The Climate Cycle Climate Tech Canada

In this episode of The Climate Cycle, we sit down with Roya Aghighi and Sarah Graham, co-founders of Lite-1.

Lite-1 is using biomanufacturing to produce sustainable dyes from microorganisms, replacing the fossil fuel-based dyes and pigments used in many industries.

Dyes are easy to overlook even though they’re right in front of us. But conventional versions are made from fossil fuels, contributing to water pollution, human health risk, and climate change. Lite-1 is aiming to take over these synthetic colourants with their sustainable and circular alternatives.

In our conversation, we explore the world of biodesign and precision fermentation, and why Roya and Sarah believe it’s the future of manufacturing. We also talk about the environmental and social impact of traditional dyes and the shift they’re seeing towards sustainable solutions like Lite-1 from partners in fashion and other industries.

Roya and Sarah also share their experiences building a hardtech company in Canada and how we can build a more supportive ecosystem for hardtech and climate tech.

About Lite-1

Lite-1 is at the forefront of transforming the colour industry, transitioning it from one of the most pollutive sectors to a clean, sustainable, and ethical one. By pioneering the next generation of 100% sustainable colourants grown from microorganisms in a circular system, Lite-1 is revolutionizing the way colours are produced and experienced. Using microbes as the factories of the future, Lite-1 cultivates sustainable dyes and colourants that offer an eco-friendly alternative to the fossil fuel-based dyes currently prevalent across industries. 

With the founders leading the charge in the field of biodesign, Lite-1 introduces a groundbreaking approach to interdisciplinary collaboration and bridges the gap between innovative technologies, systemic change, and societal needs, paving the way for a circular and regenerative economy that is not only environmentally sound but also economically viable. By prioritizing sustainability and profitability in equal measure, Lite-1 is shaping a brighter, more colourful future for industries worldwide.



If you liked this episode, please leave a review! You can also send feedback and ideas for future episodes to ⁠hello@climatetechcanada.ca⁠

In our conversation, we cover:


[4:09] Roya & Sarah's journey into biodesign and biomanufacturing
[8:58] The problem with conventional dyes
[12:23] How biomanufacturing works
[14:46] Advancements in bioreactor technology
[18:46] Scaling up and adoption with industry
[21:06] Integrating with existing supply chains
[30:33] Common misconceptions about biodesign
[35:21] Challenges building a hardtech company in Canada
[43:40] Building out the Lite-1 team & what's next

Episode Links

Lite-1

Roya Aghighi

Sarah Graham

The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

Grow magazine by Ginko Bioworks

In this episode of the Climate Cycle, we talk to Jack Bruner, co-founder at Mammoth Climate. Mammoth empowers companies to achieve their climate goals by mobilizing the workforce.

Mammoth's platform brings climate literacy and specific actions employees can take to reduce emissions into the workday, and helps sustainability teams align these efforts with the company’s specific emissions targets.

We talk about why so many corporate net-zero strategies are failing, how to make the return-on-investment case for sustainability teams, and what it means to build climate culture at work.

Jack also shares his experience leading teams in a fast-growing company, navigating challenging market conditions, and the keys to an effective founding team.

If you liked this episode, please leave a review! You can also send feedback and ideas for future episodes to ⁠hello@climatetechcanada.ca⁠

About Jack & Mammoth Climate

Jack is the co-founder of Mammoth Climate. Mammoth's mission is to empower companies to achieve their climate goals by mobilizing the workforce.

The team at Mammoth believe that the fight against climate change will be won from the bottom up, and bring expertise to the problem area in corporate sustainability and behavioural science.

To date, their work has driven tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon reduction and removal across their clients who range from financial institutions, to tech companies, to universities.

