt circular practices. While many such tools exist that assess for circularity, the task was to identify one that is accessible and user-friendly to SMEs and supported their needs in advancing circularity while also providing collective data to help the VEC assess Vancouver’s circular economy business activity. The BCIT Sustainable Business team was tasked with developing criteria for assessing circular assessment tools with input from VEC, its partners, and select Vancouver businesses. The criteria were then used to evaluate known circular assessment tools against the goals and needs of Vancouver’s business community and the VEC.

As the economic development agency to the City of Vancouver, the VEC works to strengthen Vancouver’s economic future by providing programming, supporting local companies, advising business leaders and policymakers, monitoring the region’s economic health, and conducting and publishing leading-edge industry research. The circular economy is core to VEC’s climate action work and its broader mandate of building a low-carbon, prosperous, resilient, and inclusive local economy.

Novex Delivery Solutions—Adopting Nature-Based Solutions

Novex Delivery Solutions currently holds a prominent position as a sustainability leader within the courier industry in the Lower Mainland, BC. Since 2007, Novex has successfully maintained carbon neutrality and in its ongoing commitment to bolster its environmental standing, Novex has set a definitive target of becoming a zero-emission company by 2030. Acknowledging that there is still a collective effort to be made in reducing the impact on the shared environment, Novex has partnered with BCIT’s Sustainable Business Leadership Program to provide and explore the adoption of a regenerative program, outlining the rationale and value created for the business and its customers.

Regenerative programs offer a holistic approach to sustainability by focusing on restoring and revitalizing natural systems. They also have the capacity to support local economies, enhance food security, and foster community resilience. Investing in regenerative programs is, therefore, not only a moral imperative but also an essential pathway towards a more resilient and thriving future. Primary and secondary research was conducted to understand the challenges and opportunities in implementing a regenerative program and recommend companies that provide regenerative services, which can partner with Novex in its efforts to “deliver regenerative change.”

Platinum Pro-Claim Restoration— GHG Emissions Accounting Practices

Platinum Pro-Claim Restoration (PPCR) is a full-service property restoration company in the Lower Mainland with a commitment to sustainability since its inception. In 2016, PPCR became the first restoration company in North America to certify with Climate Smart—an emissions measurement and carbon management software providing tools and training for small to medium-sized businesses engaging in GHG accounting. Since then, PPCR has increased overall revenue by 18%, while at the same time reducing its GHG emissions by 13% compared to the 2016 baseline. This was achieved by focusing on reductions of their top 3 sources of GHG emissions: Transportation, Waste Diversion, and Heating/Cooling their facility. In April 2022, the company reached its goal of electrifying 25% of its fleet of 102 vehicles, nine months ahead of its initial timeline.

To strengthen its ongoing mission of leading the way in sustainability and elevating the restoration industry, PPCR has teamed up with students from the BCIT Sustainable Business Leadership program to audit and evaluate its GHG accounting systems and processes against leading industry practices to identify and highlight opportunities for improvement. The student team will conduct interviews with key PPCR employees, industry practitioners, and experts, and will also collect and analyze existing research to identify gaps and opportunities for PPCR to take its GHG accounting and associated sustainability practices to the next level.

Susgrainable—B Impact Assessment

B Corp is a certification provided by the non-profit organization B Lab to companies that meet specific standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B Corps are businesses that seek to balance profit with purpose, aiming to generate a positive impact on society and the environment. To become a certified B Corp, a company must undergo a rigorous assessment of its practices, including its governance structure, treatment of employees, impact on the community, and environmental footprint.

Susgrainable Health Foods is a producer of upcycled baking goods. Founded in 2018, Susgrainable is focused on creating products that are healthier to consume, while upcycling spent grain from breweries to avoid it going to landfill, rescuing 9,000kg of spent grain in 2022 alone. To recognize and grow their impact, Susgrainable has partnered with students from the Sustainable Business Leadership program to map their path towards B Corp certification. The goal of the project is to analyze Susgrainable’s business operations and performance, including environmental, social, and other impacts and to provide recommendations on changes required to achieve certification.

