The Resilience Report

As we get closer to wrapping up the year, numerous reports are coming out regarding the state of renewables around the world. 

At a very high, macro level, we are investing more in renewable energy than ever before, especially in solar and wind power. Last year, “a record-breaking USD$622.5 billion was invested in renewables! 

Most of this money went into solar panels and wind farms, with a 70% increase in tech investments like batteries (for energy storage) and solar panels. In fact, renewable power installations attracted far more investment than fossil fuel power plants did in 2023.

Which countries are leading the charge? China leads (44%) global renewable energy investments, followed by Europe at 20.9% and the U.S. at 15%. 

Renewable energy generated an impressive 30% of the world’s electricity in 2023 which is a MASSIVE increase from just 21.7% in 2013.

At last year’s COP28 in Dubai, governments agreed on a big goal: triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. While we’ve made great progress, we’re not quite there yet.” (350.org).

Of course, it depends a lot on regulations. So, changes in governments at a municipal, state / province or country level can have a big impact.

To help get all of us ready for the year ahead, one that I am sure will be full of exciting progress, we have pulled together a special renewables and energy storage deep dive for us. These include our talented past experts ranging in areas from microgrids to energy storage to renewable financing:

• Hassan Shahriar, President & Founder, ADAPTR Inc.
• Rod Matthews, Co-Founder & CEO, Brevian Energy
• Lauren Dube, VP and Director of Good Things, Climate First Bank
• Yoram Ashery, CEO, Nostromo Energy

I know that this area is one many of our listeners have expressed interest in, so this is my promise to you that I will continue to bring more renewable and energy storage content to you in 2025. Until then, enjoy this special deep dive!

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For those who don’t know, an important part of my sustainability journey involved philanthropic work in the environmental space. Core to this was the time I served on the board of directors for Sierra Club Canada Foundation, the Canadian arm of one of North-America's largest environmental advocacy groups. 

I met some truly incredible people during this time, one of which was their Head of Communications, Conor Curtis. 

I recently had the opportunity to reconnect with Conor on his show, The Environment in Canada Podcast.

The following is our crossover episode, which really turned into a love letter to the guests and community we have built around The Resilience Report. I have learned SO much from you all over the past year and half of this show, so it was extra special to be able to share some of this with Conor and listeners of The Environment in Canada Podcast. We dive into corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG), examples of good ESG, and ways to set common standards for measuring success. We also chat about ways you can assess a corporation's commitment to the environment, advice for businesses getting into ESG, the circular economy, and finding cool stuff on the streets of Montréal.

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As much as I love sustainability, I also love fashion. Over the past decade or so, I have consciously tried to marry these two ideas together by proactively trying to find sustainable fashion solutions.

One of the number one tricks up my sleeve over the past 5 years has been a business right here in Montreal: the Shwap Club, founded in 2018 by the inspiring Annette Nguyen. 

Having studied and practiced law for nearly a decade in the corporate world leading up to it, Annette created Shwap Club as Canada's very first boutique-style clothing exchange club its mission is to facilitate the reuse of clothing in order to counter clothing waste. The concept offers two physical boutiques in Montreal as well as an online store. 

In full transparency, when I first came up with the idea for The Resilience Report, I mapped out a shortlist as to who I wanted on the show. Within this very first wish list was getting to sit down with Annette and share her creative approach with you, our listeners!

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Are you thinking of starting or transitioning into a career in sustainability?

These are 5 things that host Lauren Scott wish she knew before starting out in the space over a decade ago!

On this solo episode of The Resilience Report, Lauren discussed the importance of cross-functional collaboration, adaptability, and strong communication skills in a career in sustainability. She emphasized the need to understand the materiality matrix to prioritize sustainability projects effectively and encouraged the audience to seek out internships and external support to manage tight budgets. Lauren also highlighted the importance of gathering the voice of the customer and being open to different perspectives to improve sustainability efforts.

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Having seen so many well intentioned professionals burn out when working on causes they truly care about, I wanted to find someone to speak to you, our listeners, about employee wellbeing. And whether you are thinking about this for yourself or for your teams, that person is Lori Saitz. 

