Green Economy Heroes Climate Podcast
Hope and inspiration in green Canadian business leaders
Looking for a great climate solutions podcast? You found it, right here on Dianne Saxe’s Green Economy Heroes climate podcast.
My name is Dianne Saxe. I’m an environmental lawyer focusing on the climate crisis. I was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario 2015-2019 and I am the President of SaxeFacts.com.
Since 2015, I’ve talked with hundreds of audiences across Canada about the climate crisis. A few years ago, most people were just learning that we have a crisis. Today, you probably already know that. Now you are more likely to be wondering, is it too late? Where can we find some hope?
I want you to meet some amazing Canadians who are making a living building the green economy. With their passion, creativity and skill, they are helping to reduce our climate pollution, to create green jobs and to get us ready for what’s coming.

I call them Green Economy Heroes.
Each Green Economy Hero podcast features someone you’ll enjoy getting to know. We will explore who they are, what their business are doing, and how it is making a difference. We will hear about their challenges, their successes, and their dreams. And we’ll learn their advice on how you, too, can start and build a green business.
This climate podcast is produced, with thanks, by the excellent Toronto Mike, TMDS.
I post a new climate podcast most weeks, as well as share informative content through climate presentations. Please listen, share, and rate at your favourite podcast distributors. Our exciting climate podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe in Google Podcasts, Apple / iTunes, TuneIn, Google Play, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, or subscribe directly to the feed.
There is a taste of each climate interview in the table below; full episodes are available through your favourite podcast distributor. For subscribers, who help us pay the recording and posting costs at Patreon, each episode is available a week early through Patreon.
Episode # | Guest | Company | Description | A taste of the interview | Green economy Keywords | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | Paul Bottero | InMotive | How a better electric vehicle transmission, invented in Canada, makes electric cars lighter, faster, cheaper, and longer range | Electric vehicles, range anxiety, Canadian invention, Green Tech, clean tech, e-mobility | 02/25/21 | |
44 | Mike Keilhauer | Keilhauer | Designing, manufacturing and selling zero carbon, zero waste office chairs of pure, reusable materials | embodied carbon, zero waste, sustainable design, circular economy | 02/11/2021 | |
43 | Jim Fonger | Ameresco | Engineering and finance to slash the carbon footprint of existing buildings, such as schools | energy efficiency, energy performance contracts, | 01/28/2021 | |
42 | Rebecca Black | Black Current Marketing | Marketing and strategic foresight for green economy companies | green economy, green transition, green marketing, strategic foresight | 01/14/2021 | |
41 | David Beauvais | Electrifier SG2B | Rapid, accurate energy and emissions data for community energy planning | energy, energy efficiency, energy planning, municipal energy plans, green button, energy data | 12/31/2020 | |
40 | Brad Crapeau, Alex Hayman | FoodCycler | How to turn food waste to compost, at home, in hours | FoodCycler | food waste, circular economy, compost, waste reduction | 12/17/2020 |
39 | Marc Bedard | Lion Electric | All electric buses and trucks – now cost competitive for heavy use | Lion Electric | electric vehicles, clean transportation, air quality, electric buses | 12/10/2020 |
38 | Darren Jones & Daygan Fowler | MyHEAT | Being able to SEE where heat is escaping from your house motivates action when talk doesn’t. When will our utility pay for the pictures? | MyHEAT | energy efficiency, buildings, utilities, climate action, reduce waste | 12/03/2020 |
37 | Sumi Shan | Dunya Habitats | Tiny, portable, energy efficient, beehive-shaped hydroponic units for growing vegetables anywhere | Sumi Shan teaser | agriculture, hydroponics, food deserts, equity | 11/26/20 |
