EFL Connections to Canada’s Clean50 in 2020

We are thrilled to share a number of connections to the recently announced Clean50 awards.

David Hughes, President & CEO of The Natural Step Canada, host organization for the Energy Futures Lab, has been named as a member of Canada’s Clean50 for 2020. David played an instrumental role in co-founding the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition. He helped galvanize momentum and mobilize leading businesses, academics and NGOs towards achieving a prosperous, sustainable, closed-loop, zero-waste circular economy in Canada.

Fellow Julia-Maria Becker from the Pembina Institute has won the Clean50 top project award for her role in leading The Alberta Narratives Project. In the current divisive and polarized environment around energy issues, this project involved more than 20 organizations and funders, and convened important climate and energy conversations with Albertans from all backgrounds.

Fellow Alison Thompson, CEO of Borealis GeoPower, also won a top project award for her unique work on Geothermal Energy District between Kitselas Geothermal & Borealis GeoPower. This project takes an original approach to geothermal energy development for base-load electricity and renewable heating/cooling alternatives. According to Geothermal Energy District, this project not only opens avenues to ethical mining by dissolving rare minerals and metals in geothermal brines, but also each 15 MW of geothermal electricity developed is predicted to eliminate 70 kt of CO2 emissions each year.

Every year, Canada’s Clean50 recognizes Canada’s leaders in sustainability for their contributions. There are 16 categories in the Clean50 Individual awards or “the Clean50” which go beyond numerous industries, academia, and various levels of government, and are based on accomplishments delivered over the prior two years. The EFL was awarded a Clean50 Project award in 2018 and we are proud of the continuous connections to this program through EFL Fellows and The Natural Step President & CEO David Hughes.

“I’m deeply honoured and want to acknowledge that this wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership, expertise and investment of the many partners who make up this coalition,” says David.

Meet the other 47 leaders on the Clean50 list!