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With a vision to plant over 1 billion trees by 2030, the co-founders (and cousins) of tentree, Derrick Emsley and Stephen Emsley, believe that big change starts small. They join host Jen Hancock to discuss the unique business they've built around sustainable fashion with one goal in mind—plant ten trees for every item sold and protect and preserve the world. From humble beginnings in Saskatchewan, the Tentree story will inspire you with its creative business model and resulting global impact.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Building Good Podcast Community today:https://www.buildinggood.caLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebook

How we design our cities has a huge impact on the health and wellness of people. In a recent series of articles, A healthy city, beyond cycling, Marianne Lefever and her co-author explore the complex interconnections of health and infrastructure. For example, cycling is a great way to create healthy opportunities for people in cities but depending on where you cycle, you could be exposing yourself to harmful air pollution that may make your choice to cycle more detrimental to your health! Together with host Jen Hancock, Marianne breaks down the challenges and opportunities facing cities around the world and how a people-first approach to design and infrastructure can not only improve health and wellness but save millions of taxpayer dollars in the process. 

We're better together, right? There’s no “I” in team. There are dozens of ways to say it, but no matter which we choose, working together is sometimes easier said than done. Today, Tim Coldwell is joined by Pat Boucher, the Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer for the Canada Border Services Agency, as they explore the role of government in society. They go into detail on how a collaborative approach between the private and public sectors can help build culture, drive innovation, and create stronger communities. Inclusive economies will never be achieved without strong public-private partnerships.

Community engagement is often a requirement in industrial projects and as part of the formal RFP process. Over the last decade, if we traced back all the social impact initiatives that successful proponents committed to on paper and asked them to present the results, what do you think we’d find? Not a whole lot. Today many organizations claim to prioritize ESG and CSR, but how do you know whether they’ve delivered against those priorities? How do you know what impact they’ve had? Objective metrics for social impact is a critical element lacking in supply chains. Tim Coldwell explores the concept of measuring social impact with Aaron Lambie, President and CEO of Social Awareness Group, and discusses the challenges facing the industrial sector when it comes to collecting and measuring social impact data.

What do you do when your passions are in an industry that is traditionally held by people who don’t look like you? Our guest in this episode of Building Good, Kathy Tuccaro, was faced with a decision: take a leap of faith and train to be a heavy equipment operator or risk falling back into a life of uncertainty and pain. Kathy's story and the outcome of her choices will inspire you. Today, Kathy is the operator of a 797F Caterpillar 385 plus metric tonne heavy haul truck or “her baby” as she likes to call it. Embracing opportunities for living a fulfilling life, Kathy believes more women should join her in this exciting career. Kathy and Tim Coldwell, both passionate about diversity in the trades, discuss why more women should join the trades and how organizations and male peers can help create an environment that welcomes and promotes diversity in non-traditional roles.

In the last year we’ve seen sustainable and purpose driven financing policy skyrocket. In 2018, Larry Fink signaled a shift to balancing purpose and profit at BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm. In January of this year, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs announced that the company would no longer help companies go public unless they had at least one diverse board member. Vancity Community Investment Bank has built its business around values-based investment, committing to a more sustainable future using the tools of finance. Jen speaks with Jay-Ann Gilfoy about the unique opportunity Canada has right now to lead it's economy with values-based banking and investment, in order to create a more sustainable future.

The construction industry has a massive impact on the Canadian economy and yet we are facing a significant labour shortage. At the same time, there are people in Canada struggling to find their place and overcome socially structured barriers to employment. What if construction companies hired and trained these people – it’s a win/win and it takes tremendous pressure off the Canadian social system. Tim talks with Marc Soberano, Founder and Executive Director of BuildingUp, about how we can solve the construction labour crisis and do good and the same time without compromising on business or profitability goals.

Construction is an industry that has a significant environmental footprint and at the same time, lags other industries in technology adoption. But there are some significant advancements that have been made (think LEED Certification) which have fundamentally changed the way we build and renovate. Today, leading green building thinkers are now focusing their attention on the opportunities to drive carbon reduction and social justice. Join Jen Hancock as she speaks with Thomas Mueller, founding director and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council, about how organizations can embrace green building in the fight against climate change.

The data on diversity is clear - firms with diverse talent and inclusive cultures come out ahead. Yet, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry lags on key performance indicators around diversity and inclusion. In this episode, Jen Hancock talks with Renee Cheng, the Dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. Renee was the lead researcher on the American Institute of Architects’ Guide for Equitable Practice, an excellent tool for any organization exploring how to improve its diversity and inclusion. An advocate for equity in the built environment, she explores what the building industry must do to remain relevant in a world where diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords in the boardroom.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Building Good Podcast Community today:https://www.buildinggood.caLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebook

Brightside and its CEO, William Azaroff, build communities for those who need it most, and we mean that quite literally. Brightside is a private-sector, non-profit organization that owns and manages 26 buildings with almost 1000 units across Vancouver. The organization supports those who struggle to meet market housing demands while demonstrating corporate leadership in diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and more. Applying a community mindset to all that they do, William and his team take a balanced approach because the big lofty ideas they have to transform affordable housing won't get very far without a practical plan. This balance of aspiration and pragmatism makes this organization special, and we'll hear more about how they are working to build a better housing experience for Vancouver’s most vulnerable communities. With assets of nearly $250 million, it is one of British Columbia’s largest housing societies to invest in affordable housing. As a true community-minded organization, William joins Tim Coldwell to share how he and his team are solving the affordable housing gap in Vancouver.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Building Good Podcast Community today:https://www.buildinggood.caLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebook

In 2019 Maple Leaf Foods announced it was the first global protein producer to be carbon neutral – an incredible achievement that took the dedication and input of its entire organization. With a focus on environmental protection, animal welfare, employee engagement and digital transformation, the team at Maple Leaf Foods set out to redefine the way protein is produced and become the most sustainable protein company on earth. In episode two of Building Good, Jen Hancock speaks to Tim Faveri, Vice President of Sustainability and Shared Value, about journey taken by the organization and some of the lessons learned and incredible milestones they've achieved. We'll hear how this global leader leveraged its strong culture and steady leadership to redefine its purpose, with the help of its entire team.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Building Good Podcast Community today:https://www.buildinggood.caLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebook

The world is changing faster than ever before. Leaders can and should use existing business models to make a difference and solve the world’s greatest challenges. Welcome to the Building Good Podcast where you will find out who’s doing what and take away valuable lessons that you can apply to your own work. In this episode, you’re going to meet the podcast co-hosts, Jen Hancock and Tim Coldwell. Jen is the Vice President of Collaborative Construction and Tim is the President of Chandos Construction. Together, they lay out the compelling reason why leaders, both in business and communities, should use their organizations, influence, and decisions to create a force for good. Join in as Jen and Tim share their own passions and personal stories of how they relate to Chandos' approach to building a better world through community building, diversity, equity and inclusion and sustainability.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Building Good Podcast Community today:https://www.buildinggood.caLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebook