Our Mission

We're building the circular economy by empowering passionate people to bring business or community-led climate solutions to life.

Our Vision

To lead the movement towards a flourishing circular economy that benefits the community, economy, and ecosystem of Toronto.

Why The Circular Economy?

Impact zero is a non-profit based in Toronto that empowers passionate people to bring business or community-led climate solutions to life.

Our focus is to build the circular economy, an economic system that reduces the amount of waste in our economy and turn it into value: wasted resources, water, energy, time.

By empowering people to build circular systems, consumers can have a twofold impact:

First, consumers have more choices and the ability to impact demand for goods and services. Changing our consumption habits towards renewable and circular products will slowly force producers to adjust their offerings. This change won't happen overnight but companies will be forced to make changes over time.

Second, we can directly reduce the amount of resources being extracted from the planet while also reducing the amount of waste going to landfills. Decomposing trash in landfills is one of the largest sources of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide and a major contributor to global warming.

A UN report shows that human-caused methane emissions can be reduced by up to 45 per cent this decade. Such reductions would avoid nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045 and would be consistent with keeping the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal. Their assessment integrates the climate and air pollution costs and benefits from methane mitigation. Because methane is a key ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone (smog), a 45 per cent reduction would prevent 260 000 premature deaths, 775 000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat, and 25 million tonnes of crop losses annually. Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years and complements necessary efforts to reduce carbon dioxide. The benefits to society, economies, and the environment are numerous and far outweigh the cost.

In addition to reducing the highly potent methane gas from landfills, the circular economy presents us with a 39% emissions reduction opportunity by reducing supply chain emissions. By increasing the level of circularity of our economy from 9% to 18%, we can realize that 39% reduction with relatively little effort compared to other solutions (Circularity Gap Report, 2019).

The circular economy requires significant local action, including solutions built for communities by communities. However, despite their ability, passionate people don’t feel empowered to make a difference.

Impact Zero empowers passionate people to bring business or community-led solutions to life by following three core objectives:

Inform & Inspire: We make it easy to learn about all areas of sustainability from an optimistic angle, inspiring community members to learn about what a future circular economy would look like.
Innovate: We connect community members to brainstorm solutions relevant to them and find partners to work with to build something bigger than themselves.
Implement: We support community members to build their community-led initiatives or businesses on the ground, accelerating their progress by providing professional resources, project management, and microgrants.

Meet The Team

Erin Andrews

Founder & Executive Director

Kayli Derryberry

Operations Director

Melissa Suárez

Marketing Director

Paul Renard

Fundraising Director

Meet the Board

Aladdin Diakun
Chair of the Board

Aladdin is a corporate lawyer practicing in association with WRD LLP, where he uses the law to help grow sustainable businesses.

Aladdin also provides advisory services to planet-focused leaders & teams as a Certified Executive Coach.

Aladdin holds the FSA Credential from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Sustainability & Climate Risk Certificate from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

Aladdin received his J.D. from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and completed his articles at the Toronto office of a large national business law firm. He also holds a M.A. in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

Having witnessed and experienced professional burnout, Aladdin is adamant that wellness work is sustainability work and circularity requires self-care!

Cameron Dunkin
Chair of the Governance Committee

Cameron works with Parkinson Canada as the Vice President, Strategy, Communications and Technology.

Cameron has over 17 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector, following his passions for addressing environmental, development and global health issues.

With an M.A. in International Studies from Stellenbosch University, Cameron is interested in how education and local focus can bring about dynamic change.

Cameron also participates in the Climate Change Giving Circle through the Toronto Foundation.

In his spare time, Cameron loves camping, travelling, board games and books.

Tara Athar, CPA, CA
Treasurer
Chair of the Finance Committee

Tara is a Finance Business Partner with Novo Nordisk Canada, focusing on FP&A.

She is an experienced manager with over a decade of accounting industry experience, including related to audit, assurance, budgeting, forecasts, and oversight of multiple cost centers. Tara has previously held roles with Holt Renfrew and with PWC.

Tara graduated from Western University with a passion for numbers. She is solution-oriented, analytical and constantly seeking out new opportunities to grow and learn.

Tara has always been interested in sustainability and the environment. She joined Impact Zero to help promote awareness of circular economy opportunities and help businesses have a positive impact in their communities.

In her spare time, Tara likes to read, spend time outdoors and attend concerts and music festivals.

