Sep 10, 2021 | News
Re(Purpose) Incubator ready to support six businesses in Ontario
Submit your application today at coil.eco/repurpose.
Guelph, Ont., September 10, 2021–Today the Guelph-Wellington Smart Cities Office and Provision Coalition Inc. are launching the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad’s (COIL) newest business support program, Re(Purpose) Incubator – the food and beverage industry’s new home for upcycling commercialization.
This commercialization project received funding through the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative.
The Re(Purpose) Incubator provides food and beverage companies a simple pathway to ingredient and product commercialization for their unavoidable food waste.
“In Canada, 68 per cent of our food waste is “unavoidable” and most of this waste comes from by-products created during food and beverage manufacturing,” says Cher Mereweather, President & CEO, Provision Coalition. “The good news, most of these wasted by-products are high in nutrients and by upcycling them we can capture that value and transform them into ingredients or new products that keep these valuable resources in the food system.”
Six companies from across Ontario will be selected by a committee over the next six months to participate in the Re(Purpose) Incubator. The selected companies will be guided through Provision Coalition’s step-by-step methodology to create a new upcycled ingredient or product so that their by-products can start generating revenue. In the end, companies will reduce their unavoidable waste and keep nutrients in the food system, aligning their business practices with circular economy principles and the growing demands of eco-conscious consumers.
The three-stage upcycling methodology involves food waste quantification, nutritional and economic analysis and product commercialization. Within each phase, companies will work with a network of experienced food scientists, engineers and marketers to analyze the financial, operational and market potential of the upcycled product.
Applications are being accepted and reviewed as they come in. Interested businesses can apply at coil.eco/repurpose.
“The Re(Purpose) Incubator is a great addition to the growing number of programs and resources available through Our Food Future and COIL,” says David Messer, Manager, COIL. “By reimagining food waste within the manufacturing process, businesses will keep more nutrients in our food system, reduce waste and increase their economic value. We’re excited by the interest in businesses to become more circular and the support by partners and funders such as Provision Coalition and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to make these programs a reality for Ontario businesses.”
“Agri-food research is key to building a stronger agri-food sector in Ontario,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “Repurposing what would otherwise be considered food waste into useable products is an innovative way of building more sustainable and viable food system that will benefit the food manufacturing industry, our environment and economy.”
About COIL
COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy. COIL funds a range of programs that accelerate circular enterprises, launch innovative demonstration projects and help inspire new circular collaborations across the food and environment sectors.
The initiative was launched in April 2021.
About Our Food Future
Inspired by the planet’s natural cycles, a circular food economy reimagines and regenerates the systems that feed us, eliminating waste, sharing economic prosperity, and nourishing our communities. In Guelph-Wellington, we are working to build a regional circular food economy that will achieve a 50% increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50% increase in circular economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste.
Our Food Future one of the ways the City of Guelph and County of Wellington are contributing to a sustainable, creative and smart local economy that is connected to regional and global markets and supports shared prosperity for everyone.
Media contacts
Cher Mereweather, President & CEO
Provision Coalition
519-822-2042
[email protected]
Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3066
[email protected]
David Messer, Manager COIL
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3661
[email protected]
Aug 31, 2021 | News
Funding available to design and test inspirational ideas which will reduce waste and increase circularity
Access the full challenge brief and submit your application today at coil.eco/colab.
Guelph, Ont., August 31, 2021– Today Guelph-Wellington’s Smart Cities Office, 10C and Innovation Guelph launched the COIL Circulate CoLab, an innovation program that will help organizations collaborate to design and test transformative circular supply chain approaches that reduce waste and increase material reuse and recycling in the food and environment sectors.
“Reducing and creating more value from waste is common sense for every business,” says David Messer, Manager, Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL). “However, if we want to create a more circular economy, we need innovators to blaze the trail with new ideas and solutions. Through Circulate CoLab we hope to give innovators space and resources to test big ideas that can inspire and transform their industry or even create new ones.”
The COIL Circulate CoLab is hosting a series of three open challenges to identify and prototype circular economy innovations and collaborations that could scale up into industrial-scale demonstration projects with the potential to transform or disrupt their industry. The challenge series, which starts today, will run through 2022 with a total of three challenges and provide a total of $800,000 in project funding to participating businesses.
“Sustainability practices like waste reduction are top of mind for many companies. The Circulate CoLab is an exciting opportunity for businesses to collaborate and co-create new and innovative solutions together,” says Shakiba Shayani, President and CEO, Guelph Chamber of Commerce.
