Co-operators contributes $350,000 to fund lab start-up and first project
Guelph, Ont., January 20, 2022– Today, representatives from Co-operators, the City of Guelph, Wellington County and the Guelph Smart Cities Office launched the Zero Waste Economic Transformation Lab, a new initiative under the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL).
The lab will apply circular economy theories to develop and test new opportunities to reduce or redirect waste. As the lab’s founding corporate supporter, Co-operators is pledging a $350,000 investment to establish the lab and fund its first project to divert construction and demolition materials from landfill. Ongoing operations will be funded through public and private grants and corporate investments.
The commitment from Co-operators represents a unique local public-private sector collaboration to tackle factors contributing to climate change. It will also help extend the range of tools and innovation infrastructure developed by COIL and Our Food Future since 2019, adapting them to the construction and demolition sector as well as others in the future.
“Co-operators is committed to embedding sustainability into all areas of our business. We are especially excited that through COIL, we can help to sustainably divert materials away from landfills and keep them in the local economy,” says Chad Park, VP Sustainability and Citizenship at Co-operators. “Through this collaborative effort, we can reduce the environmental, social, and financial costs to governments, businesses and Canadian communities, while making them more sustainable and resilient.”
“We know that 45 per cent of global carbon emissions are generated when we manufacture new products, and construction materials are particularly resource intensive,” says Barbara Swartzentruber, executive director of the Smart Cities Office. “Redesigning systems to recycle and extend the life of materials is an essential part of fighting climate change and aligns with Guelph’s climate change objectives.”
The lab’s projects will bring together researchers, industry stakeholders, entrepreneurs and government to reduce waste in specific material sectors, including salvaged materials from properties following insurance claims.
As with Our Food Future, another Smart Cities initiative, COIL’s lab will focus on designing scalable systems-level solutions that create new social, economic and environmental benefits.
“Our comprehensive circular economy approach considers not only the reuse, recovery and recycling of materials that were previously wasted, it addresses processes and decisions that prevent waste generation across an entire value chain,” says David Messer, manager, COIL.
The Zero Waste Economic Transformation Lab’s projects will follow a process that can be replicated and applied across all waste streams in industries such as textiles, plastics and electronics. The lab will work with other cities, labs and circular economy innovation organizations across Canada to share best practices, advise on future strategies and collectively advance sector transformation using the circular economy approach.
The lab’s current national collaborators and advisors include:
CERIEC: Interdisciplinary scientific research and training, dialogue, valorization and transfer initiatives
Circular Innovation Council: Putting circular economy concepts into action through collaboration and inclusion
Ontario Genomics: Application of genomics-based solutions across key sectors of the economy
Quotes
“This is an incredible example of public-private sector collaboration. It’s fantastic to see a major local employer stepping up and working together with the City of Guelph and County of Wellington to tackle this global issue.”
Cam Guthrie, Mayor, City of Guelph
“This program will also help the County come closer to achieving our sustainability objectives, environmental visioning and economic growth plans by creating jobs and helping businesses with their waste challenges.”
Jana Burns, Wellington Place Administrator, Museum, Archives and Economic Development, Wellington County
“More broadly, however, this program will play an important role in supporting several key priorities within Guelph’s Strategic Plan as well as wider city priorities. It will accelerate partnerships and innovations in our economy. And it will further integrate businesses into our community and cultural fabric.”
Scott Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Guelph
About COIL
Launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions across the food and environment sectors in southern Ontario that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy.
COIL builds on the Our Food Future Smart Cities initiative which is close to meeting its goal of creating 50 new circular businesses and collaborations.
Funding for COIL program participants is provided in collaboration with 10C’s Harvest Impact Fund, a community social finance fund developer with Our Food Future aimed at supporting impactful projects to strengthen the Guelph and Wellington communities.
About Co-operators
Co-operators is a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, offering multi-line insurance and investment products, services, and personalized advice to help Canadians build their financial strength and security. The company has more than $61.5 billion in assets under administration. Co-operators has been providing trusted guidance to Canadians for the past 76 years. The organization is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. Achieving carbon neutral equivalency in 2020, the organization is committed to net-zero emissions in its operations and investments by 2040, and 2050, respectively. Co-operators is also ranked as a Corporate Knights’ Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada and is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Kincentric.
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 per cent increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50 per cent increase in circular economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste.
Our Food Future is one of the ways the City of Guelph and Wellington County are contributing to a sustainable, creative and smart local economy that is connected to regional and global markets and supports shared prosperity for everyone.
Resources
Recording of live event
Media contacts
David Messer, Manager, COIL Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer City of Guelph 519-822-1260 extension 3661 [email protected]
Co-operators, City of Guelph and Wellington County to announce a new circular economy collaboration
Guelph, Ont., January 14, 2022 – Representatives from Co-operators, the City of Guelph, Wellington County and the Smart Cities Office will announce a new initiative through the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) that will help lead industry across southern Ontario to a zero-waste, net positive future.
The announcement on Thursday, January 20 represents a significant and unique local private-public sector collaboration to explore new strategies to reduce waste or find new potential for unavoidable waste across several industries.
What
Live event: Guelph-Wellington Smart Cities’ COIL initiative
Who
Cam Guthrie, Mayor, City of Guelph
Chad Park, Vice President Sustainability and Citizenship, Co-operators
Scott Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Guelph
Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director, Smart Cities Office
David Messer, Manager, COIL
Jana Burns, Wellington Place Administrator, Museum, Archives, and Economic Development
Password (for users joining from a Webex app or mobile phone app): coil2022
About COIL
Launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions across the food and environment sectors in southern Ontario that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy.
