It pays to be a Green Economy London member!

Our Green Project Grant is back for 2020.  This year we are giving away 5 x $1,000 incentives to our members to make sustainability changes at their facilities.  Could your organization save money and reduce your impact by implementing one of the following projects?  Apply Here.  If you have a different project in mind, reach out.

Rules of the Green Project Grant:

The Green Economy London (GEL) Advisory Committee will select the recipients.  

• A GEL representative must validate the projects for eligibility and approve of the contractor prior to acceptance.
• These funds must go directly to the consultant / contractor. (unless otherwise agreed upon Environmental Stewardship project funding.)
• GEL must be invoiced for design services, consultations and installations.  
• To be eligible for funding, the organization must be a member of GEL.  
• The member must set their baseline in accordance with GEL’s milestone process and set a 10 year reduction target in the target area of choice.  
• Most of these projects will cost more than $1,000.00.  It is expected that the member will pay for the rest of the costs associated with completion.  

Timeline:

• Submissions will be accepted from Aug. 20th, 2020 – Sept. 30, 2020
• Recipient to be announced on Oct. 30th, 2020
• Project to be completed between Oct. 30th, 2020 – May 30th, 2021
• Impact to be reported no later than October 31st, 2021

To apply, click here.

This initiative is made possible with support by;

Past 2019 Green Project Grant Recipients
$5,000 grant funds provided by The London Community Foundation.

Grant awarded by Green Economy London to applicants from their membership.

2019 Green Economy London Green Project Grant Recipients:

• On The Move Organics and Booch Organic Kombucha

On The Move Organics – Urban hoop house 

On the Move Organics is awarded funds to install a hoop house, a passively heated greenhouse, on the site adjacent to their facility.  This is part of their fossil fuel reduction strategy.  They will grow various organic salad greens and native plants on raised beds, utilizing stormwater catchment for watering.  The hoop house will provide season-extension growing, allowing for greens to grow for a longer window of time than in conventional farming operations and will drastically reduce the GHG emissions associated with trucking in the produce.

The native plants will be used to support the neighbouring apiary and provide locals with easy procurement of pollinators and deep rooted plants that help treat stormwater effectively. On The Move Organics, Jeff Pastorius, says, “Our mission statement is “Sustainable food rooted in community”.  Every business decision is analyzed for its impact  potential, and we have a proven history of prioritizing sustainable actions that demonstrate our commitment to ecological sustainability.  We are grateful to have this opportunity through Green Economy London and the LCF to create a very visible and tangible showcase of our priorities.”

Booch Organic Kombucha – Diaphragm pump

Booch was awarded funds to install a diaphragm pump into their brewing process, which will save them roughly 3000L of wasted product per year.  This opportunity was discovered through a food waste audit performed by engineering firm, Enviro-stewards, and arranged by Green Economy London with financial support from The City of London. 

This pump will enable them to move all of the liquid out of their tanks and lines to ensure that no kombucha is being wasted.  Through the engineering report, it is estimated that this project will save them over $20,000.00 per year with a payback period of less than 2 weeks.  This translates to a savings of 5 tonnes of CO2e/year and 8.3m3/year

Booch owner, Shannon Kamins says,  “Sustainability is important to Booch because businesses cannot continue to operate solely based on profit.  There is a limited amount of resources that the planet can give and we believe it is our job to make business decisions that do not leave the planet in a lesser state.  Green Economy London helped us get funding to identify where we had waste and we are happy to make changes to reduce it.” London Inc. Article

Additional Information and Resources:

For inspiration and details on potential projects, please check out our project guides.

Green Economy London Project Guide – GHG Emission, Waste and Water Reduction

Green Economy London Environmental Stewardship Project Guide

Blue Roof / Water Catchment Design Opportunity details:

A blue roof / water catchment design will analyse your facility to determine the feasibility and design of a system, taking into account rooftop catchment area and water storage and reuse options.  It will also provide costing and design for implementation, as well as storm water diversion calculations, and return on investment predictions.  A blue roof can help your facility reach your sustainability goals by:

• Reducing fresh water consumption by utilizing grey water in laundry, toilets or irrigation
• Reducing storm water run off and contamination
• Reducing likelihood of flooding
• Reducing cooling energy loads during summer months

Design will be completed by Enviro-Stewards Engineering.  Recipients should have intentions for future implementation, if the project is feasible and be willing to share the study with Green Economy London for educational purposes.