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Page 1 … ONEIA Report Fall 2015
Environment Industry Day 2015:
New climate change and resource recovery programs are on the way
ONEIA’s annual Environment Industry Day continued a 15-year tradition of engag-ing Ontario politicians and policymakers on behalf of the province’s environment and cleantech industry. On October 20, more than 100 representatives from a range of companies gathered at Queen’s Park for a day of discussions and learning. Seven teams of company representatives met with MPPs and policy staff to share the concerns of the industry and field questions about a number of issues.
Topics ranged from the new waste diversion legislation currently under development to the government’s proposed cap and trade system for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Participants later gathered in the Legislature’s dining room — at a reception sponsored by Terrapure and co-hosted by Environment Minister Glen Murray — to network and review the day’s work.
“The discussions were very productive,” says ONEIA Executive Di-rector Alex Gill. “We take great pride in helping to inform some of these new policies that will dramatically affect the environment.”
Environment Industry Pundit Panel
During the afternoon, ONEIA members assembled in the Debates Room of nearby Hart House to learn about the current priorities of the pro-vincial government, the expected politi-cal fallout from the recent federal elec-tion and opportuni-ties to influence en-
In this issue:
Pages 1-4 Environment Industry Day 2015
attracts top decision makers.
Page 2 Mark these upcoming events in
your calendar.
Page 4 ONEIA starts planning for 25th
anniversary.
Pages 5-7 Growing Your Business breakfast seminar shows how to fast track
into major markets.
Page 5 Meet ONEIA’s newest members.
Page 6 Ontario posts significant new
policies on EBR Registry.
Page 6 Annual golf tournament, Go
Green on the Green, is another sold-out success.
Page 7 ONEIA Member Profile:
Lehder Environmental Services
Page 8 Organics Working Group lays out
diversion options.
Page 8 Ellen McGregor named recipient of the Errick “Skip” Willis Award.
Fall 2015
“Spending just five
minutes talking
with one of you
[ONEIA members]
gets an MPP on side
better than spend-
ing five hours with
me.”
The Hon. Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment & Climate Change
October 20, 2015
Pundits Aaron Freeman, Karl Baldauf & Chris Benedetti offer
insights on Ontario politics.
Page 2 … ONEIA Report Fall 2015
vironmental policy at both levels of government.
In the first year of its mandate the Ontario government has been “very activist, very robust in the pursuit of its agenda,” says Chris Benedetti, a Princi-pal with Sussex Strategy Group and Head of its Energy and En-vironment Practice.
They are “on track” with a num-ber of environmental initiatives, ranging from climate change to resource recovery to northern development. “Even their re-newable energy strategy re-mains robust — although, per-haps, not as robust as it once was,” he says.
Action expected before Paris
Benedetti expects the province’s long-awaited cap and trade strategy will be released before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21/CMP11) begins in Paris on November 30, 2015.
“Both the Premier and the Envi-ronment Minister have a vested
interest in the climate change file, and there is tremendous pressure on other ministries to deliver,” says Aaron Freeman, the Principal of Pivot Strategic Consulting and the founder of GreenPAC.
In addition to a “major, high level announcement” on cap and trade, Freeman also ex-pects the government to com-mit to several “tangible, real-world” climate change initiatives in the coming weeks.
Then the hard work begins, fleshing out the full strategy before the government brings down its next budget in March 2016. “They want cap and trade in place by 2017, operating by 2018 and helping Ontario hit its first GHG reduction targets by 2020,” Freeman says.
Don’t ‘photocopy’ California
In the rush to get cap and trade plans in place, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) would be “very disappointed if Ontario simply photocopies the California model,” says Karl
Upcoming ONEIA Events
November 26, 2015 Dealing with Excess Soils
Dealing with excess soil is a signifi-cant challenge for Ontario. Millions of dollars in development – and the quality of life in our communities – hang in the balance. Where is On-
tario heading on this issue? What do industry practitioners and regulators think? How can our relationships be more productive for all concerned? Find out during this day-long ONEIA discussion and networking event. Register at: http://oneia-excess-
soil2015.eventbrite.com/
February 3, 2016 Break the Ice on the Ice
ONEIA’s annual curling bonspiel will be held in Brampton.
February 25, 2016
Meet the Commissioner The annual address by Ontario’s new Environmental Commissioner Dianne
Saxe.
March 8, 2016 Break the Ice on the Ice
Our second curling bonspiel will be held in Guelph.