36 | Andrew Peel | Peel Passive House | Building and retrofitting buildings for maximum comfort, minimum fossil fuels | Peel Passive House | green buildings, passive buildings, low-carbon buildings | 11/19/20 |
35 | Adam Corneil | Unbuilders | Carefully taking buildings apart for reuse, instead of smashing them | UnBuilders | demolition, construction waste, circular economy | 11/12/20 |
34 | Anie Rouleau | The Unscented Company | Local, unscented soap company, on the road to plastic-free | The Unscented Company | retail, consumer product, soap, single-use plastic | 11/05/20 |
33 | Peter Howard | Pond Technologies | How to make carbon sequestration pay for itself: turning industrial CO2 emissions into algae, superfoods and profits | Pond Technologies teaser | carbon capture, algae, anti-oxidants, sequestration | 10/29/20 |
32 | Amir Alam | Shoe Laundry | How did a DJ who loves shoes become a sustainability entrepreneur during Covid? | Shoe Laundry teaser | shoes, retail, cleaning, reducing waste | 10/22/20 |
31 | Audrey Mascarenhas | Questor Technologies | Methane destruction: reducing climate damage and air pollution for $2/ tonne. Why do Canada’s regulations lag behind Mexico’s? | Audrey Mascarenhas | methane capture, air pollution, renewable energy | 10/15/20 |
30 | Gildas Poissonier | Desjardins Financial | Where can I do my banking without supporting fossil fuels? | Desjardins Financial | financial, insurance, Paris targets | 10/08/20 |
29 | Steve Oldham | Carbon Engineering | Direct air capture of carbon dioxide – Is it a realistic solution? | Carbon Engineering | carbon capture, enhanced oil recovery | 10/01/20 |
28 | Matt Brown | Patagonia | How a clothing firm slashes its carbon footprint and works to preserve our home planet | Patagonia | retail, clothing | 09/24/20 |
27 | Greg Nuttall | Woodland Biofuels | Coming soon: the world’s cheapest liquid transportation fuel, made from construction waste | Woodland Biofuels | biofuels, transportation fuel, construction waste reuse | 09/17/20 |
26 | Sarah Devika Sumnauth | Urban Minerals | Local-source vegan makeup startup with its first sustainability report – on hand-poured lipstick | Urban Minerals | micro business, makeup, sustainability report | 09/10/20 |
25 | Mike Brigham | Solarshare | How did Mike Brigham build a $60 million community-owned #solarpower cooperative, SolarShare? And why is he personally funding the used #electricvehicles incentive in Ontario? | Solarshare | Solarshare, solar bonds, solar energy cooperative | 09/03/20 |
24 | Shaun Loney | Aki Energy: Climate benefits and reconciliation | Green energy and efficiency social enterprise as a path to social healing and lower costs. Why is the green economy a good path forwards for people with barriers to employment? | Aki Energy | green energy, efficiency, renewable energy, indigenous reconciliation | 08/27/20 |
23 | Bruce Taylor | Efficiency: the best investment | Funding clean water in Africa by saving clients energy, water, resources and money here | Enviro-Stewards | energy efficiency, materials efficiency | 08/20/20 |
22 | Catherine Thorn | District energy scaling up | How a former municipal utility is becoming a giant in cleaner heating and cooling for many buildings | Catherine Thorn of Enwave | district heating and cooling, low carbon heating, thermal recycling | 08/13/20 |
21 | Mike Andrade | Innovative solar technology | How did Morgan Solar survive China’s solar juggernaut, and stay Canadian? | Morgan Solar | solar energy | 08/06/20 |
20 | David Roberts | Canada’s first net zero bus company | How Victoria Harbour used a 15-year contract to get a net-zero bus system for cruise passengers | Net zero bus company | net zero buses, clean transportation, electric vehicles | 07/30/20 |
19 | Jocelyn Molyneux | Worm farming | Collecting office food waste, and feeding it to 1,000,000 worms to make plant food | Jocelyn Molyneux | agriculture, organic waste | 07/23/20 |