The Venture Fund—Gender-Lens Impact Investing Framework

The future of our economy requires a focused impact investment model, where growth is aligned with impact. Impact investment funds have grown significantly over the last decade and focus on generating financial gains while creating positive social, environmental, and economic change. Impact metrics and measurement frameworks allow investors and fund managers to enhance the value of their portfolio and track non-financial progress while prioritizing greater uniformity and transparency. Ultimately, frameworks are utilized to tell the story of the impact outcomes that reflect the interests, goals, and mission set out by the fund’s ventures.

As Canada’s first venture fund focused on women and impact, The Venture.fund (TVF) is positioned to create a leading integrated reporting framework that highlights how it is addressing the world’s most pressing health and climate challenges. An impact measurement framework that utilizes a gender lens will allow TVF to pursue its purpose of empowering women and non-binary founders to lead businesses and foster diversity and inclusion practices– all toward adapting to a more inclusive and innovative society. This project aims to create a custom impact measurement framework that is rooted in leading practices, the UN SDGs, and stakeholder needs.

Fleet Electrification—Norland Limited

The mounting response to climate change has initiated sector transitions across government and industry, targeting the reduction and elimination of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The transportation sector is the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 24% of Canada’s total annual emissions. With the BC government’s new provincial policies mandating the sale of all new light-duty vehicles to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035, businesses looking to be early adopters are faced with challenges surrounding availability of ZEVs, charging infrastructure, and stakeholder buy-in.

NorLand Limited is a BC-based, multi-disciplinary construction company looking to be one of those early adopters. As a sustainability leader in the construction sector, NorLand has teamed up with students from the BCIT Sustainable Business Leadership program to develop a business case for transitioning their 300+ commercial fleet of trucks to electric vehicles, as well as an implementation plan that considers all 17 business units. Rooted in stakeholder and industry research, the project aims to provide a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits associated with transitioning NorLand’s fleet, a breakdown of charging infrastructure requirements, and a break-even analysis outlining the return on investment

 Municipalities and Place-Based Impact Investing—Scale Collaborative 

Municipalities invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually, much of it in investments directed outside of local communities and not connected to social or environmental outcomes. There are potential opportunities for municipalities to invest in local initiatives that positively impact the social fabric of their communities.

Scale Collaborative has teamed up with BCIT’s Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Business Leadership students to understand and illustrate what can be done today to mobilize investments to create greater local impact while generating financial returns for municipalities. Students will evaluate and document the barriers, gaps, and opportunities for local municipalities to invest in, and connect to local community priorities. Additionally, they will conduct secondary research across other markets where municipalities currently invest in social impact organizations and consolidate learnings to advance Vancouver Island’s social economy.

Coffee Cup Recycling Services—Perk Eco

Every year, over 64 billion disposable coffee cups are used in Canada and the US alone; worldwide, this number surpasses 300 billion. Unfortunately, less than 1% of these cups are recycled. In the face of our twin climate and ecological crises, it is critical to develop effective and scalable solutions to manage this growing waste problem. Perk Eco is an on-demand recycling service that diverts up to 95% of coffee shop waste from landfill. This Vancouver-based start-up is on a mission to help its clients approach zero waste, gain more eco-minded customers, and showcase their green leadership.

The Sustainable Business Leadership student team has been brought on to help expand Perk Eco’s reach across Canada. They will consult with industry experts specializing in recycling and zero waste, reach out to numerous Canadian coffee shops in order to curate a list of potential clients, and identify recycling deserts for Perk Eco to explore. This research will help Perk Eco disrupt the Canadian recycling landscape by revealing market gaps and generating interest in Perk Eco’s services, thus sharpening its competitive edge.

Embodied Emissions Reductions (Whistler, Squamish, and Squamish Nation)—Community Energy Association

In order to achieve their carbon emission reduction goals, municipalities are working to reduce emissions associated with existing and new buildings. To date, the focus has primarily been on building operations—reducing the use of fossil fuels to provide electricity, heating, and cooling. However, as the operation of buildings becomes more efficient, the emissions from materials used in construction become a larger portion of buildings’ overall carbon footprint. The emissions generated from manufacturing, transportation, installation, and decommissioning of building materials are considered “embodied emissions.” According to the Community Energy Association (CEA), embodied emissions could account for up to 45% of the emissions associated with buildings in B.C. However, the development and contracting industries, along with local municipalities are unsure of the best ways to measure and reduce embodied emissions due to a lack of clear guidance, data, and policy.

