32nd Annual Emerald Awards

Air

Award Recipient

Blindman Brewing First-in-Canada CO2 Capture and Utilization

Blindman Brewing

Blindman Brewing is the first in Canada to utilize carbon capture in the brewing process of craft beer. They’re taking CO2 that is produced via fermentation and capturing it and using it. This reduces GHG emissions from their brewery as well as reduces costs in a way that will lead to widespread adoption of the technology.

So far they’ve mitigated GHG emissions and created 10 metric ...

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Business

Award Recipient

26 Years Building Sustainable Futures by Reimagine Architects

Reimagine Architects

For over 26 years, Reimagine Architects has been creating joyful journeys toward regenerative architecture! Formerly known as Manasc Isaac Architects, their core mission during the past two and a half decades remains unchanged: to create healthy and beautiful spaces for people, in a way that treads lightly on the earth.

They live on the leading edge of sustainable design, and this has resulted in many green building ...

Shortlist

Eco-Flex Recycled Rubber Solutions

Eco-Flex uses recycled tires and creates products that will last for decades. These products can be used around the house, in the automotive industry, in the oil and gas industry and for municipalities and schools looking for a more sustainable solution. Eco-Flex reduces the number of tires going to waste or laying in stockpiles and has found a way to use a scrap material in a valuable manner for ...

Envirotech Geothermal – Alberta’s smartest way to Net Zero!

The #1 way to achieve Net Zero is by omitting the use of fossil fuels in buildings.

Since 2006, Envirotech Geothermal has provided renewable heating and cooling solutions to all Albertans. Since then, Envirotech has grown to become one of the most experienced and highest voluming installers in the Province, and #2 Geosmart dealer in all of Canada!

Envirotech Geothermal specializes in ground-source energy systems ...

Community Group or Non-Profit

Award Recipient

Project Forest: Rewilding Canada, One Forest at a Time

Project Forest

Project Forest is rewilding Canada, one forest at a time. They are a nonprofit organization working in partnership with conservation groups, Indigenous communities and like-minded businesses to capture carbon naturally by transitioning non-productive agricultural land into forever forests. They’re passionate about creating positive change in our community by planting not just trees—but species-rich forests—that clean the air and water, increase wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for Canadians to enjoy ...

Shortlist

Alberta Bike Swap – supporting the circular economy before it was cool

Alberta Bike Swap

Alberta Bike Swap has facilitated the safe buying, selling, and donating of thousands of bikes since 2011; we were the poster child for the circular economy before it was cool. Our processes and patented fit-for-purpose software have helped the police recover stolen bikes from pawn shops and online sales. We’re fortunate to have over 70 strategic alliances, and we help fund the rebuilding of thousands of donated bikes to ...

Alberta businesses are building a better Business-as-usual with Green Economy Canada

Green Economy Canada

Green Economy Canada (GEC) launches and grows Green Economy Hubs that bring together, support, and celebrate businesses of all sectors and sizes in setting and achieving sustainability targets. By doing this, they create stronger economies and more resilient communities across Canada. They also provide educational training on Green House Gas emissions, accounting, reduction planning, target setting, and the UN SDGs.

GEC amplifies success stories of business sustainability ...

Education

Award Recipient

Evergreen Theatre: A 32 Year Legacy of Inspiring Environmental Awareness & Action Through the Arts

Evergreen Theatre Society

Evergreen Theatre is a non-profit charitable organization which provides programming for youth, primarily within the school system throughout Alberta, aimed at inspiring environmental awareness and action through the medium of theatre.

We perform environmentally-inspired original musical shows in elementary schools. These theatrical performances engage children from Grades K-6, with opportunities for students to perform in the show. All shows feature curriculum-based scripts, exciting sets, props, and costumes ...

Shortlist

Future Energy Systems: Exploring Our Energy Future With The Community, Our Students, And More

Future Energy Systems

Future Energy Systems (FES) is a research program at the University of Alberta funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Its mission is to enable a brighter future for energy, in Canada and around the world, supporting the energy transition towards a sustainable, economically viable, and fair system where energy and environment exist in harmony and the needs of people and communities are met without strife. It funds ...

Eagle Point-Blue Rapids Parks Council Environmental & Outdoor Education Program

Eagle Point-Blue Rapids Parks Council

The Eagle Point-Blue Rapids (EPBR) Parks Council is a unique model of collaboration that provides a strong voice and important role for local community organizations and government in the planning, development, operation and long-term management of the Eagle Point Provincial Park and the Blue Rapids Provincial Recreation Area.

The EPBR creates and facilitates positive outdoor learning experiences through its Environmental & Outdoor Education Program (EOE Program). Programming ...

Energy

Award Recipient

Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative, empowering community to transform Alberta’s energy

Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative

Bow Valley Green Energy Coop (BVGEC) is a grassroots, volunteer-run organization that is facilitating the creation of community-owned renewable energy generation projects in the Bow Valley and beyond.

Their mission is to empower their community to reduce its environmental impact by pooling human and financial resources to foster the development of renewable energy projects, and to lead their community on the transition to a more sustainable future. ...

Shortlist

Calgary’s Residential Solar Calculator, a new tool demonstrating the value of solar energy in Alberta

City of Calgary

The residential solar calculator is an in-house solution to help drive solar PV adoption in Calgary. With a vision to provide the most up-to-date information to Calgary residents, The Calculator is purpose-built for Calgary and uses local data to provide the most accurate estimate of the value of solar for residents. The data is also unique to each individual home, considering roof area, shape, slope as well as present ...

Metis Nation of Alberta Climate Change Action Plan

Metis Nation of Alberta

The MNA Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) was developed following the Annual General Assembly (AGA) in 2017, where it was unanimously resolved to fully support and direct the MNA in “[…] designing and undertaking climate change initiatives and programs, including actions aimed at reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, increasing Métis involvement and awareness of climate change while creating capacity and economic opportunities for Métis citizens.” In response, the MNA ...

Government

Award Recipient

Nose Creek Watershed Partnership – Celebrating 25-Years of Watershed Planning, Policy and Action

Nose Creek Watershed Partnership

The Nose Creek Watershed Partnership (NWCP) was formed in 1998 to protect riparian areas and manage streamflows in the Nose Creek watershed to mitigate the impacts of flood and drought and improve water quality for water users and aquatic life.

The NCWP has positively impacted the environment and continues to build resiliency through watershed-scale collaboration, planning, policy and action. The NCWP increased understanding of streamflow, instream flow ...

Shortlist

Violet Grove’s Constructed Floating Wetlands System with Aeration

Brazeau County

The Constructed Floating Wetlands (CFW) system uses natural wetland plants and oxygen provided by a solar powered aeration system to treat domestic wastewater. As the treated wastewater is inevitably discharged into the nearby creak, this system substantially improves the wastewater quality which proceeds to make the receiving stream safer for use by humans as well as animals. The Solar System attached to this lagoon provides power to the aeration ...

Environmental Achievements of the City of St. Albert

City of St. Albert

The City of St. Albert has been committed to reducing the community’s carbon footprint, becoming more resilient to the effects of climate change, and becoming a more sustainable city. The City of St. Albert has been accomplishing this in the following ways:

The Clean Energy Improvement Program has committed $5,017,400 in funding for residents to more easily fund energy efficiency retrofits and sustainable energy installations for their homes. ...

Infrastructure

Award Recipient

Ecoplast Solutions: Building Houses from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Ecoplast Solutions

Ecoplast manufactures building materials made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and uses the product to design and build high-performance dwellings. This revolutionary green building technology provides a sustainable solution that enables circular economics in the highly wasteful construction industry.

Depending on its size, one Ecoplast dwelling upcycles between 600,000 and 2 million plastic bottles and can be assembled in as little as three days on-site. Overall, Ecoplast ...

Shortlist

Solar Aquatic Systems Wastewater Treatment

Brazeau County

Brazeau County Council actively seeks innovative ways of treating wastewater in an environmentally friendly process. The goal of the Solar Aquatic Systems (SAS) Wastewater Treatment project was to treat wastewater to a high quality while keeping the facility footprint small and using green technology. The facility is 2000 square feet and is designed to treat 88m3 of raw wastewater per day. This uses the principles of agricultural practices to ...

SSRIA: Transforming the AEC Industry Towards a Net Zero Built Environment

Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association

SSRIA is a non-profit association who is taking a collaborative and industry-led approach to accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions that reduce carbon in the built environment. They are actioning their mission through demonstration projects, business growth services, and sharing the latest expertise in innovative low carbon building technologies, products, and practices. To date SSRIA has supported 20 residential and commercial infrastructure projects that demonstrate low carbon design techniques, ...

Land

Award Recipient

The City of Calgary’s Willow Plantation for Marginal Land Improvement and Carbon Capture

The City of Calgary

The City of Calgary’s biosolids demonstration project began in 2013 with a goal to assess the potential to improve Alberta’s arable land base through the beneficial reuse of biosolids recovered from leading-edge wastewater treatment processes. The City’s Wastewater Treatment Operational Performance Team worked closely with project consultant SYLVIS Environmental’s Biosolids Management Team and a private rural landowner to initiate two demonstration projects which involved land application of dewatered biosolids ...

Shortlist

Ledcor Highway Maintenance Yard Upgrades

Ledcor Highway Maintenance Limited

With sustainability as one of their core values, Ledcor is well aware of the associated risks when using salt and sand in their winter operations. That is why their Highway Maintenance team is working hard to reduce salt contamination and prevent the chronic increase of salt concentration, a known risk posed by highway maintenance operations across both Alberta and Canada as a whole.