May 3, 2016
The Ontario Environment and Cleantech Business and Policy
Forum
Stay tuned for updates on these and other upcoming ONEIA meetings and special events. For details, contact Marjan Lahuis at the ONEIA office
at 416-531-7884 or by e-mail at [email protected]
Environment Minister Glen Murray recaps the day’s events during the evening reception.
ONEIA Report Fall 2015 … Page 3
Baldauf, the OCC’s Vice Presi-dent of Policy and Government Relations.
To date, none of the other juris-dictions implementing a cap and trade system have had to con-sider the impacts on an active auto industry, a steel-making sector and major cement pro-ducers. Any Ontario-based plan must be carefully tailored to the province’s unique economic situation, Baldauf says.
In late September, the OCC re-leased a position paper, Clean Profits: Pricing Carbon and Em-bracing the Economic Potential of Cap and Trade, to “influence the conversation on climate change” before all the major policy decisions are made.
Still time to have an impact
“We thought the government would be further along in its de-liberations by now,” Baldauf says. “The good news is that you can still have a major impact on those decisions.”
Chief among them is where the auction revenues generated by a cap and trade system will be directed. Some are calling for
the money to be earmarked for public transit, improved energy efficiency and other climate change-related initiatives. There are others who are promoting increased funding for MOECC’s core programs, and still others who want it all dumped back into general revenues.
In addition, “we must figure out how we will protect those energy intensive sectors that are trade exposed,” Baldauf says.
The OCC also wants the govern-ment to release the economic models it is using to assess the impact of their cap and trade strategy on business, “but they haven’t been forthcoming with these yet,” Baldauf says.
Leading on renewables
An activist government is look-ing for some “quick wins,” but these are not simply a matter of pitching an innovative technical ‘fix’ to the government, Benedetti says. They also need input on how a procurement and adoption strategy could be de-signed and implemented.
The winners will be those out-side actors who provide a road-map for implementation. “It’s not all about increased funding,” says Baldauf. “Sometimes you just need the government to get out of the way.”
For instance, if you want to en-courage the installation of re-newable energy systems, Build-ing Code requirements should be brought up-to-date, municipal permits and provincial approvals should be streamlined, and the necessary technology and in-stallers should be pre-certified. “The government that figures out how to do all this will lead
Thanks to our EID Sponsors & Partners
Major Sponsors Biorem, Walker Environmental,
WaterTAP and XPV Water Partners
Breakfast and Grab-and-Go Lunch Sponsor
New West Gypsum Recycling
Reception Sponsor Terrapure
Media Sponsors
ReNew Canada and Water Canada
Friends Fielding Chemical Technologies Inc.
Event Services
Aston Events & Communications
In-Kind Partners Centre for Advancement of Trench-less Technologies (CATT), Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN), Cana-dian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, HazMat Manage-ment Magazine, Life Sciences On-tario (LSO), Ontario Biogas Asso-ciation, Ontario Coalition for Sus-
tainable Infrastructure (OCSI), On-tario Society of Professional Engi-neers (OSPE), Partners in Project Green (PPG), Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario
(RCCAO), and Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO)
ONEIA’s ‘Pundits Panel’ attracted a full house to the Hart House
Debates Room.
Page 4 … ONEIA Report Fall 2015
the way on renewables,” Baldauf says.
Dealing with regime change
The panel also addressed the implications of the October fed-eral election. With a massive re-gime change in Ottawa, “the ex-pectations are huge right now,” says Freeman. “The province will be looking to negotiate new ar-rangements with the federal gov-ernment on so many issues.” These will include pensions, trade deals, a national drug plan, car-bon pricing and the billions of stimulus dollars earmarked for infrastructure projects.
Ontario also “wants to build a strong reputation for fiscal man-agement before the next provin-cial election in 2018,” Benedetti says. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement will be “an immediate pressure point,” with Ontario looking to safeguard its dairy farmers, auto plants and other vulnerable sec-tors. At the same time, Ontario is
talking with Alberta and Quebec to expand pro-vincial export opportuni-ties.
Ottawa is expected to let the provinces take the lead on carbon pricing. However, if the federal government starts send-ing money to provinces that have lagged on GHG reduction, espe-cially after Ontario has invested so heavily in shifting power produc-tion from coal to renew-ables, “this would be seen as tremendously
unfair to Ontario taxpayers,” says Freeman.
Feds poaching talent?
With the election of a new federal majority government, a number of senior political staff and policy experts will be tempted to relo-cate to Ottawa. “Some of the people you are working so closely with now might not be here in six months,” cautions Benedetti.
However, an exodus of talent to Ottawa shouldn’t disrupt the province’s major environmental policy initiatives. “Political staff may have a huge influence on day-to-day operations and help keep the government on track,” says Freeman, “but the public service is very capable of deliver-ing climate change or resource recovery programs once they are given clear political direction.”
ONEIA is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016
To help us prepare, we are asking current and past members to
comb through their files for any ONEIA-related memorabilia. We are looking for pictures, newspa-per clippings, press releases, cop-ies of ONEIA reports, even min-utes of those early meetings. We would also love to talk with mem-bers from years’ past so that we can share some of your stories
and reminiscences on our website and upcoming issues of the news-letter. Please help us fill the gaps in our “institutional memory” as we celebrate the campaigns, ca-maraderie, challenges and suc-cesses of ONEIA’s first 25 years.
Our 25th Anniversary Subcommit-tee has begun planning. If you have any ideas for ways we can
commemorate ONEIA’s 25th birth-day, please give Marjan Lahuis a call at the ONEIA offices at 416-531-7884, or send her an e-mail
Placeholder phote
Ellen Greenwood, Ellen McGregor and Kelly Willis
Environment Minister Glen Murray
ONEIA/RIC Seminar:
Cleantech start-ups learn how to fast track into major markets
ONEIA Report Fall 2015 … Page 5
ONEIA welcomes the following new members
Aslan Technologies A design and manufacturing company established in 1992, Aslan Technolo-gies is a global solution provider to both developed and emerging mar-
kets. The company serves the chemi-cal, water and wastewater treatment
industries.
Global Warming Prevention Technologies Inc.
An innovative design and project de-velopment company that researches, develops and delivers patented proc-esses and associated technology in
the areas of: energy efficiency, waste management, emission controls and
water purification.
iVac Services Inc. With the latest in equipment, height-ened environmental awareness and a complete safety program, iVAC pro-vides hydro-excavation services in
urban areas, as well as more remote locations across Ontario.
New West Gypsum Recycling NWGR efficiently pulverizes the gyp-
sum core from waste wallboard for re-use, then recycles the backing paper, screws and nails. Processing plants
located in Ontario, Alberta, BC, Europe and Washington.
RFCL Innovations Inc. This boutique management consulting firm is focused on environmental im-provement in organization strategy,
policies and operations. Particular ex-pertise on reduction, reuse, recycling, climate change, circular economy and
sustainability.
Waste Diversion Ontario A non-Crown corporation, WDO pro-vides oversight for the development, implementation and operation of di-version programs for those wastes
designated by the Ontario Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
Attendees at ONEIA’s annual ‘’Growing Your Business” breakfast seminar learned some best practices for selling green technology to large cor-porations, government agen-cies and other major markets. The meeting, Purchasing Made Practical: Cracking the Sustainable Supply Chain, was co-hosted by the Research, Innovation, Com-mercialization (RIC) Centre in Mississauga and attracted rep-resentatives from a wide range of start-up and early stage cleantech firms.
Ford shows how to court the biggest corporate clients
“Sustainability is a long-term business priority of Ford Can-ada,” says Blake Smith, the company’s Director of Environ-ment, Energy and Vehicle Safety. “Everything we do has to make business sense. If handled correctly, sustainabil-ity contributes to profitability.”
With three manufacturing plants, two research and devel-opment facilities and more than 7,300 employees in Can-ada, Ford represents a major market for cleantech compa-nies offering innovative and sustainable technologies. These would include light-weight components made from recyclable and sustainable ma-terials, components to support electric and hybrid vehicles, and inter-car communication technologies that will improve safety, ease traffic congestion and reduce emissions.
Ford is looking for “smart tech-nology that will reduce the en-vironmental footprint of our cars and trucks and make our customers’ lives better,” Smith says. Potential suppliers were referred to Ford’s online sup-plier portal at https://fsp.portal.covisint.com/web/portal/home for more informa-tion.
The industry is “switching from the simple ‘price-price-price’ approach to purchasing and placing greater emphasis on the total value concept,” says Smith. “Ford is focusing more on the durability, sustainability and environmental impacts of the technologies it buys and the improvements they offer to the ultimate users of our prod-ucts.”
Selling to government
Aamer Hasham is Manager of the Customer Service Project Management Office at Metro-linx, the Ontario agency ex-panding the regional public transportation system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. With billions in funding committed to new transit initia-tives, Metrolinx has imple-mented a “fair, competitive and open procurement process system” for assessing potential suppliers, Hasham says.
While Hasham warned that “public organizations usually require a longer socialization period to discuss cultural dif-ference between the parties at the start of the engagement process,” Metrolinx is definitely
Page 6 … ONEIA Report Fall 2015
interested in collaborating with start-ups. “Small companies can be very nimble in crafting innovative solutions,” Hasham says.
Metrolink employs four bench-marks to assess the sustain-ability of its suppliers:
1. The strength of environ-mental management sys-tems, such as the ISO 14000 series, or the prepa-ration of an annual sustain-ability report;
2. The lifecycle impacts of their manufacturing proc-ess and the durability of the products produced;
3. The recycled content of products and the process-ing of any wastes or haz-ardous chemicals pro-duced; and
4. Steps the supplier has taken to influence the be-haviour of its partners fur-ther up the supply chain.
A start-up proves it’s possi-ble to break into the market
“You have to sell your products and services directly to a cor-poration’s decision makers,” says Rob Abernethy, Manag-ing Director of Ecoinsight In-struments. “You can’t wait for a phone call from a contractor or wholesaler way down the sup-ply chain who is trying to put together the lowest quote on a project. They will do everything they can to replace your prod-uct with a cheaper one.”
If you want to get your grease traps into a new McDonald’s restaurant, for example, “you have to talk to the corporate and regional engineers who are writing the specifications and designing the ‘guts’ of that res-taurant,” Abernethy says.
With over 30 years of experi-ence in the environmental, wa-ter and wastewater industries, Abernethy says that much of his success came from “ambulance chasing.” He would watch for media reports of local environmental mishaps – sewer clogs, spills, compliance prob-lems – and offer to help the
“You can’t wait for a
phone call from a con-
tractor or wholesaler
way down the supply
chain who is trying to put
together the lowest
quote on a project. They
will do everything they
can to replace your
product with a cheaper
one.”
Rob Abernethy, Ecoinsight Instruments September 23, 2015
Latest listings from the Environmental Registry
EBR Registry #012-5530 Extensive revisions proposed for the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard. Comments close Dec. 24.
EBR Registry #012-5177 Updated air dispersion models AER-MOD/AERMET 14134 and ASHRAE
2011 adopted under O. Reg 419/05. Notice posted Nov. 2.
EBR Registry #012-3858 Final Statement of Environmental Values posted for the Ministry of Economic Development, Employ-
ment and Infrastructure.
EBR Registry #012-4124 Draft environmental standards for end-of-life vehicle waste disposal sites posted Oct. 29 for comment.
EBR Registry #012-5444 A proposal to modernize and
strengthen the Aggregate Resources Act policy framework posted with a
Dec. 15 deadline for comments.
ONEIA’s annual tournament, Go Green on the Green, attracted a full slate of 120 players for a beautiful day of golfing and networking at the Royal Ontario Golf
Club. Team Stratasoil — Mark Cathcart, Mike Muir, Pat O'Neil and Monique Smart — won best team, with a score of nine under par. Lots more team and action
shots are posted on ONEIA’s website.
ONEIA Report Fall 2015 … Page 7
ONEIA Member Profile:
Lehder Environmental Services
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, LEHDER Environmental Services has grown to become one of the largest air quality management companies in Canada. With offices in Point Edward (Sarnia, ON) and Edmonton (AB), LEHDER offers a full range of source testing, emission inventory, air dispersion modelling, data interpretation and approval application services.
LEHDER also provides environmental, health and safety expertise, including occupational hygiene, indoor air quality testing, waste classification, customized regula-tory training programs, and an eLearning platform for WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015.
When Ontario’s new air regulation (O. Reg. 419/05) came into effect in 2005, it really boosted the company’s business. “While the basics remained the same, the regu-lation became much more complex,” says LEHDER’s President Sid Lethbridge. “We help our clients understand – and comply with – the new approval requirements, technical standards and dispersion models.”
While stack testing accounts for much of LEHDER’s work out west, its services in Ontario are split almost equally between testing and helping clients meet their air quality regulatory obligations. LEHDER’s Environmental Informa-tion Management Services (LEIMS) integrate source and emission inventories, air dispersion modelling and NPRI/GHG/toxics reporting, providing its clients with a valuable data management tool.