To address these embodied emissions, the Sustainable Business Leadership student team has partnered with the CEA, a charitable non-profit that supports municipal B.C. governments in developing and implementing bold and globally impactful climate action. The project focuses on identifying low embodied emissions building materials that are cost effective, can be responsibly decommissioned, and are readily available in Squamish, Whistler, and Squamish Nation. The project aims to pinpoint key focus areas for engaging and educating the communities of Squamish, Whistler, and Squamish Nation on embodied emission reductions. CEA will use the findings of this report to support their goal of creating an Embodied Emissions Guide for B.C. municipalities.

Creating a Sustainable Tourism Framework for Canada—Destination Canada

There has been a shift in the prevailing tourism paradigm towards more sustainable and regenerative tourism models, stemming from international efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Additionally, the global tourism industry has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing to light its fragility. Currently, there is an opportunity to rebuild a resilient tourism sector in Canada which will offer not only economic benefits but socio-cultural and environmental benefits to communities across Canada. The Canada brand can be strengthened and differentiated from competing international markets by expanding the storytelling strategy to include sustainable and regenerative stories of Canada’s unique, passionate, and diverse communities.

Destination Canada, the country’s national tourism marketing organization, engaged with a BCIT Sustainable Business Leadership (SBL) student team to develop a communications framework that can help identify the key attributes of sustainable and regenerative tourism destinations in Canada. The SBL team will complete an assessment of select leading international destinations which exemplify regenerative tourism. The team will also consult with some of Canada’s leading experts in the area of sustainable tourism with the goal of identifying three unique Canadian destinations under the framework’s pillars of economic, cultural and environmental regeneration. This framework and the accompanying research will be used to inform the storytelling strategy of Destination Canada in their key international markets.

Selecting a Sustainable Business Model—Nestworks Workplace Society

What if, instead of driving between a childcare facility and an office, a parent could work from a space that provides childminding services while they work? How could children’s proximity to their caregiver businesses influence a broader culture of playfulness, creativity, optimism, and fun? Nestworks aims to rethink the traditional distinction between “work” and “life,” proposing that they be more intertwined. Nestworks believes there is a chance for tremendous economic and social innovation by connecting co-working infrastructure with childminding services.

Sustainable Business Leadership students will be working with Nestworks to compare different business models (co-operative, for-profit, and non-profit social enterprise) to further support the Board in determining the most appropriate model for them as they seek to open their first permanent location.

Reducing embodied carbon in new energy efficient buildings: City of Nelson

Embodied emissions are defined as the greenhouse gas emissions released during the life cycle of materials and products. Currently, the construction industry accounts for approximately 39% of global carbon emissions with 11% stemming from embodied emissions as reported by the International Energy Agency. While Kootenay-based programs, like EcoSave, and province-wide programs, like the BC Energy Step Code, have successfully reduced energy consumption from building operations, this can come at the cost of using more carbon-intensive building materials, which raises the embodied emissions of buildings.

The City of Nelson is taking steps to incorporate embodied emissions considerations into building permitting and is looking to identify locally relevant policies, incentives, and resources. The goal of this consulting project is to analyze policies that have been effective in other municipalities, as well as challenges and opportunities for local stakeholders. This research will inform the City of Nelson’s embodied emissions plan and help to facilitate an easier transition for the construction community.

Driving Demand for Sustainable Real Estate: Sustainable Reality and Vancouver Economic Commission

In British Columbia, buildings represent approximately 10.7% of total greenhouse gas emissions, making the building sector one of the highest overall emitters. By reducing the amount of energy required to build and operate a home, British Columbians can significantly reduce their environmental footprint, and contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. However, the demand for sustainable homes in Metro Vancouver and BC continues to be low.

Sustainable Realty and the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) have teamed up with students in BCIT’s Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Business Leadership to identify barriers and understand perceptions of homebuyers in the province towards sustainable homes. The goal is to help improve consumer awareness and stimulate demand for sustainable homes. The students will outline key findings and recommendations in their final report to inform realtors, the VEC, developers, and other key potential stakeholders, with the collective goal of accelerating BC towards net-zero buildings.