Circulate CoLab Challenge details
COIL Circulate CoLab will issue challenges focused on a particular element of the food or environment industry supply chain calling for teams of three to seven organizations (private businesses, social enterprises or not-for-profits) in the supply chain to come forward with an innovative way to reduce/recycle waste, reduce emissions or create additional social or environmental benefit.
The top three teams will participate in a twelve-week CoLab process where they are provided $20,000 in funding and other supports to test and prototype their idea. Each team will then pitch their idea to an expert committee.
At least one team will receive an additional $100,000 funding to scale their idea up into one of COIL’s five flagship demonstration projects.
Additional funding may be provided to other teams to expand their ideas.
The Circulate CoLab Challenge is open to businesses operating in southern Ontario. Although teams can include a mix of organizations, funded elements of a prototype must be directed towards Canadian-owned firms. More details are available on the Circulate CoLab website.
Challenge 1: Circularity in the food processing and manufacturing chain
The first Circulate CoLab Challenge is focused on increasing the reduction, reuse or recycling of waste in upstream food systems: packaging, processing, manufacturing, distribution and retail sales.
The Food Waste Flow study, and other research conducted through Our Food Future, show that upstream elements of the food system account for the largest volumes of waste across the supply chain.
“By focusing on the area where we know there is the greatest volume of waste, we hope businesses can find innovative solutions that will have the greatest impact at home and eventually around the world,” adds Messer.
Applications are being accepted until October 15 at coil.eco/colab where users can download the full challenge brief. Semi-finalists will be announced October 29.
About COIL
Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy. COIL funds a range of programs that accelerate circular enterprises, launch innovative demonstration projects and help inspire new circular collaborations across the food and environment sectors.
The initiative was launched in April 2021.
About Our Food Future
Inspired by the planet’s natural cycles, a circular food economy reimagines and regenerates the systems that feed us, eliminating waste, sharing economic prosperity, and nourishing our communities. In Guelph-Wellington, we are working to build a regional circular food economy that will achieve a 50% increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50% increase in circular economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste.
Our Food Future is one of the ways the City of Guelph and County of Wellington are contributing to a sustainable, creative and smart local economy that is connected to regional and global markets and supports shared prosperity for everyone.
Media contacts
Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3066
[email protected]
David Messer, Manager, COIL
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3661
[email protected]
Aug 16, 2021 | News
Businesses in southern Ontario can apply today at activate.coil.eco.
Guelph, Ont., August 16, 2021– Today the Guelph Smart Cities Office, 10C and Innovation Guelph are launching the COIL Activate Circular Accelerator program, a new circular business accelerator initiative that will help scale businesses in the food and environment sectors.
COIL Activate is focused on growing 49 businesses by 2024 through circular economy training and mentorship. The 49 businesses is in addition to the 50 circular economy businesses and collaborations launched through Guelph-Wellington’s existing smart cities project, Our Food Future.
“In Guelph-Wellington, we’ve created an incredible urban-rural testbed for circular economy businesses, says David Messer, Manager, COIL with the Smart Cities Office. “Through COIL Activate and other initiatives, we will bring more businesses from across the province into this ecosystem and together advance the transition to a more sustainable, circular economy.”
COIL Activate is open to existing businesses that are either operating or transitioning toward circular economy business practices such as finding new uses for materials that are typically considered waste or using unique operational approaches to reduce waste and carbon emissions. The focus is on businesses operating in the food or environment sectors, and especially at the point where those sectors meet. The program helps these businesses refine market strategies and scale up their operations putting them in a position to seek and secure additional venture capital investments.
“Through our work with 40 circular businesses and over 70 circular collaborations, we’ve seen how transformative circular business practices can be,” says Anne Toner Fung, CEO, Innovation Guelph. “COIL Activate enables innovative business leaders to take their businesses to the next level through world-class circular economy training, a national and international scaling network, and hands-on support from our mentors.”
Under COIL Activate, each participating business will:
- receive up to $30,000 in grants and financing to support a particular business operation ($20,000 grant and $10,000 as a 0% interest loan through 10C’s Harvest Impact Fund),
- contribute an additional $10,000 themselves in cash or in-kind resources (e.g. funding, staff time),
- receive a tailored program of support and mentorship to meet their particular needs, including a new leading-edge circular economy business training curriculum that will connect companies with strategies, experts and networks from around the world, and
- be able to leverage the extensive network of experts and contacts in the public, private, academic and not-for-profit sectors from the Guelph-Wellington Urban-Rural Testbed, the ReSource Exchange material marketplace, and Circular Economy Digital Passport.