Starting out with just the company’s four founders – Sid Lethbridge, Des Hayles, Mike Denomme and Mark Roehler – LEHDER has grown to some 40 employees. “When people come to work for us, they tend to stay with us,” Lethbridge says. “We really value their input and try to create the kind of workplace that we would want to work in ourselves.”
LEHDER also holds on to its clients. At the end of its first year in business, the firm had eight clients. Today that number has grown to over 300, including five of the original. “That’s a pretty good record,” Lethbridge says. “It’s all about continuity and providing excellent service.”
facility solve its problem. Afterwards, he would visit the corporate head office with sugges-tions on how to avoid similar difficulties in the future.
To improve market share, better serve exist-ing clients and find new customers, Abernethy recommends that environment and cleantech companies:
Continuously scan the market environ-ment – reading trade journals, joining in-dustry associations and tracking personnel movement – to keep up with the activities your biggest clients.
Increase your inventory to meet the just-in-time delivery expectations of your cus-tomers.
Increase the number and range of your product SKUs, creating unique specialty products for your big corporate clients.
Obtain all the national, provincial and state certifications necessary so you can offer products in any jurisdiction across the continent.
Keep up on regulatory requirements in all your markets so you can be a compliance resource for your clients.
Attend corporate events – conventions, industry meetings, charity events – to in-crease your company’s profile.
Dedicate sufficient resources and sales staff to serving your major corporate ac-counts.
Ford Canada’s Blake Smith, Metrolinx’ Aamer Hasham and Rob Abernethy, with
Ecoinsight Instruments
Increasing the recovery of organics from the waste stream will help reduce Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions while creating new economic opportunities in the environmental sector. In a position paper submitted to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, ONEIA’s Organics Diver-sion Working Group details the fundamental economic and environmental benefits of diverting organics from disposal. The paper also suggests a number of basic considerations that should be incorporated into the province’s forthcoming resource recovery legislation, which is expected to be re-leased for comment this year.
The Working Group recommends that the province should:
Make organic diversion “a central focus” of its new di-version plan, together with extended producer responsi-bility and the planned IC&I blue box directive.
Strike a stakeholder group to develop a cost-benefit analysis and determine the potential value of organics diversion in Ontario.
Work with environment and cleantech firms to encour-age innovation, add value across the supply chain, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of generators, tech-nology providers, collectors and regulators.
Aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion are proven technologies that will deliver multiple benefits. There are also effective, made-in-Ontario solutions for mitigating odour problems. However, an enhanced organics supply chain must ensure that adequate feedstocks for future fa-cilities are diverted from both IC&I and residential waste streams. Low cost disposal options in New York State and Michigan are often a barrier to securing quality feedstocks.
A mix of education programs, incentives and regulations would improve waste capture rates, the quality of feed-stocks and the development of new processes and applica-tions. In addition, public sector procurement pilot projects would “maximize the use and delivery of biofuels, soil en-hancers (solid and liquid) and other energy forms for rele-vant provincial government operations.”
Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA) 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 410, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2C7
Tel: 416-531-7884 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @ONEIANetwork YouTube: ONEIAMedia
Ellen McGregor receives Errick “Skip” Willis Award
Ellen McGregor, President and CEO of Fielding Chemical Technologies has been named the 2015 re-cipient of the Errick “Skip” Willis Award. The award recognizes leadership in engaging governments, politicians and other poli-
cymakers in a positive way to move On-tario’s environment and cleantech industry forward. “Ellen exemplifies the type of person we envisioned when we created this award to honour Skip Willis,” said Derek Webb, Chair of the ONEIA Board of Directors. “Skip was a pioneer in our industry’s pro-active engagement of the public and poli-cymakers, and throughout her career, Ellen has established herself as a leader in this area.” Since the company’s founding in 1955, Ellen has overseen Fielding’s innovative “Cradle to Cradle®” approach to recycling and repurposing chemicals once considered waste. Fielding has also grown into one of the province’s leading developers of new technology. An accomplished businessperson, role model and civic activist, Ellen serves on the boards of both ONEIA and Sustainable Technology Development Canada, chairs the Mississauga Board of Trade and is a director of Green Centre Canada. She was named the Mississauga Board of Trade’s Business Person of the Year in 2010.
ONEIA working group identifies resource recovery opportunities for
waste organics
