Regional Business Forum

Green economy North Regional Business forum

Check this page soon for more information on the 2022 Regional Business Forum!

Green Economy North Regional Business Forum: Leading Change

The Green Economy North Regional Business Forum 2022: Leading Change took place on Thursday, November 10th. The forum featured low carbon business experts sharing their expertise with economic solutions and upcoming funding opportunities.

It was an amazing day full of inspiring speakers and collaboration. 

Thank you so much to everyone involved and everyone who attended both in-person and online.

See you in 2023!

Business Forum Schedule

LEadership Social: Wednesday, November 9th

In addition to the main Business Forum, Green Economy North is hosting a professional networking social the evening of November 9th from 6:30-8:30PM.  The evening will feature a presentation from our keynote speaker, Bob Willard. Light refreshments will be provided and a cash bar available. This event is included in all in-person conference tickets. 

Wednesday evening tickets for those not attending the Thursday conference are available for purchase separately via Eventbrite.

Tickets

Tickets to attend the 2022 Regional Business Forum: Leading Change in-person at the Northbury Hotel and Conference Centre or online are available via Eventbrite.

Stand-alone tickets are also available for the Wednesday evening networking session featuring Bob Willard’s keynote presentation here.

Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Bob Willard – Author and Founder of Sustainability Advantage

Bob is a leading expert on quantifying the business value of sustainability strategies. He has given over 1,500 presentations, has authored six books, and has published two white papers. He provides extensive free, open-source resources for sustainability champions.

He serves on the Future-Fit Foundation board, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) board, and the B Corp Standards Advisory Council. He was one of the first five inductees into the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) Hall of Fame in 2011, has received two Clean50 awards, and earned 11 “Best of the World” awards as a Certified B Corp. He is an ISSP Sustainability Excellence Professional, a Future-Fit Certified Professional and Accredited Partner, and received a PhD in sustainability from the University of Toronto

More information about Bob and his resources for sustainability champions can be found at www.sustainabilityadvantage.com.

The Road to Net-Zero Panel Discussion

Our panelists share their substantial experience fostering change utilizing sustainable business operations.

Randy Zadra has over 20 years of senior management experience with advanced technology companies. He is co-founder and board member of Automobility Enterprises and an advisor to PEM Motion GmbH, as well as board member of the World Manufacturing Forum (WMF). He has served as director at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) where he led international initiatives, and worked in Montreal, Boston, and Washington D.C. with BCE (NYSE: BCE), Teleglobe, andDatawind. He has also worked at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA serving as Project Director for the Entrepreneurship and Development Program. He taught several entrepreneurship courses, and served as a judge on the MIT business plan
competition for 4 years. He has studied at the University of Windsor, Carleton University and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Jordan Wood – Guillevin International

Jordan has a long history spanning over a decade in the electrical industry; much of which he has been consulting with specifiers, contractors, and end-users in the early, mid and post stages of energy-saving projects and retrofits. Today, Jordan manages two Guillevin International Co. locations specializing in electrical, automation, industrial, datacom, and renewable energy supply, located in North Bay and Sudbury. He is also Regional Manager of Guillevin’s Greentech division, specializing in Solar Energy and Energy storage technologies and applications. Jordan lives with his family in a certified Net-Zero home in North Bay, Ontario.

Lance Johnson – Bur Oak Resources

Starting from a young age Lance has a background with roots in farming, construction and telecommunications. After studying engineering at the University of Manitoba he moved on to working in civil construction. Then followed by over 25 years in mining construction. He worked his way up to the project Superintendent position where he oversaw some 35 projects, and worked in seven different countries including remote locations such as the arctic and the Andes mountains.

15 years ago Lance decided on a career change that led him into the renewable energy industry. Following this he founded Bur Oak Resources Inc. Bur Oak is a licensed Electrical Contractor in Ontario and Quebec that specialises in renewable energy generation and EV charging infrastructure. During his 13 years tenure as president of Bur Oak Lance has overseen some 25 megawatts of solar construction successfully completed and commissioned. These projects included multiple feed in tariff, or grid tied, projects, NET metering projects, NET metering projects with power backup (UPS) capabilities, a microgrid demonstration project, and multiple grid independent projects spanning from Quebec to Ottawa and Manitoba.

Green Economy Leaders: Member Showcase

Northern leaders in technology and innovations discuss their low carbon products, services and opportunities.

Colen McKeever – CDM Agency

CDM Agency is an authorized agent for Eco-Growth Environmental a Calgary-based technology company which provides green solutions to organic waste streams, by converting excess materials to clean energy.  

The systems used by Eco-Growth Environmental include the EGOR, which is an organic reactor that dehydrates organic waste – reducing its weight by 80%. They also provide shredding equipment to handle cardboard, and bio-gas boilers as a renewable/alternative energy source. 

Mike Mayhew – Mayhew Performance

Mayhew Performance is a boutique consulting firm which specializes in Green Energy, Net Zero GHG Projects, Battery Electric Vehicle Studies, Risk Management, Health & Safety. The organization was founded in 2020 and includes technical experts with 85+ years of combined experience in Mining Operations.  

Mayhew Performance Ltd is a proud Sudbury-based business and has already committed to reducing its carbon footprint to Net Zero by 2025. Green Economy North will provide a range of supplementary solutions to support MPL through action planning as they set about achieving this goal.  

Craig Timmermans – MSD Corp

Craig Timmermans is a serial entrepreneur, who also happens to co-own Canada’s greenest and only Net Zero Radio Station, Country CFRM 103 – which is located in Little Current, Manitoulin Island.  

Through his technical advisory business, Craig provides off-grid services, including the design and installation of solar, battery-based technologies, and other renewable energy systems for use in municipal and rural locations, parks, recreation and campgrounds, outdoor festivals and events, resorts, marinas, beachfronts, boardwalks, construction sites and RVs!  

Kevin Fitzgerald – B2B Industrial, Inc.

B2B Industrial Inc. provides high quality products for the construction, forestry, mining, and military industries. The team is known for developing innovative solutions for customers on time and on budget.  

B2B’s core products include the “Patented” Armadillo, Rhino, and MantaMAT (Patent Pending) which are firsts in the industry and can be used for fly rock and blast mitigation in the mining, construction, and military industries. 

The company hires between 22-45 employees, and has operations in Copper Cliff, Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls among other locations.  

Behind the Curtain with Regional Funders

Regional funders share their insights on current opportunities and shed a light on grant application best practices.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors