Reducing waste, increasing sustainability  | TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario

Timothy Felsky grew up in Sarnia, Ontario, with a passion for cars, politics, and business. However, after graduating from Western University in London, his focus shifted to digital marketing and technology. His active mind was always evaluating change—how industries were adapting, and how entrepreneurship was growing.  

During the pandemic, the City of Sarnia prolonged the pickup schedule for waste and recycling from eight days to 14. While Felsky didn’t consider himself a wasteful individual and was cognizant of what he consumed, he was shocked and disappointed at how much waste he produced over the extra six days. He wanted to work towards changing that behaviour and possibly effecting sustainability across the city.  

As Felsky looked at how to change his habits, he met Lisa Matthews and Melissa Ladouceur, owners of Great Lakes Refill Company (GLRC), a bulk food store. Their products came without packaging, and their store did not emit or produce waste. This environmentally conscious retail commitment was what Felsky was looking for. 

But with no e-commerce strategy, the store had plenty of room to grow. Felsky stepped in to assist GLRC and help them gain further traction in the community. He developed an e-commerce plan and streamlined their website. Both parties wanted to improve sustainability awareness in the city of 75,000 and help reduce waste, but how? 

The trio knew that the consumer needed to know their options to influence behavioural change, the benefits of reducing waste, and how to reduce their carbon footprints. Felsky, Matthews, and Ladouceur decided to build an educational platform that would educate consumers and persuade producers to consider reducing their packaging and changing to more sustainable containers.  

Ecodemy was created as a result. Launching with a zero-waste training course, this presentation-style course explained a lifestyle of sustainability, where environmental impact was reduced, substitutions were introduced, and waste decreased. Ecodemy has since been evolving with six courses now to help grow awareness and educate.  

Supported by a $10-million Government of Canada investment, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the i.d.e.a Fund™ is led by Boundless Accelerator (previously Innovation Guelph) in partnership with five Regional Innovation Centres (RICs): WETechAlliance, Haltech, Innovate Niagara, Innovation Factory and TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario. The program helps high-potential ventures access the tools they need to succeed by providing financial and business advisory supports to develop or redesign products, services, processes and technologies that reduce impacts on the environment and create made-in-Canada solutions. 

Ecodemy’s platform offers a guided sustainability ‘course-in-a-box’ for professionals working to reduce their company’s environmental impact. These toolkits explore the multitude of ways sustainable practices can be implemented in virtually every workplace. After course completion and a successful quiz result, a certificate is given that can be shared publicly. Ecodemy’s newest materials are also helpful to those aspiring to work in cleantech or other sustainability-related jobs. And the platform continues to grow. New courses are available frequently to share the latest data and keep the conversation about sustainability going. 

Andrew Leest, TechAlliance’s Manger of Venture Growth, said that “because of the i.d.e.a. Fund™, we’ve supported Ecodemy to create toolkits and refine the platform, and get the word out with campaigns. Ecodemy has the potential to make a real difference in the corporate community. Providing educational materials in an easy-to-use toolkit is a great format for advancements in corporate sustainability.” 

To learn more about Ecodemy and their course offerings, go to https://ecodemy.ca/
To learn more about the i.d.e.a Fund™ go to https://www.techalliance.ca/i-d-e-a-fund/
To learn more about FedDev Ontario, go to https://feddev-ontario.canada.ca/en