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Championing Sustainability: The 2025 CB Innovation Awards Luncheon

The fourth annual CB Innovation Awards Luncheon recognized Canada’s leaders in sustainable entrepreneurship and championed a new kind of nationalism for a strong—and sustainable—Canada

Writeup by Alex Derry; photography by George Pimentel

Apr 17, 2025

On April 7, more than 120 entrepreneurs and executives gathered at The Quay, the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s shimmering waterfront venue, for the 2025 CB Innovation Awards Luncheon, presented by BMO Financial Group.

In addition to celebrating the 2025 CB Innovation Award winners and championing the innovative and nation-building spirit of Canada’s entrepreneurs, this year’s event was an opportunity to focus on how businesses are tackling our most urgent threat: the climate crisis.

The New Nationalism: Building a Sustainable Canada

Catherine Fowler and Ian Aitkens, CEO and Chair of Enactus Canada respectively (above), welcomed guests to the fireside chat. Speakers included Phil Deluna of Deep Sky and Nuha Siddiqui of erthos, and was moderated by CB publisher Jason Maghanoy (left to right)

Following a VIP reception, the luncheon kicked off with a fireside chat about “The New Nationalism: Building a Sustainable Canada”, presented by Enactus. Phil De Luna, Chief Science & Commercial Officer at Deep Sky, and Nuha Siddiqui, CEO and Co-Founder of erthos, shared their entrepreneurial journeys in conversation with Jason Maghanoy, Publisher, Canadian Business.

“We believe we can help Canada’s largest brands transition from plastics for good with biomaterials and plant-based ingredients,” said Siddiqui, who launched erthos in 2018 with the support of Enactus’s experiential learning platform during her second year at the University of Toronto. “The erthos journey helped me realize the power of using business as a force for good, that sustainable innovation isn’t only possible, it’s essential, and when students are given the chance to lead, they don’t just learn – they launch.”

When he joined Deep Sky in 2023, De Luna brought along the carbon capture technology he developed at UofT after he was inspired by co-founders Fred Lalonde and Joost Ouwerkerk’s vision to leverage Canada’s renewable resources and geologic storage capabilities to tackle carbon removal at scale.

“Canada is at a unique moment in our history and we have an opportunity to leverage this newfound national unity to build new industries, businesses, and nation-building projects like never before,” said De Luna. “I believe that what Deep Sky is doing in the sustainability and carbon removal space can be a big part of that national and global story.”

Sustainability Works for Canadian Business

Robin Stewart, head of Canadian business banking headquarters operations at BMO (above) gave the keynote address, while CB publisher Jason Maghanoy (below) kicked off the luncheon.

In his keynote address, Robin Stewart, BMO’s Head of Canadian Business Banking Product Management and Business Strategy, emphasized that sustainability is business: “Sustainability isn’t just a moral imperative, it’s a strategic advantage,” he said.

In celebrating BMO-supported companies who are driving a positive environmental impact, he emphasized that the unique qualities founders need to launch an innovative company – i.e., agility, focus, and drive – should be applied in laying a sustainable foundation for the business.

“Sustainable practices are not just about doing good; they are about building resilient businesses that can thrive in the face of market challenges,” said Stewart.

Trust and Innovation in Sustainability

From left to right: Mark Ang (Go Bolt), Natalie Voland (GI Quo Vadis), Chris Bryson (New School Food), Dr. James Cotton (HARvEST Systems), moderator Debbie Gamble (Interac). Guests enjoying the luncheon (below).

After lunch provided by Oliver & Bonacini came a marquee panel discussion on “Trust and Innovation in Sustainability”, presented by Interac and moderated by their Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Debbie Gamble.

Four CB Innovation Award-winning sustainability entrepreneurs demonstrated how embracing sustainability through innovation builds customer and stakeholder trust by sharing their company journeys.

“By converting waste heat to hot water to generate electricity, we tailor our system to meet the varied needs of our diverse customers, which not only reduces operating costs but also significantly cuts greenhouse gas emissions,” said Dr. James S. Cotton, CEO of Harvest Systems. “Our conversation started with franchise owners, but we aim to scale our solutions across entire fleets of restaurants, both in Canada and internationally.”

“By focusing on clean label products, we aim to meet the evolving demands of consumers who are increasingly concerned about additives and allergens,” said Chris Bryson, Founder and CEO of New School Foods. The Toronto-based foodtech startup operates a 20,000 sq ft. manufacturing facility downtown that is producing “the next generation of sustainable seafood alternatives.”

“We need a special set of food scientists and engineers who can develop advanced manufacturing technology, so we’ve tried to create an attractive and accessible workplace for talent so we can reverse the brain drain south of the border,” said Bryson.

“We believe buildings are built, used, and lived in by humans, so they should be designed to foster inclusivity, community, and humanity, and we aim to create spaces where people can connect and thrive by preserving heritage while meeting modern needs,” said Natalie Voland, President and Chief Vision Officer for real estate developer GI Quo Vadis. “We started by converting industrial manufacturing buildings into spaces for small businesses, and our portfolio now includes heritage buildings that we repurpose into vibrant communities by ensuring they are financially inclusive and meet the needs of diverse populations.”

“Transparency is key to enhancing trust in our ecosystem, and by providing real-time data and insights, we help our partners understand the environmental impact of their operations and make informed decisions to improve sustainability,” said Mark Ang, CEO of GoBolt, a sustainable third-party logistics (3PL) provider.

“We’ve grown tremendously since the early days of breaking into dorm rooms and slipping business cards under doors,” Ang continued. “Today, we’re redefining 3PL in Canada: Our proprietary emissions-calculating technology enhances the trust we’ve established with our partners, and we’re building one of North America’s largest EV fleets to add to our sustainable transportation systems so that we can meet our carbon neutral delivery commitment by the end of the year.”

Celebrating the Best of the Best

The 2025 Canadian Business Innovation Award Winners

The luncheon concluded with Maghanoy announcing the winners of the 2025 CB Innovation Awards. Each of these companies represents Canada’s best – dynamic, entrepreneurial, and innovative leaders who prove that solving the most urgent issue of our time – the climate crisis – is simply good for Canadian business. Congratulations to this year’s recipients!