Lori is a nationally recognized stress eradication expert, award-winning author, speaker, broadcaster, trainer, writer, executive coach, and employee wellbeing consultant. As the founder and CEO of Zen Rabbit, a forward-thinking health and wellness company, she is dedicated to guiding business leaders toward creating and nurturing healthier, more productive work environments. With a comprehensive background in wellness strategies and employee engagement, her mission is to share easy-to-implement tools and techniques that not only improve the well-being of employee teams but also contribute to their bottom line through enhanced performance, improved morale, and increased employee retention and engagement. 

On this episode, we discuss the importance of employee well-being in businesses, focusing on the integration of mindfulness, gratitude, and self-care practices to enhance productivity, retention, and overall well-being. We also explore strategies to overcome compassion fatigue and maintain personal resilience in the context of sustainability work and the current polarized climate. Lastly, Lori emphasizes the significance of personal responsibility in building resilience and finding joy and success in life.

We have all heard the expression of filling up our own cup before we can pour into others. This episode provides some actionable wellbeing tips and tricks that we can all apply today on our journeys to do business better!

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Progress over perfection is a mindset that the sustainability movement would greatly benefit from to get more businesses and leaders on board. Lover's Tempo, a Vancouver-based, B Corp and Living Wage certified, carbon neutral jewelry company, is the perfect example of what can be accomplished with this mindset. 

On this episode, host Lauren Scott is joined by the company's CEO (Elaine Kim Smith) and COO (Leslie Hoolaeff) to discuss the company's sustainability journey, including their sourcing practices, sustainable packaging, and carbon neutrality efforts. Elaine and Leslie also share their experiences with B Corp and Living Wage certifications and how they carefully select their community partner organizations. They also dive into their unique and inspiring Full Circle Artist Program, which repurposes end-of-life jewelry materials into new art pieces to promote sustainability and support local artists. Finally, the episode takes a fresh look at the surprising parallels between entrepreneurship and sustainability and how both are ongoing processes without a clear end, requiring patience, perseverance, and the ability to lean on others for support.

Not only is Lover’s Tempo jewelry absolutely gorgeous, but so are the personalities of Elaine and Leslie. The way the two of them approach business and life with a sustainable and abundant mindset is incredibly inspiring!

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Black Sheep Mattress Co. began with a belief that there was a more sustainable and beneficial way to make and sell mattresses. Developed from a growing awareness of the negative health and environmental impacts of conventional mattress manufacturing, the company has delivered an artisanal approach to the industry for over 10 years. Over this time, Black Sheep Mattress Co. has grown in their knowledge of quality, sustainability and craftsmanship, continuously expanding their products and services to better meet their customers’ sleep needs.

On this episode, we are joined by their Founder, Christian Schmidt. Together with host Lauren Scott, we explore how Black Sheep Mattress Co. is disrupting the standard mattress industry with non-toxic, natural, and organic products. We discuss how they work with local suppliers on key sustainability considerations, their innovative mattress recycling program, tips on how you can extend the life of your mattress, and some of their incredible upcycling work. As a bonus, Christian even shares some advice for our entrepreneur listeners thinking about expanding geographically. 

After this episode with Christian, we promise that you will be wide awake when it comes to sustainable mattresses!

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Listeners of The Resilience Report are clearly looking for a podcast in finance, because every time we have a guest on, the reaction is always so positive. And one angle we have yet to dive into but that impacts each and every one of us is that of banking.

But, with greenwashing really being a concern in this space, I wanted to find an organization that truly walks the walk. 

Which is where I came across one of the fastest growing banks in the US who also happens to deeply believe in banking life tomorrow depends on it: Climate First Bank. This digital community bank is on a mission to combat the climate crisis by making sustainable alternatives accessible to everyone.

