New Volta-Halifax Partnership Collab will help Green Companies Thrive
HALIFAX– As our world continues to struggle with climate change, more companies are entering the field of clean technology and promoting environmentalism. Nova Scotia has quickly become a hub for startups in this field.
The Halifax Partnership and Volta have collaborated on a program to help clean technology companies thrive. They have already found six Nova Scotia companies that will benefit from mentorship and funding opportunities: Scient Analytics Inc., DependBuild, Acuicy, Drinkable, Easy Platter, and Zen Energy.
Wendy Luther, president and CEO of Halifax Partnership, says Halifax is becoming a big player in the green economy.
“It’s the right thing to do and it’s also an important and growing business opportunity for companies that can lend their expertise to growing the green economy industry here in Halifax,” said Luther.
“A big part of Halifax Partnership’s work is selling Halifax to the world and we’re selling Halifax as a location for the growing clean-tech sector. We’re particularly strong in this area because of the intersectionality between green companies and our depth in ocean technologies and ocean research.”
The term “net zero” gets thrown around a lot and has become the latest environmental buzzword. But how does a company take the steps to achieve this lofty goal? Acuicy has developed software that will give companies the nitty gritty details on getting there.
Allison Murray, cofounder of Acuicy, says the biggest challenge for companies lowering carbon emissions doesn’t come from internal practices. Instead, 75 per cent of emissions are caused by who supplies the company with goods and services.
“At minimum, 75 per cent of their emissions are in their supply chain,” says Murray. “A lot of companies don’t know that. So, it’s from all the goods and services that they buy from other companies to run their business.”
“It’s a big challenge for companies to address their emissions. Because, for a large company, they would have thousands of suppliers.”
It would be nearly impossible for a company to have the time, money, or knowhow to reach out to all of their suppliers and ask them the right questions about their carbon footprint. That’s why Acuicy is offering its services.
A client company can give its suppliers access to Acuicy’s software where they enter simple information about themselves, such as the buildings they own, the vehicles they use, and more.
“It generates tailored recommendations for each supplier, depending on the data that they’ve given us, on a variety of investments they can make to reduce the most amount of emissions, at the lowest cost,” explains Murray.
And the recommendations really do get down to the bones of a company’s operations to reduce carbon emissions.
“If you’re an agrifood business, it might be about changing the way you irrigate your crops,” explains Murray. “Or, if you are a manufacturing company it may be switching to a more energy-efficient refrigeration system.”
Murray and her business partner, Dawne Skinner, are passionate about the climate crisis; that’s why they started Acuicy. They know companies want to reduce their emissions but don’t know where to start.
“We know that climate change is happening now. We don’t have any time to waste and we need to be able to get as many companies reducing as much emissions as possible, as fast as possible,” says Murray.
“The pressure is really starting, not only from a voluntary perspective but also from a regulatory perspective. Things are changing, and more companies are going to be required to disclose their carbon emissions. So, companies that don’t start doing this now are going to find themselves behind the game in a couple of years.”
Acuicy is still in its early stages as a company; they are pre-revenue. Murray, as part of Volta’s and Halifax partnership’s clean tech initiative, is hoping to learn more about navigating the software industry.
“Although I have experience growing a successful consulting business, we’re new to the software industry, and we’re new to the startup world,” she says. “There’s a lot for us to learn and the support from Volta and Halifax partnership is absolutely incredible.”
“They’re giving us access to all kinds of expertise that we need to understand, like how to pitch to investors, how to write our investment strategy, and how to think through the valuation of our company.”
One industry that has been singled out as a mass producer of carbon emissions is the food production industry. That is where Easy Platter is looking to help. The Halifax company brings its chefs into your home to cook and meal prep, all based on your dietary needs.
Manny Singh, founder of Easy Platter, says the culinary company is on a mission to reduce food waste. Canadians are terrible at eating all the food it produces and buys. Recent figures say more than half of all food produced in this country ends up being tossed away.
“Canada is actually one of the (biggest contributors) to food waste,” says Singh. But our platform enables you to utilize the ingredients that you have at home, and the chefs use their culinary skills to cook the meals. So, our goal is to reduce the food waste, and your grocery bills, so that you’re not purchasing anything (you don’t eat).”
Easy Platter has been in business for about two years and has even been featured on Dragons Den. Singh is hoping the new Volta/Halifax Partnership initiative will help his company grow the right way.
“The biggest mentorship opportunity would be to learn how to grow and scale strategically,” said Singh. “We don’t want to be in a stage where you’re trying to grow the company in a way where it’s so haphazard, that you’re trying to boil the ocean.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].