Sophiya Khan
Director

Sophiya is an Architect and Urban Planner who recently relocated to Canada following her role as a city planner for the City of New York. Currently, she works as an Account Executive at B4brand, leading the placemaking and stakeholder engagement initiatives, and runs a private practice as an independent Urban Design consultant in New York and Toronto.

With over a decade of expertise in Placemaking and Urban Design, she specializes in the sustainable development of Main Streets & Downtown Revitalization projects. Holding licenses as an Architect in India and an International Architecture Associate with the American Institute of Architects, Sophiya is dedicated to sustainability both professionally and personally. Her goal is to contribute actively to Impact Zero's mission of advancing sustainable economic growth and building a circular economy.

Beyond her 9-5 commitments, Sophiya is an active member of the APA Urban Design and Art & Culture Committee and serves as a juror for the ASLA Design Awards. On the weekends, Sophiya can be found on the George Brown College campus studying Fashion and Fashion sustainability or exploring new restaurants in the city with her partner.

Glen Spry
Director

Glen stands at the forefront of the energy transition movement as the principal of Sprytley Consulting, a firm dedicated to reshaping the energy landscape through innovation and strategic insight.

With a passion deeply rooted in the intricacies of energy markets and a card-carrying Energy Transition geek, Glen is a recognized authority in the realm of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and grid-integrated buildings.

His expertise extends to pioneering demand-side programs that not only enhance energy efficiency but also empower consumers and businesses alike to play a pivotal role in the evolution of a more sustainable and resilient energy grid.

Daniel Hengeveld
Director

Daniel is the Vice President of Investment Attraction with Toronto Global, the Greater Toronto Area's investment promotion agency.

With over a decade of leadership experience, Daniel's work is focused on advising multinational firms on their international expansion strategies, as well as overseeing the organization's global market coverage. His work centres on economic growth, targeting new job creation, investment and competitiveness that positions Toronto as a leader on the global stage.

Daniel has held a number of roles in infrastructure, delivery, and finance where he has worked on sustainability-linked initiatives, including the development of the Province of Ontario's Green Bond Program whose proceeds fund sustainable or green projects across Ontario. He has served on a number of Boards dedicated to the arts and culture in the City of Toronto. In joining Impact Zero, his aim is to continue to spur sustainable economic growth and building of the circular economy.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of Guelph, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from McMaster University.

Christine McNerney, CFA
Director

Christine is an Associate Portfolio Manager and Credit Analyst with over 15 years of experience. She currently works on an alternative asset portfolio.

Christine is passionate about sustainability and the environment. She has earned her Responsible Investment Specialist certification from the Responsible Investment Association, and is also a Certified Sustainable Investment Professional (Concordia University).

Christine is keen to encourage consumers and businesses to build a circular economy and positively impact their communities.

Christine graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and is a CFA Charterholder.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking with her family and practicing yoga.

Jay Thakkar
Director

Jay is a global leader in strategy and sustainability with deep expertise in leveraging technology to drive growth and profitability. Jay has collaborated with consortia like WEF, WBSCD, UNGC, GeSI, NAEM etc. to shape the global ESG agenda.

As a Partner at ERM, Jay leads North America Digital Advisory practice and drives Innovation CoEs for ESG Reporting, Scope 3 Emissions, and CE topics, serving Fortune 500 leaders.

Often engaging at the cross-section of business and technology, Jay consults senior leaders on solving and scaling Circular Economy (CE), ESG, and Sustainability priorities. He advises on strategy, ideation, business model innovation, product innovation, supply chain transformation, and technology intervention.

Jay is a strong advocate for last mile circularity solutions, which typically materialize by engaging small businesses and civil society.

As a Board Director with Impact Zero, Jay is keen to materialize the vision of a circular economy that benefits the community, economy, and ecosystems of Toronto.

Ana Badour
Director

Ana launched and co-leads the Fintech practice at the law firm McCarthy Tetrault.

In her financial regulatory practice, Ana works with both large financial organizations and start-ups to launch and structure financial services products.

Ana is recognized both domestically and internationally as one of the leading lawyers in Canada in banking, financial services and Fintech, and was previously recognized as a change agent in the law and among Canada’s Top 40 lawyers under 40.

Ana is passionate about helping innovators grow and scale their vision and is excited to be working with an organization supporting innovators in the circular economy.

In her spare time, Ana enjoys kayaking and spending time with her partner and their dog, Waffle.