Highway maintenance yards that ...

Lifetime Achievement

Award Recipient

Dirk and Nanja of The Barrelman Inc.: 25 years of protecting land and water through local action that inspires

Dirk & Nanja Struck

For over 25 years Dirk and Nanja Struck of The Barrelman Inc have been converting food-grade barrels into high-quality rain barrels designed specifically to handle the fluctuating prairie climate.

The Barrelman Inc. started when Dirk Struck noticed food-grade plastic barrels from his work were going into the landfill after. In the 90s, when Dirk was working in the bakery, it was uncommon and expensive to recycle these ...

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Public Engagement & Outreach

Award Recipient

GreenLearning’s Eco 360 program: Transitioning to a circular economy for plastic waste!

GreenLearning

GreenLearning’s Eco 360 program enables youth across Alberta and Canada to imagine a world without waste by closing the loop of a product’s life cycle and creating a circular economy. Eco 360 is one of GreenLearning’s most popular programs. The lessons and activities are both suitable for junior students (grades 4-8) and senior students in grades (9-12).

Each year they also encourage schools to participate in the ...

Shortlist

Calgary Climate Symposium: How The City of Calgary Engages and Educates Albertans on Climate Change

The City of Calgary

The Calgary Climate Symposium connects Albertans, local businesses, and community organizations with climate experts and city staff to share knowledge, ideas, practices in climate action, and opportunities to collaborate.

The City hosted its 4th annual Calgary Climate Symposium from October 24 to 28, 2022. It was the second symposium hosted virtually and the event gave opportunities to continue the conversation about climate change, share how it affects ...

My Green Closet: Sustainable Lifestyle and Slow Fashion Platform

My Green Closet

My Green Closet is a sustainable lifestyle and fashion activism platform and community. Using social media to educate, inspire, and empower citizens to reduce their impact since 2014. My Green Closet advocates for better industry practices and spreads consumer awareness regarding the environmental impact of clothing.

Content is created with the primary goal of taking complex environmental and ethical manufacturing topics, which can often feel overwhelming, and ...

Shared Footprints Award

Award Recipient

Highfield Regenerative Farm: Growing an alternative food community on a foundation of healthy soil

Highfield Regenerative Farm

Highfield Regenerative Farm (HRF) is located on 15 acres in the heart of an industrial community in the city of Calgary.

In partnership with the Compost Council of Canada and the City of Calgary, the HRF is transforming under-utilized industrial land into a vibrant and productive urban farm through soil revitalization, food production and community programming. The HRF strives to create a ...

Shortlist

Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition: Working Together to Protect the North Saskatchewan River Valley

Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition

The Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition (ERVCC) supports the conservation and restoration of Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River valley and ravine system through a systems-level focus on biodiversity, the ecological integrity of the corridor, and history. This philosophy reflects the river valley bylaw, which states its first goal: “to ensure the preservation of the natural character and environment of the North Saskatchewan River Valley and its Ravine System.”

...

Waste Management

Award Recipient

Revolutionizing Recycling with [Re] Waste: Transforming Waste Management for a Sustainable Future

[Re] Waste

[Re] Waste is here to change the way companies handle their plastic waste and reduce how much plastic ends up in landfills and our environment. They do more than just recycle and reduce waste, they redirect plastic waste from landfills and create new, usable products from recycled plastic flakes!

In 2022 alone, [Re] Waste diverted over 160,000 lbs of waste from landfills. This included 10,000 lbs ...

Shortlist

Earth Warrior

Earth Warrior strives to live in harmony with the planet. By repurposing textile waste into new, sustainable items, they’re taking steps towards a more sustainable future, every single day.

In their repurposing process, Earth Warrior takes post-consumer textiles (used clothing, curtains, bedding, etc.), as well as post-manufacturing textiles (fabric roll ends and fabric scraps), and sorts, sanitizes and recreates them into new lifestyle products.

Since ...

Microgreens Club – A Zero Waste Initiative

Micro YYC

Micro YYC is an urban indoor microgreens farm that provides microgreens to local markets, grocers, and restaurants. Their latest initiative: The Microgreens Club, is an entirely zero-waste service that delivers microgreens directly to customers in reusable containers. Containers are returned each week, sanitized, and reused indefinitely.

In the world of packaging, a reuse model – as a part of a circular economy – is the only model ...

Water

Award Recipient

LakeKeepers: Community Based Monitoring of Alberta’s Lakes

Alberta Lake Management Society

The Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS) works to improve our understanding of lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds.