Employing Persons with Barriers in Reusable Container Business: ShareWares (with Social Research and Demonstration Corporation and Share Reuse Repair Initiative)

ShareWares is a Vancouver-based logistics and technology startup that is working to revolutionize the way society reuses food, beverage, and numerous other types of packaging. With plans to embed circular economy principles into regular business operations (through the distribution, collection, sanitization, and redistribution of reusable containers), ShareWares aims to divert multiple streams of waste away from the landfill. Since this business model involves jobs requiring manual labour that present few barriers in terms of skills, education and language, there is an opportunity for Sharewares to provide flexible jobs for persons with challenges to employment.

Sharewares engaged a BCIT SBL team, in order to research and recommend how ShareWares could hire, train, and integrate individuals experiencing barriers to employment into their operational process. These include persons with autism, newcomers and refugees, and those living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The project involved collaboration with two co-sponsors, the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) and the Share Reuse Repair Initiative (SRRI). SRDC is an advisor to SRRI’s Just Circular Recovery and Transition Program that explores the creation of inclusive circular jobs in south western British Columbia.

Circular Economy Resources in Greater Vancouver: Vancity and Vancouver Economic Commission

Linear business practices follow a model that leads to resource exploitation, as well as excessive pollution and waste. The circular economy disrupts these systems by operating on principles that design out waste and pollution, keep products in use, and regenerate natural systems. In the Lower Mainland, the circular economy is gaining momentum with a growing number of circular businesses. However, both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs within existing businesses lack easy access to necessary support and resources to allow them to seamlessly and efficiently transition to circular business models.

Vancity and the Vancouver Economic Commission are both committed to supporting the transition to an inclusive, low-carbon circular economy in Greater Vancouver. They engaged a team of students in the Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Business Leadership to develop a database of circular resources and supports suitable for businesses at all stages of development. The team was also asked to identify any significant resources gaps that need addressing and to recommend how the database of circular resources should be maintained, by which organization, and on what platform.

Food Services: Single-use items vs. reusables

The global climate and ecological crises are motivating organizations, businesses, and governments to review their operations to minimize their environmental impact. A major concern for the food service industry is single-use takeaway items, which are energy and resource intensive to produce and ship, as well as burdensome on our waste streams. BCIT Food Services, operated by Chartwells, currently use a variety of plastic, bioplastic and fibre-based single-use cutlery and containers. While recognizing the potential to reduce their environmental impact by exploring other options, BCIT wants to be clear about the optimal financial and environmental solution before moving ahead.

Chartwells, BCIT Food Services, and the BCIT Institute Sustainability asked the student team to investigate possible dishware and utensil options for their facilities, including reusable, fibre-based, and plastic items both alone and in various combinations. With this research, they hope to understand the costs and benefits of each possibility and identify which option would fit best with BCIT’s food service needs while demonstrating environmental sustainability leadership.

Unbuilders and Vancouver Economic Commission: Deconstruction impact analysis

There is significant potential to transition the construction industry from its current linear structure towards a circular model that prioritizes repurposing of materials and diversion of waste from landfills. Deconstruction is an industry alternative to demolition that diverts construction materials from becoming waste by salvaging, recycling, and reusing them in new building projects. Through deconstruction, buildings are disassembled with a goal of minimizing the construction industry’s environmental footprint.

Based in Vancouver, Unbuilders is the first deconstruction business of its kind in Canada. Unbuilders has partnered with the Vancouver Economic Commission, the economic development agency for the City of Vancouver, to evaluate the scalability of a shift towards deconstruction in Metro Vancouver. Working alongside these clients, the student team will produce an analysis of social, economic and environmental impacts of this shift. The team will compile information regarding deconstruction market size, potential job creation, and materials salvaged and recycled in Metro Vancouver to inform the development of future policy.

Scius and Vancouver Economic Commission: BC’s construction technology ecosystem

Environmentally, inefficiencies in construction and operation processes result in buildings being responsible for over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in Vancouver and 30% of solid waste to landfills. As the construction industry in BC slowly shifts from analog to digital processes to improve efficiency and reduce waste, opportunities are emerging for tech and construction companies to form partnerships and embrace a wide range of innovations.