COIL builds on the Our Food Future Smart Cities initiative which is close to meeting its goal of creating 50 new circular businesses and collaborations.
Funding for COIL program participants is provided in collaboration with 10C’s Harvest Impact Fund, a community social finance fund developer with Our Food Future aimed at supporting impactful projects to strengthen the Guelph and Wellington communities.
About Co-operators
Co-operators is a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, offering multi-line insurance and investment products, services, and personalized advice to help Canadians build their financial strength and security. The company has more than $61.5 billion in assets under administration. Co-operators has been providing trusted guidance to Canadians for the past 76 years. The organization is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. Achieving carbon neutral equivalency in 2020, the organization is committed to net-zero emissions in its operations and investments by 2040, and 2050, respectively. Co-operators is also ranked as a Corporate Knights’ Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada and is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Kincentric.
Media contacts
David Messer, Manager, COIL Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer City of Guelph 519-822-1260 extension 3661 [email protected]
Forty food and environment businesses will work with COIL to reduce or transform waste
Guelph, Ont., November 25, 2021– Today the Guelph-Wellington Smart Cities Office announced that 40 circular businesses, social enterprises and other organizations will participate in the first cohort of business programs under the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) by the end of December.
This summer, COIL collaborators including Innovation Guelph, 10 Carden Shared Space (10C), the Smart Cities Office and Provision Coalition launched four business funding programs aimed at incubating and accelerating circular businesses, developing new circular products and supporting circular economy innovation within a supply chain.
“We received a very positive response to our call for applications,” says David Messer, Manager, COIL. “We’re seeing some fantastic local organizations that want to establish or expand their circular practices, and others coming into our region to build out their great ideas within the circular food ecosystem we’ve built here over the last few years. It’s been amazing opening Guelph-Wellington’s circular economy testbed up to companies from across southern Ontario.”
COIL’s first cohort of programs include:
Ten scaleup and five start-up businesses are participating in the Activate Accelerator and Evolve Pre-Accelerator programs. These participants will work with Innovation Guelph to grow their businesses to be investor-ready.
Twenty-one organizations are participating in the Circulate CoLab, an innovation process where each of five team receives $20,000 to prototype a circular supply chain innovation over 12 weeks. All teams will then compete for an additional $100,000 in funding to scale their idea up. Several teams are developing or testing new technologies to help reduce food waste or upcycle food waste into new products.
Six companies ranging from large processors to local farms are participating in the Re(PURPOSE) Incubator, a program that provides expert consulting from Provision Coalition to help companies develop new ways to turn food waste into new circular products and collaborations.
As with Our Food Future, also run by the Smart Cities Office with a mandate to create Canada’s first modern circular food economy in Guelph and Wellington County, COIL programs focus on creating social, economic, and environmental benefits. Several social enterprises are participating in COIL programs to develop innovative ways of addressing access to nutritious foods for people experiencing food insecurity.
COIL Advisory Council of Industry Experts
Along with local collaborators like 10C, Innovation Guelph and Provision Coalition, COIL has convened an expert advisory council of industry leaders that are providing guidance on funding decisions as well as the overarching COIL initiative strategy. All advisory council members are volunteering their time and expertise in a personal capacity.
“We feel very fortunate to have this team of people with exceptional talent and expertise to help guide our programming and look forward to learning from them as this work unfolds,” adds Messer.
Pierre Courtemanche, Sustainability and Supply Chain Strategist
Bryce Diagle, Director, Market Strategy and Planning, Instacart
Tim Faveri, VP Sustainability and Shared Value, Maple Leaf Foods
Karen Flamand, AVP Claims Shared Services, National Claims, The Co-operators
Catherine Leighton, Senior Environmental Consultant, Sustainability and Environment, TELUS
Sourabh Malik, Vice President CPG, Restaurant Brands International
Dana McCauley, Chief Experience Officer, Canadian Food Innovation Network
Joe Solly, Partner, Sustainability and Climate Change, Deloitte
Bruce Taylor, President, Enviro-Stewards
Quotes
“We couldn’t be happier with the interest and enthusiasm we’re seeing from businesses and organizations in our region that want to inject a more circular approach to their operations. Given recent global commitments to put our food system in the centre of strategies to address climate change, this announcement reinforces that Guelph-Wellington is a leader in this important work.” Anne Toner Fung, Executive Director and CEO, Innovation Guelph
“This is an exciting development that supports the City of Guelph’s Strategic Plan: Guelph. Future ready. The work of COIL, the Smart Cities Office, and all those involved will help accelerate Guelph’s unique position in the innovation corridor, establishing this community as a leader in the fast-growing global circular economy. I can’t wait to learn more about the companies and ideas that this work will accelerate.” Scott Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Guelph
About COIL
Launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from FedDev Ontario, COIL is an innovation platform and Launched in April 2021 with $5 million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), COIL is an innovation platform and activation network aimed at creating, proving and scaling transformative solutions across the food and environment sectors in southern Ontario that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy.
COIL builds on the Our Food Future smart cities initiative which is close to meeting its goal of creating 50 new circular businesses and collaborations.
Funding for COIL program participants is provided in collaboration with 10C’s Harvest Impact Fund, a community social finance fund developer with Our Food Future aimed at supporting impactful projects to strengthen the Guelph and Wellington communities.
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 per cent increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50 per cent 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.
Resources
Example of some of the companies involved in COIL programs
Media contacts
David Messer, Manager COIL Smart Cities Office, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer City of Guelph 519-822-1260 extension 3661 [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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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