Green Innovation Awards
Toronto Community Foundation and the City of Toronto teamed up to help aspiring, Toronto-based entrepreneurs turn their green ideas into action.
$50,000 in seed money was available to support new products and/or services that demonstrated significant potential for market success and having a positive environmental impact in Toronto.
From a list of 127 submissions, 10 finalists were selected to face the judges, and three winners were announced.
Congratulations to: Olivier Trescases, Ph.D. and Chris Lea, representing their idea Green Gym: Harvesting Energy from Exercise Equipment; Sarah Lazarovic, for her idea GreenHouseTO; and Robert Kori Golding, for his idea My Green City.
The Awards were made possible by the generous support of Toronto Community Foundation fundholders:
- John & Christine Currie Foundation at the Toronto Community Foundation
- Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation at the Toronto Community Foundation
- Adrian & Reta Hudson Fund at the Toronto Community Foundation
2010 Green Innovation Awards finalists:
-
Aquapod
Submitted by Justin Nadeau
A non-permanent, off the grid greenhouse that combines alternative growing, energy and design to provide ideal conditions for year-round production. Food in the greenhouse will be grown using aquaponics, a closed-loop system where fish and plants are grown symbiotically. The Aquapod will act as a learning hub to engage residents and promote environmental change. -
CISTA: rain water harvesting system
Submitted by: Carolyn Moss with Simona Sund, Lee Fletcher and Terence Woodside
CISTA is a vegetated rainwater harvesting system designed for urban environments. The system is comprised of a frame, tank, cover and vegetation. The frame is attached vertically to the side of a building. CISTA is the only system to combine, and improve on, the rain barrel/cistern and living 'green' wall concepts. It was developed in response to our fruitless searches for an attractive, functional rain barrel. -
CycleMiles
Submitted by: Marvin Midwicki
CycleMiles is a unique rewards program that brings together cyclists and socially responsible companies to reduce CO2 emissions. The CycleMiles Pod is specifically designed to monitor and record bicycle usage securely and accurately, allowing the information to be uploaded to a host mobile device or personal computer. After logging on to CycleMiles.ca, members will be able to view points earned and redeem merchandise at participating sponsor/partners. -
Green Gym: Harvesting Energy from Exercise Equipment - WINNER
Submitted by: Olivier Trescases, Ph.D. and Chris Lea
Standard exercise equipment will be modified using sophisticated electrical engineering techniques to harness the energy generated during 'work-outs'. Each machine will plug directly into an outlet and generate green energy for the grid. An interactive online interface will allow for outreach and education with gym users around energy conservation. -
Environmental Impact Calculator
Submitted by Candida Paltiel
Green Screen Toronto Initiative and Planet in Focus:
An original and user friendly tool developed for the Green Screen Toronto Initiative by consultants Melissa Felder and Carla Weinberg in consultation with those working in the film and television industry. The EIC is designed to directly measure and enhance the capacity of individuals working in the screen based industry to engage in reducing overall waste as well as GHG emissions. -
GreenHouseTO - WINNER
Submitted by: Sarah Lazarovic
GreenHouseTO is a highly searchable, multi-purpose web and mobile renovation application for homeowners, builders, contractors, researchers, architects and everyday Torontonians interested in collectively improving the sustainability of Toronto's built form. -
Grow Tube Systems
Submitted by: Sunny Lam
Grow tube systems offer an easy way for people to grow healthy fresh cut salad greens using an innovative space-saving pulley system design. For people with mobility limitations, the system is a chance to grow their own food with ease. It is also a way to turn walls into cool edible hanging gardens outdoors or indoors. -
Morph
Submitted by Joshua Sin
Morph is a wall treatment system improving insulation in homes. It is a smart surface that self-regulates thermal temperature, giving homeowners an ease of comfort, while saving heat. Acting as a second skin, Morph is placed along the walls where heat is lost, mainly windows and ceiling. -
My Green City - WINNER
Submitted by: Robert Kori Golding
A cross-platform game/application for the iPhone and Facebook, which encourages Torontonians to engage in pro-environmental behaviour through a green rewards system. By completing simple real-world missions, such as attending green events, reducing waste, cycling to work, planting trees, changing light bulbs, installing water efficient toilets, etc. players will earn carbon credits they can use in the Facebook game to build their own Green Cities. - Soil Builder
Submitted by Glenn Munroe
This inexpensive solution is ideal for small-quantity generators of organic wastes, such as office lunchrooms and schools. Each climate-controlled, enclosed-ecosystem unit converts 1 to 2 kg of per day (365 to 730 kg/year) of organic "wastes" on site into high quality compost.
Starting in 2011, the Green Innovation Awards will become part of the ClimateSpark Challenge.