Joining us on the show to share more is Lauren Dubé, who holds possibly one of the coolest titles: VP and Director of All Good Things at Climate First Bank. Lauren leads the bank’s ESG initiatives and is responsible for managing client and community relationships and seeking out beneficial partnerships. Dubé has spent the majority of her career in values-based banking. She was invited to join Climate First Bank’s inaugural team by founder and CEO Ken LaRoe, initially as vice president and executive project manager. Dubé previously spent five years at Beneficial State Bank, a B Corp, values-based bank in California. Before that, she worked at LaRoe’s first values-based bank, First GREEN Bank. In 2021, Dubé was named one of Green Builder’s Next Generation Influencers for working to bring sustainability to the forefront of public consciousness.

In this episode, the Laurens dive deep into the exciting world of community banks and their impact on sustainability especially compared to traditional banking. They discuss how Climate First Bank is leading the charge in supporting local businesses, nonprofits, and sustainability projects, and how their unique approach is changing the game with innovative solar lending technology. They also chat about the challenges and strategies in navigating ESG in today’s political climate, the significance of B Corp certification including some great tips to get started if you or your business are interested in getting certified, a really cool app that can help users put their money where their values are, and so much more.

So, whether you’re a finance enthusiast or a sustainability advocate, stay tuned as we explore how your money can work for both your wallet and the planet!

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LOOP Mission rescues perfectly good fruits and veggies that would have been thrown out simply for aesthetic reasons like shape and size. Then they make delicious & healthy products like cold-pressed juices (a weekly staple in host Lauren Scott's grocery haul) and more. Even their leftover pulp gets repurposed!

On this episode, we are joined by Co-Founder and Superhero (yes, that is his official title!): David Cote. 

Often described as hyperactive, David is recognized as a serial entrepreneur almost in spite of himself. This self-taught leader is so enthusiastic about life, that he sometimes has a hard time saying no to commitments. After co-founding Rise Kombucha and the organic restaurant chain Crudessence, he embarked on a new circular economy mission: eradicating food waste. That's how he co-founded LOOP Mission. Between teaching acroyoga and organizing epic parties in his rare spare time, David has managed to write seven books on living foods, kombucha and fermentation, three of which have become best-sellers, translated into five languages. He's an outspoken go-getter who doesn't hesitate to shake up traditional ways of doing business. 

In addition to cold-pressed juices made from imperfect fruits and vegetables, LOOP also offers beer made from bakeries' day-old bread, gin that repurposes potato scraps, soaps made from a restaurant chain's cooking oils, and fermented sodas that give a second life to by-products from the essential oils industry. Since the company's inception in 2016, it will have saved more than 8,035 tons of food, prevented the emission of 6,411 tons of GHGs and saved more than 482 million liters of water.

In true David fashion, this is such a fun, inspiring episode. We start by unpacking the staggering scale of food waste in North America, particularly focusing on fruits and veggies. We then demystify the concept of "circularity" in sustainability, the meticulous, data-driven planning and hands-on process behind preparing ingredients for their innovative products, their partnership with Costco (and why it almost did not happen), and David’s research on the most sustainable packaging options for LOOP. Bonus content? Listeners will also gain valuable insights from David’s entrepreneurial journey, including what your first step should be when it comes to growing your business!

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Nostromo Energy offers true sustainability through energy storage. More specifically, the company accelerates the renewable energy revolution by reducing our reliance on fossil-based energy while contributing to a more stable electric grid. Nostromo Energy provides a large-scale, commercially available behind-the-meter (“BTM”) energy storage solution for widespread, grid-interactive deployment in commercial and industrial (C&I) buildings. It enables customers to realize both energy cost savings and greenhouse gas reduction and supports grid modernization and decarbonization through intelligent, large-scale load management as a virtual power plant (VPP).

On this episode, host Lauren Scott is joined by the CEO of Nostromo Energy, Yoram Ashery. We dive into the staggering and growing energy demands of buildings, the pivotal role energy storage will play in meeting these demands, the groundbreaking battery-alternative that Nostromo offers, how it addresses the challenge of renewable energy's intermittency, the role of governmental incentives and regulations, and an incredible use case in the heart of Beverly Hills.
The way Yoram distills complex topics is a rare and incredibly valuable skill in the sustainability space as we all try to get others on board!

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