18 | Yuill Herbert | Sustainability Solutions Group | Workers’ cooperative consulting firm that helps create decarbonized, equitable, healthy cities for everyone | Sustainability Solutions Group | energy planning, co-operative, municipal energy plans | 07/16/20 |
17 | Sean Drygas | Bullfrog Power | Canada’s green energy retailer, so I can heat and light my home without fossil fuels | Bullfrog Power | low carbon electricity and gas, retail | 07/09/20 |
16 | Cara Clairman | Plug’n’Drive | Plug’n’Drive stokes public passion for driving electric vehicles, often by letting people try one | Plug’n’Drive | electric vehicles | 07/02/20 |
15 | Trish Nixon | Renewable energy investment for everyone | CoPower’s green bonds allow almost everyone to put the planet in their portfolio | Trish Nixon, CoPower | green bonds | 06/25/20 |
14 | Jennifer Wagner | Putting carbon into concrete | CarbonCure’s amazing technology saves money by using CO2 to make concrete stronger | CarbonCure | low-carbon concrete, carbon sequestration | 06/18/20 |
13 | Tom Rand | Venture capitalism for clean tech | Early stage funding so that breakthrough technology companies can grow through Canada’s notorious valley of death | Arctern Ventures | clean tech finance, venture capital | 06/11/20 |
12 | Brandon Moffat | Food waste to power | Brandon explains his passion for turning food waste into low-carbon fertilizer, electricity and natural gas | Brandon Moffat | food waste, clean power | 06/04/20 |
11 | Dan Balaban | Renewable power in Alberta | How Dan made Greengate Power Canada’s biggest renewable energy developer | Dan Balaban, Greengate Power | solar power, wind energy, electricity, Alberta | 05/28/20 |
10 | Tim Nash | Sustainable investing | How Tim became a busy financial planner, helping people put their money where their heart is | Tim Nash | sustainable investing, clean finance, consumers, retail, RRSP | 05/21/20 |
9 | Michael Kalmanovich | Earth’s General Store | Michael’s labour of love for his award-winning, organic, low-waste general store | Earth’s General Store | retail, general store | 05/14/20 |
8 | Alexandra Tavasoli | Solar catalyst chemistry | Alex’s cleantech startup uses solar catalysts invented in Toronto to turn methane and CO2 into a fundamental building block of modern chemistry | Solistra | cleantech, chemistry, solar catalyst | 05/07/20 |
7 | Richard Sifton | Solar subdivision | Richard tells Dianne about his new London subdivision. It is medium-density, solar-powered, fossil-free and sells shoes in the pub | West5 Solar Subdivision | solar subdivision | 04/30/20 |
6 | Priyanka Lloyd | Growing tomorrow’s Green Economy Heroes | How can local business hubs grow tomorrow’s environmental champions? Priyanka chats about Green Economy Canada and the little businesses that could | Green Economy Canada | green businesses, business hub, B2B, energy efficiency | 04/23/20 |
5 | Akhil Sivanandan | Showing consumers their impact | Akhil tells Dianne how Green Story helps green brands grow through the right consumer information, at the right time | GreenStory | retail, transparency, environmental footprint | 04/16/20 |
4 | Stephanie McLarty | Second lives for telecom equipment | Stephanie tells Dianne how REfficient finds second lives for used and surplus equipment, allowing smaller telecom companies to compete | REfficient teaser | reuse, waste reduction, equity | 04/09/20 |
3 | Bryan Gilvesy | Cows that protect birds | Award-winning farmer, Bryan Gilvesy, tells us how planting native tall grass prairie has restored endangered birds and transformed his cattle ranch | YU Ranch excerpt | regenerative agriculture | 04/02/20 |
2 | Frances Edmonds | Changing how Canada buys technology | A billion business decisions are made in Canada every day, rarely with the climate crisis in mind. Can HP change that? | HP Sustainable Impact | procurement, cleantech | 03/26/20 |
1 | Paul Dowsett | Plant-based homes | A conversation with architect Paul Dowsett, founder of Sustainable, on his passion for better living in plant-based, energy-efficient homes | Paul Dowsett | plant-based buildings, efficiency | 03/19/20 |