Apply today!
Applications are now being accepted through September 19 at activate.coil.eco for the October 2021 cohort of 10 businesses. In order to qualify for the program businesses need to have existing annual revenues of at least $200,000 and have business operations in southern Ontario – anywhere from Ottawa to Windsor.
Any business that applies for the first cohort and is unsuccessful will automatically be considered for the subsequent cohort launching in early spring 2022. A second application is not required.
The COIL Activate program will be looking for a mix of scale up and early-stage businesses, social enterprises and not-for-profits.
About COIL
COIL, the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad, is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy. COIL funds a range of programs that accelerate circular enterprises, launch innovative demonstration projects and help inspire new circular collaborations across the food and environment sectors.
The initiative was launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
About Our Food Future
Inspired by the planet’s natural cycles, a circular food economy reimagines and regenerates the systems that feed us, eliminating waste, sharing economic prosperity, and nourishing our communities. In Guelph-Wellington, we are working to build a regional circular food economy that will achieve a 50% increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50% increase in circular economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste.
Our Food Future one of the ways the City of Guelph and County of Wellington are contributing to a sustainable, creative and smart local economy that is connected to regional and global markets and supports shared prosperity for everyone.
Media contact
David Messer, Manager COIL
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3661
[email protected]
Jul 14, 2021 | News
Smart Cities launches its first two COIL projects
Today the Smart Cities Office, along with partner organizations, is launching the ReSource Exchange and Circular Economy Digital Passport to help food businesses across Ontario join the circular food economy. The ReSource Exchange and Circular Economy Digital Passport are the first two projects coming out of the recently announced Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL).
ReSource Exchange
Designed to be a free business-to-business marketplace, ReSource Exchange enables companies to post their food waste, byproducts and coproducts that would normally be thrown away for other businesses to use. Businesses can also generate new revenue and reduce potential costs by posting excess space, tools and equipment, and donate a particular food product to local food-relief organizations through the platform.
“Food businesses across the supply chain currently spend considerable amounts of money to send waste materials to landfills. ReSource Exchange will help surface these materials and create new business-to-business collaborations in our region that further our goal of creating a circular food economy across our region,” says David Messer, manager, COIL, Smart Cities Office.
“The Guelph Chamber prides itself in providing meaningful opportunities to increase the competitive advantage of its members and increase economic prosperity in the community,” says Shakiba Shayani, president and CEO, Guelph Chamber of Commerce. “If you’re looking to transform a waste stream into a value stream and build collaborations with other businesses in our region, we recommend the ReSource Exchange platform.”
Beyond the website, ReSource Exchange is supported by a dedicated team at Innovation Guelph as well as Provision Coalition and other collaborators that work to actively match materials posted on the platform with other businesses that could use them. The team will also use the platform to help develop new products and companies through innovation challenges.
Circular Economy Digital Passport
Guelph-Wellington’s Circular Economy iHub (CE iHub) connects entrepreneurs and established businesses with funding and innovation opportunities. The digital passport that will help connect businesses with circular economy programs, business resources and experts that can support them on their journey. The passport itself provides digital stamps enabling businesses to share their achievements and be recognized for their commitment to the circular food economy across social networks.
“The digital passport is a new and innovative way to connect and support businesses as they work to adapt their business models to align with the circular food economy,” says Anne Toner Fung, CEO, Innovation Guelph. “Through this program, businesses will learn what it means to be circular, connect with likeminded businesses and drive change within their own organizations. In the end we want to see businesses thrive and add value to the community through the circular food economy.”
About COIL
COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy. COIL funds a range of programs that accelerate circular enterprises, launch innovative demonstration projects and help inspire new circular collaborations across the food and environment sectors. The initiative was launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
About Our Food Future
Inspired by the planet’s natural cycles, a circular food economy reimagines and regenerates the systems that feed us, eliminating waste, sharing economic prosperity, and nourishing our communities. In Guelph-Wellington, we are working to build Canada’s first tech-enabled circular food economy that will achieve a 50% increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50% increase in circular economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste.
Our Food Future demonstrates one of the ways the City of Guelph and County of Wellington are contributing to a sustainable, creative and smart local economy that is connected to regional and global markets and supports shared prosperity for everyone.
Resource
Our Food Future website
Media contacts
Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3066
[email protected]
David Messer, Manager COIL
Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 3661
[email protected]
Apr 16, 2021 | Uncategorized
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