Disruptors

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s no secret that Canada’s labour market is facing significant challenges, but heading into another school year, there’s hope that a series of regulatory changes enacted by the Federal Government could help get more international students into the workforce.

That’s why we’re highlighting an episode from the past season of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, featuring a conversation between host John Stackhouse and tech entrepreneur Martin Basiri. Basiri is the co-founder and CEO of Kitchener, Ontario’s ApplyBoard, an AI-enabled software platform that lets students from around the world quickly identify and apply for post-secondary programs in North America, the U.K. and Australia. 

Basiri came to Canada as a student himself and has valuable insights to share about the challenges and opportunities facing our country and those who want to study here. You’ll also hear about the Business Higher Education Roundtable, a group of leaders in both business and education who are trying to create better connections between employers and educators right across the country.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Summer bounties are hitting our dinner, picnic and BBQ tables, and farmers are busy gearing up for another fall harvest season. But have you ever considered how much of the food we produce in Canada never even makes it to your plate?  Or how much goes into the green bin?

This year on Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, we tackled the challenge of food waste in a special series called “The Growing Challenge: How Canada Can Lead the Next Green Revolution in Agriculture.” We’re showing good progress on limiting food spoilage and waste, but we can – and need to do – more.

Listen in as host John Stackhouse hears from a variety of experts including Meeru Dhalwala, author, chef, and the co-owner of Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants in Vancouver; Randy Huffman, the Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer at Maple Leaf Foods; Kevin Groh, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Loblaw Companies Limited; and Jeremy Lang, the founder and Vice-President of Sustainability at Pela Earth, the creator of a smart composting system called Lomi.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As another wildfire season blankets Canada and the U.S. with smoke, air quality is worsening, and the summers are only getting hotter. Some of Canada’s most populous cities even topped the rankings when it comes to the worst air quality on the planet. 

That’s why we’re highlighting an important episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on spending on climate action. August 16th marks exactly one year since President Joe Biden signed into law the almost $370-billion Inflation Reduction Act — America’’s largest ever investment in green technology. But how and where can that money be spent for maximum impact? And what should Canada do now that its own coffers have been topped up thanks to the 2023 Federal Budget?

Listen in as host John Stackhouse chats with two leaders who are collectively responsible for investing billions of dollars in green tech; Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, and Eli Aheto, a Managing Director at BeyondNetZero, a new climate venture from General Atlantic. It’s a fascinating conversation that’s only becoming more relevant with record heat temperatures being set by the day.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Few things have been more disruptive and hotly debated this year than AI as 2023 marked the potential tipping point in its mass adoption thanks to the public release of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. From healthcare, to cybersecurity, to journalism and, now, Hollywood, AI is sending shockwaves through virtually every sector of our economy. 

So, it’s a perfect time to highlight an episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, where host John Stackhouse talks with one of Canada’s preeminent AI voices,  Professor Ajay Agrawal. Ajay is a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and co-author of “Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence”. 

To demonstrate how quickly AI will evolve, many of the predictions on this episode have already come to pass. But some of the most compelling questions about the future of artificial intelligence and its impact on our world have yet to be answered.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When it comes to the energy transition, we're going to need to literally rewire our economy.

On the season finale of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse sits down with Olivier Desmarais, the CEO of Power Sustainable, one of Canada’s most significant and global enterprises. The firm is a sustainable investment manager that invests in companies and projects that contribute to decarbonization, social progress and growth.

       Listen as they discuss where Canada fits in the global Net Zero transition, investment strategies, and the country’s biggest opportunities to win.

Links:

To learn more about Power Sustainable, visit their website.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If Canada is going to transition to clean energy, we’ve got to involve and engage our Indigenous communities for economic development and reconciliation.

On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks to two leaders working to make a meaningful partnership happen: Annette Verschuren, CEO of NRStor and Matthew Jamieson, the CEO and President of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation. 

Listen as John and guests dissect the makings behind the recently-announced Oneida Energy Storage project, a 50/50 private and public partnership with Six Nations of the Grand River. The project will help Ontario reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.1 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking 40,000 cars off the road every year.

Links:

To read RBC Economics & Thought Leadership’s report, “92 to Zero: How economic reconciliation can power Canada’s climate goals," click here. 

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It all starts with the envelope—a building’s envelope, that is, to create more sustainable, comfortable homes and offices. Then the power of innovative materials and software comes together to create Net Zero buildings. 

In Part 2 of a special two-part series of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on greening Canada’s build sector, host John Stackhouse chats with three experts dedicated to building Canada’s next generation of sustainable buildings: Brad Carr, CEO of Mattamy Homes; Carol Philips, Design Leader and Partner, Moriyama Teshima Architects; and Sam Ramadori, CEO of BrainBox AI.

      Find out how buildings made of wood are paving the way for less carbon-intensive concrete, and how the power of AI is helping buildings run smarter and greener. 

Links:

To read RBC Climate Action Institute’s latest report, “High Rise, Low Carbon: Canada’s $40 billion Net Zero Building Challenge”, click here.

To sign up for “Climate Signals”, a new weekly newsletter from the RBC Climate Action Institute on the world’s path to Net Zero, click here to subscribe.

To learn more about Mattamy Homes, check out their website here.

To learn more about Moriyama Teshima Architects, click here, and for updates on George Brown College Limberlost Place, click here.

To learn more about BrainBox AI, click here. 

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canada is a nation of builders—but buildings are our third biggest source of greenhouse gases and release some 90 million tonnes of C02 annually.

On Part 1 of a special two-part series of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on greening Canada’s built sector, host John Stackhouse chats with three experts committed to decarbonizing our buildings. Together, they explore the question, “how can retrofitting old buildings help get us to Net Zero?” We hear from Kent Peterson, owner at engineering services firm P2S and Chair of the ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization . We then chat with Jody Becker, the Chief Strategy Officer, Executive VP, Infrastructure Services & Technology at construction services firm Ellis Don, and finally Jamie Gray-Donald, the SVP of Sustainability & Environmental, Health & Safety at QuadReal Property Group.

       It turns out our existing buildings present the biggest opportunity to transition the building sector for a more sustainable, Net Zero future. Stay tuned for part two, where we explore new technologies, techniques, designs and innovative materials for a more sustainable future.

Links:

To read RBC Climate Action Institute’s latest report, “High Rise, Low Carbon: Canada’s $40 billion Net Zero Building Challenge”, click here.

To sign up for “Climate Signals”, a new weekly newsletter from the RBC Climate Action Institute on the world’s path to Net Zero, click here to subscribe. 

To learn more about P2S Inc., check out their website here. For information on ASHRAE, visit their website here. 

To learn more about Ellis Don, visit their website. 

To learn more about QuadReal Property Group, visit their corporate website.

CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:

• Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
• Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn
• For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.