The student team will work with Scius and the Vancouver Economic Commission to bridge the knowledge gap between the construction and technology industries in Metro Vancouver. Through the project, the team will undertake relevant primary, secondary research, and technical analysis to produce a detailed inventory and map of current and developing construction technologies in the region. The team will also conduct research to assess barriers and opportunities in the construction technology space.

Social Print Paper: Sugar sheet

Every day in North America, three million trees are cut down to make paper. Although there are various alternatives to traditional tree paper, trees remain the primary source for paper production. Social Print Paper is a North American company making paper out of agricultural fibre while meeting industry standards for paper and printing use without cutting down trees. Sugar Sheet Paper uses ‘bagasse’ – the leftover biomass from the production of cane sugar.

Traditionally, trees have been the trusted material source for paper production, and have dominated the market for decades; therefore, it is not surprising that procuring new paper products may be seen as a risk. This mental construction may be the only constraint to the widespread adoption of ‘tree free’ paper.The student team will seek to refine and enhance the communication materials currently being used by Social Print Paper. They will validate research on the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of sugar sheet paper and conduct primary research to uncover barriers to broader uptake of the paper.

eStream Energy Partners: Achieving radical building energy efficiency by changing the economics

eStream Energy Partners was established in 2016, by three senior business professionals with the mission to find a way to overcome the significant and persistent barriers to achieving radical building efficiency in large buildings. They propose to change the economics of buildings by separating the ownership of the buildings from the ownership of the energy systems within those buildings. A separately governed in-building energy utility can align conflicting priorities and all parties stand to benefit from maximizing energy efficiency. eStream are seeking to secure a candidate pilot project, but despite significant interest have not yet managed to secure commitment from a developer or municipality.

The goal of the eStream Capstone project is to create a sufficiently convincing argument about the economic and environmental merits of in-building energy utilities. This will help eStream Energy Partners secure participation of a developer or municipality in a pilot project. Primary and secondary research will be conducted to inform and refine messaging and communication materials.

Recycling Alternative: New circular Product(s) from low-grade plastics

Recycling Alternative (RA) is a Vancouver-owned and operated company that provides private waste and recycling collection for everything from e-waste to organic materials for a range of commercial clients. Co-founders and owners Robert and Louise also have a strong commitment to innovation, inclusive employment, and community partnerships.

As a result of China’s ban on many recyclables, low grade plastics numbered 3 to 7 no longer have any recycling value and increasingly are being land-filled, being incinerated, or ending up in our environment. Many of these low-grade plastics are disposable or single-use items such as coffee cup lids, stir sticks, straws, and plastic shopping bags. For Recycling Alternative, the problem of low grade plastics not only means lost revenue but also a violation of their commitment to waste prevention and positive social impact. There is an opportunity for RA to find value for Vancouver’s low-grade plastic waste.

The purpose of the Recycling Alternative project is to determine the feasibility of creating a new circular business model that ads value and transforms low-grade single use plastics collected from commercial clients into new perpetual or recurring-use consumer product(s).

Vancity and One Earth: Accelerating repair

Disposable items have increased rapidly in the past decades together with the rise of a throwaway consumer mentality. We are hitting and exceeding ecological limits, and there is an urgent need to build a more Circular Economy that is much less wasteful. Repair is a key sector of the Circular Economy, which is diverse: from existing repair stores to new circular economy enterprises, from community repair cafes to programs that refurbish electronics. While repairing goods has many benefits, including conserving resources, diverting waste, creating new jobs, and supporting emerging cultural desires to consume less, the repair sector is not well understood or developed.

Vancity and One Earth want to understand what is needed to strengthen existing repair entities as well as spark new ventures that address gaps and strengthen access to repair services. Vancity is Canada’s largest cooperative Credit Union serving the needs of more than 525,000 member-owners and their communities across southwest British Columbia. Vancity sees an opportunity to link the repair sector’s social purpose with Vancity’s investing and granting strategy. One Earth is a Vancouver-based nonprofit ‘think and do’ tank whose mission is to transform production and consumption patterns so they are ecologically sustainable and just. One Earth has a strategic partnership with Vancity to support Vancity’s new Lighter Living focus and is serving as a supporting client for this project.