In 2018, ALMS developed the LakeKeepers program. Participants in the program are equipped and trained to collect water quality measurements and samples from their waterbody of choice. Participants are provided with a sampling kit which includes a water quality probe, sample bottles, safety gear, and a filtration kit. In ...

Shortlist

Safe water and water sustainability in Alberta

University of Calgary

Pristine water supplies are being threatened by population growth, climate change, and increasing water demands by economic activities. Dr. Kimura-Hara’s research helps to develop, apply, and share cutting-edge science to continue to provide safe water and address the growing concern of water sustainability for future generations.

Dr. Kimura-Hara’s research contributes to the future of Canadian water sustainability through the integration of chemical and toxicological analysis to evaluate ...

Forest industry collaboration cultivates sustainability around vital wetland ecosystems

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Canfor, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), Tolko Industries Ltd., West Fraser, and Weyerhaeuser Company

Wetlands are prominent features in forests and are often part of interconnected systems that link all forest ecosystems. Alberta’s wetlands help maintain forest productivity (water/ nutrient flow) and provide numerous ecosystem services that benefit the forest industry and society. The Forest Management Wetland Stewardship Initiative’s (FMWSI) mission is to advance wetland stewardship in the boreal forest through sustainable forest management. Working together since 2017, the initiative takes an innovative ...

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Award Recipient

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation’s Caribou Patrol Program: 11 years of saving Alberta’s caribou

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada

The Caribou Patrol Program is led by the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation (AWN) and therefore must build unity in our community by working together to preserve our land, language, and culture. We do this by preventing caribou deaths on Highway 40 during migration seasons and education to raise awareness of the issue among drivers and the public.

The sacred and important knowledge from our Elders guides ...

Shortlist

Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society – Sikome Beaver Coexistence Project.

Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society

The Fish Creek Beaver Coexistence Project is aimed at balancing beaver and human needs throughout the park, and challenging negative perceptions about beavers. Coexistence devices, also known as pond levellers, and culvert exclusion fencing have been installed in some areas where current beaver activity is creating problems for visitors and for land managers responsible for pathways and stormwater ponds.

This project acknowledges that the visitor experience in ...

The Edmonton Urban Coyote Project: Collaborative Research and Education for Coexistence with Wildlife

University of Alberta

The Edmonton Urban Coyote Project began in 2009 and is based in the lab of Dr. Colleen Cassady St. Clair at the University of Alberta. It addresses rising reports by people of conflict with coyotes that are occurring in Edmonton and other cities across North America. Colleen and her students work collaboratively with the City of Edmonton and Animal Damage Control to research both causes of and solutions for ...

Youth

Award Recipient

New Myrnam School | Energy & Environmental Sustainability Projects in Action

New Myrnam School

For the past 6 years, New Myrnam school has undertaken a series of challenging projects that have not only educated their students and community but have had a lasting environmental impact.

Over the years the School has worked on numerous sustainability projects, including:

A Sustainable Greenhouse Project Designing Renewable Energy Systems Reducing New Myrnam School’s Footprint Though Community Collaboration ...

Shortlist

Monica Figueroa: Edmonton youth climate activist

Edmonton Youth For Climate

EYFC is a grassroots youth organization whose mission is to educate, engage, and empower all people in the Edmonton area to take action on climate change. They have organized over 10 student climate strikes in the City of Edmonton and engaged with the municipal government to legislate and fund Edmonton’s Energy Transition Strategy. Monica Figueroa has been a leader in Edmonton Youth For Climate (EYFC) for over 4 years ...

Strathmore High School Community Greenhouse

Strathmore High School

The SHS Community Greenhouse is a public space that is rich in learning opportunities around nutrition, soil health, renewable energy, composting, and agriculture among others. This space was designed and built by Strathmore High School students and staff beginning in the fall of 2021 in collaboration with community members.

SHS staff and students wanted to redesign how public spaces are utilized. The SHS Community Greenhouse operates off-grid, ...

The Emerald Awards showcase organizations, projects, and individuals from across Alberta that are working to address environmental and climate change issues.

The 32nd Annual Emerald Awards took place on June 7, 2023, at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton.

Check out the 32nd Annual Emerald Awards digital program

Emerald award recipients receive:

NOMINATION PROCESS

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD sponsors

SILVER sponsors

Air

Award Recipient

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Business

Award Recipient

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Community Group or Non-Profit

Award Recipient

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Education

Award Recipient

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Energy

Award Recipient

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Government

Award Recipient

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Infrastructure

Award Recipient

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Land

Award Recipient

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Lifetime Achievement

Award Recipient

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Public Engagement & Outreach

Award Recipient

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Shared Footprints Award

Award Recipient

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Waste Management

Award Recipient

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Water

Award Recipient

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Wildlife & Biodiversity

Award Recipient

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Youth

Award Recipient

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