BizforClimate is about looking to the future with optimism and determination. We can overcome the challenges of climate change and chart a new course, but to get there we need to make changes to how we do business, collectively. 

To bring about the changes we need with speed and scale, there is a tremendous need to mobilize and I believe the business community has an incredibly important role and responsibility to help lead the way. 

I love working with entrepreneurs, and meet regularly with progressive and visionary business leaders that want to make a positive difference and build a prosperous economy. BizforClimate gives a way to organize and channel this energy, and I look forward to helping this movement grow. 

Derek Earl is an executive leader and strategist and works with the Advisory practice at KPMG Canada where his goal is to work with public and private sector organizations on their ESG (environmental, social, governance) plans and climate change strategies. He is particularly interested in decarbonization strategies for companies and industries, and the role that innovation and clean technologies can play in building a sustainable, emissions-free economy.

He was previously Vice-President at the World Trade Centre Winnipeg, which helps Canadian companies start, grow their business and expand across domestic and international markets. Working with companies in every sector, from start-ups to global exporters, Derek would advise on international strategies and business plans. He also led a variety of economic development initiatives to identify and develop new markets and help make Manitoba’s economy more globally competitive.

Derek has a passion for studying complex economic, political, and societal issues, of which there is perhaps no better example than climate change. He is also deeply committed to promoting Truth & Reconciliation and advancing and improving the relationship with Indigenous peoples. He is involved with a growing portfolio of climate change initiatives with a focus on helping executives understand the risks, opportunities, and changing market dynamics that climate change is rapidly bringing about as we transition to a zero-carbon economy.

He is also Advisor to the Climate Institute in Washington, DC.

The integral substance of my professional career and the essential mission and vision of my company has been the identification, integration and support of both personal and institutional change and innovation particularly with regard to educational and economic systems.  

I chose to work with BizforClimate because I believe that the mission, vision and capacity of the entity deals directly with the change and innovation required by climate change issues, one of the most significant issue facing both the private and public sectors today.

Edward Buller is Principal Consultant and President of EICO Management Inc, an international consulting company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, integrating process variables in project development and implementation in the public, private, non-government and government sectors.

Starting as a professional educator, Ed Buller has occupied leadership positions at the school division and provincial government levels, as director of a government ministry, an Assistant Deputy Minister for the Manitoba Government and a College Dean.

He has had extensive international experience as an educational leader and institutional development expert in projects in Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Lithuania, in several countries throughout the eastern Caribbean, Guyana, Sri Lanka and the People’s Republic of China. He has extensive experience in international educational reform including the founding and establishment of a leading University and Business School in the Baltics where he was a Director and Chair of the Board of Governors.

Over the last 15 years, he has had extensive focused experience in dealing with First Nation issues, including truth and reconciliation action plans, relationship building with other governments and economic development, especially in institutional capacity, food security and mining related issues. Most recently, he has also been working with post-secondary educational institutions to integrate innovation and reorient their programming to address the skills and rapidly changing competency requirements of the 21-century changing workplace. He has had extensive experience in connecting emerging technologies to the changing requirements of the work-place.

Working with new technologies and bold ideas lets you see how big things can get. That scalability can be a force for good, but it can also have unintended consequences, especially on the environment.

BizforClimate is the spark that unites smart business with agile conservation. Business leaders are already disrupting old corporate practices and stale ideas. They’re re-shaping industries with a new, modern lens — climate guardianship and renewed policy are the next frontiers.

Dee King, Co-Founder of ZenFri Inc., has redefined XR/VR/AR landscapes since 2010, sculpting immersive tales for diverse screens.

Their acclaimed studio, located in Winnipeg, Canada, stands as a beacon in the XR realm, challenging the limits of the digital narrative for over a decade. ZenFri’s expertise and published research stretch between the many extended realities of immersive gaming, creating masterpieces that have captivated clients and consumers worldwide.

Dee King is a founding Board Director of BizforClimate.

It is clear that the climate crisis is an urgent, mainstream issue that requires immediate action. The business community is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in addressing this crisis as companies have the creative power, financial resources and a vested interest to implement climate solutions at the required scale and speed. It is important that business owners and executives from all sectors rise to this challenge and lead our communities and economies on a new path.

Signing the Pledge and promoting BizforClimate is an important step that companies can take. I am excited about the impact that this initiative will have.

Rick Penner is President of both Emerge Knowledge Design (Emerge) and Creative Applications for Sustainable Technology (CAST). Rick thrives on innovation and has a deep passion for developing solutions that address environmental and social challenges.

As President of Emerge for the past 20 years, Rick has successfully guided the transformation of Re-TRAC Connect™ from a great idea to the most widely used reporting software in the waste management industry in North America. More recently, Rick started CAST to apply his ideas and experience to developing solutions to other data management challenges in the sustainability sector.

Prior to founding Emerge, Rick led the team that started the very first Habitat for Humanity ReStore and developed a successful business model that conserves resources while generating revenue to support Habitat’s non-profit home building programs. There are now over 1,000 ReStores in 5 different countries generating over $600 million dollars in annual revenue while keeping vast quantities of usable building materials out of the landfill.

I’m so pleased to be a founding director of BizforClimate. As a business owner, a business advisor and a community activist, I believe that the business community can and must step up to the forefront of the social transformation required at present. 

It is imperative that we slow and reverse our collective carbon footprint, rebuild ecosystems and protect endangered species from extinction.

Louise May is committed to environmental sustainability and social equality.

She is a small business owner–operator of Aurora Farm a 160 acre mixed crop, livestock and educational farm located within the City of Winnipeg in St. Norbert.  Aurora Farm’s core products come directly from its primary farm production – goat milk, medicinal herbs and honey become goat milk soap and a line of natural care products.  The vegetable gardens supplement an online local food grocery with year-round healthy food boxes available for delivery in Winnipeg.  The alpacas are the stars of the farm, producing luxurious wool and the warmest socks ever.

Louise is passionate about sharing knowledge to others through workshops in a range of practical skills like bread, soap, cheese making, etc.  As well as inviting other teachers to the farm for specialty workshops such as the ever-popular Baby Goat Yoga.  Aurora Farm is 100% solar-powered, practices rain-water collection, large-scale composting and ecological diversification.

She is the founder of the St. Norbert Arts Centre and active in countless community projects over the past 30 years.  Her community advocacy work has ranged from food security to pipelines and beyond. She is a founding Board Director of BizforClimate.