In our conversation, we cover:


[1:44] The problem with corporate net-zero plans
[4:04] Creating tailored climate actions
[6:58] Building climate literacy
[8:07] Empowering Green Teams
[9:20] Why Scope 3 reductions are becoming table stakes
[13:08] Carbon offsets vs reducing emissions
[16:20] Mammoth’s growth and what’s changed in the market
[20:17] Creating a climate culture & key learnings
[25:22] The challenges leading a high growth company
[30:01] Keys to an effective founding team

Episode Links

Jack Bruner

Mammoth Climate

Climate Tech Canada

No Competition newsletter by Matt Bertulli

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

In this episode of The Climate Cycle, we sit down with ⁠Alex Todorovic⁠, co-founder and CEO of ⁠Arbor⁠, a carbon management platform. We talk about the challenges faced by companies around the world as they decarbonize their operations and Scope 3 emissions, and the regulatory pressures that are creating a sense of urgency in businesses.

Alex shares the origins of Arbor from the early days at the University of Calgary, the team’s first hand experience with wasteful supply chains, and how they’re harnessing network effects to unlock data across industries.



About Alex

Alex Todorovic is co-founder and CEO of Arbor, a carbon management platform. Utilizing his extensive background in both software and business development, Alex has put his sights towards combating climate change, with a focus on creating positive human impact. Alex's passion for protecting the environment comes from his love of the outdoors, never letting a nice day go to waste.



About Arbor

Arbor aims to be the world's most accurate carbon management platform that quickly calculates the carbon impact of products, assets, and supply chains, with a high degree of accuracy. Arbor transforms data into actionable insights, paired with climate data and expert guidance, enabling businesses and organizations to confidently quantify their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.



If you liked this episode, please leave a review! You can also send feedback and ideas for future episodes to ⁠hello@climatetechcanada.ca⁠



In our conversation, we cover:

[1:56] The origins of Arbor

[3:11] Working with Thin Air Labs

[5:02] The team’s drive to have a tangible human impact

[8:21] How the founding team came together

[10:10] Arbor as the single source of truth for emissions

[13:10] Avoiding greenwashing with data quality

[15:36] Working with regulators

[18:18] Using network efforts to unlock data at scale

[19:50] The competitive landscape

[23:38] What growth looks like today

[26:39] Growing the business and future fundraising



Episode Links

Alex Todorovic

Arbor

Thin Air Labs

Global Reporting Initiative

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Paul Sehr is the co-founder of Jouleia, a new home modernization platform. Paul started Jouleia after modernizing & electrifying his own home - and realizing just how complex it can be.

Jouleia is modernizing homes for the electric age. Over 11 million Canadian homes require energy retrofits, covering everything from installing heat pumps to air sealing to improving insulation. Jouleia is simplifying the home retrofit process with a suite of free resources and their Home Expert Service, which handles the research and planning process of the retrofit while connecting homeowners with contractors and financing options.

Paul is a serial entrepreneur, having previously co-founded & run technology at FinanceIt (acquired, now Canada's largest home improvement lender). He has a technical background, with extensive executive experience in the fintech & home improvement sectors.

In our conversation, we cover:

[1:26] - How Paul got interested in this area by modernizing his own home

[5:02] - The problem Jouleia is solving in the market

[9:24] - Putting together the founding team

[11:13] - Building science and why they look at buildings as a system

[15:20] - Heat pump performance in cold temperatures

[17:33] - How we can accelerate retrofitting the millions of buildings needed for net-zero

[23:45] - Affordability in making these upgrades

[27:23] - How upgrading your home can avoid 35 flights worth of CO2

[28:32] - Lessons he’s applying from his time at FinanceIt

[31:06] - Initial traction with customers

[33:15] - Finding product market fit

[36:15] - Connecting homeowners and contractors in a marketplace

[38:02] - Emerging trends in home electrification

[41:08] - Building in the Toronto tech ecosystem and how its evolved

The Climate Cycle brings you in-depth conversations with climate tech founders building the next generation of climate solutions right here in Canada.

From the team at Climate Tech Canada, a weekly newsletter covering the latest in Canada’s climate tech ecosystem. We’re on a mission to highlight the incredible work of Canadian founders and connect the climate tech community.

Join us every other Thursday for new episodes.