People sunbathing in the park We generate solutions for a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature’s limits

We generate solutions for a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature’s limits

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Doing the work

At Generate Canada, we believe that the single greatest test of human ingenuity is creating an economy that improves people’s lives. One that grows good jobs, better health, and well-being, while valuing and protecting nature. It can and must be done in this generation.

We live in a time of wicked problems: pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change. They impact our livelihoods and our communities; our hope for a good life. While there is no denying the complexity of these challenges, we believe systemic change is possible. Not by throwing everything out, but by bringing the determined and ambitious in. That’s why we’re here. That’s what we do.

In partnership with the Smart Prosperity Institute, we connect problem-solvers to collaboratively generate, test, and scale research-driven solutions to the most complex challenges of our time. We bring together the people willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work this requires.

It is never our goal to be the smartest person in the room. Rather, it is to have the wisdom and foresight to build the room where the smartest and most workable ideas can surface and get actioned.

David Hughes

CEO, Generate Canada

Why farmers play a big role in fighting climate change

And how a new national alliance aims to support them

Technician use soldering iron to solder metal and wire of lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Repair module of Li-ion battery. Engineer hand holds soldering iron and tin-lead to solder electronic board.

How to create a Canadian battery metals industry to power our economy

Building traction and momentum for a nascent industry

How do you solve a problem like flexible plastic waste?

A coalition of cross-sector partners is reimagining everything from how these problematic plastics are designed and manufactured to how they get collected, sorted and recycled.

Old to new, Wilhelminian style old residential building, facades before and after the renovation

Getting our office buildings to give more and take less

Are there more sustainable ways to create the workspaces we need? A group of cross-sector partners says yes.

Creating Solution Spaces

Our Solution Spaces foster deep collaboration among diverse problem-solvers across fields and sectors, in a pre-competitive setting. Informed by world-class research and policy expertise, we develop and pressure-test innovative, scalable, and human-centered solutions to complex environmental and economic  challenges.

From eliminating plastics pollution to supporting farmer-led sustainable agriculture to accelerating Alberta’s energy transition—our Solution Spaces tackle some of the toughest issues facing our environment, economy, and society today.

Explore the spaces where the work of change is getting done.

Canada Plastics Pact

Keeping plastics in our economy and out of people, animals, and nature.

Learn More
Canza

Accelerating action for climate-smart agriculture

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Circular Economy Leadership Canada

Eliminating waste and maximizing the value in Canada’s supply chains

Learn More
Energy Futures Lab

Fostering innovations that accelerate an inclusive Canadian energy transition

Learn More
Nature Investment Hub

Increasing investment fivefold in nature conservation, restoration, and stewardship.

Learn More

What our partners are saying

Co-operators and Generate Canada have a rich history of partnership and collaboration. In fact, it was Generate Canada that first inspired our sustainability journey, and we modelled our approach based in large part on the system conditions for a sustainable society that we first learned about from Generate Canada, well over a decade ago. Today, with visions and values aligned, we’re proud to continue working together to catalyze resilience and sustainability in our communities.

Rob Wesseling

President and CEO, Co-operators

This was one of the first organizations I encountered that deeply understood the connection between environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It’s evolution, from a focus on organizational change to systemic change, is both appropriate and absolutely necessary for Canada’s transition. And the impact speaks for itself.”

Kathy Bardswick

Chair, Sustainable Finance Action Council

Real partnerships, true authentic relationships based on mutual respect and outcomes, are rare, and are essential building blocks to supporting sustainable growth for Indigenous communities. This is what makes Generate Canada’s work so valuable, today more than ever before.

Dr. JP Gladu

Principal, Mokwateh

We’re in a decisive decade for Canada’s economy and the climate transition. Businesses and investors, alongside governments, will drive a fundamental reimagining of nearly every sector of our economy, including a climate-smart transformation of how we generate energy, grow food and construct buildings and infrastructure. To do this with greater efficiency, we need to find more ways to bring problem solvers together and build the greener economy of the future. Generate Canada is playing an important role in helping bring Canadian innovators and industry leaders together. We need approaches like this more than ever.

Dave McKay

President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada

    Partnering for impact

    Rising to the environmental and economic sustainability crises of our times requires significant shifts in all the ways we work together as a society–from policy design, to business practice, to technological innovation to behaviour change. We need innovation on all of these fronts, and we need those innovations to support and boost each other, because that’s how we change systems.

    Driving innovation on that scale means working with ambitious and committed problem-solvers across sectors and value-chains. Our partners across industry, government, academia, and civil society bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise. They don’t always agree. That’s what real innovation requires. What they share is conviction and a willingness to dig into the tensions and do the hard work. That’s how progress happens.

    Solving the plastic waste crisis together

    What’s the future of plastic packaging? Circular thinking may be the answer.

    Collaborating to innovate Alberta’s electricity future

    How an AI-powered “sandbox” could help us imagine and plan for the electricity grids our future demands

    Seizing a multi-trillion dollar opportunity

    The circular economy promises to unlock massive opportunities — and solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. How can Canada’s finance sector open the door?

    Hammering out a blueprint for the housing crisis

    What it takes to bring traditional adversaries together to advance action that everyone can agree on

    The Latest

    Join our board of directors

    Generate Canada is seeking solutions-focused candidates to serve on its board

    Read More

    Why We Need to Grow The Circle

    The circular economy isn’t just about new practices or technologies – it’s an alternative way of thinking and a more sustainable way of living on our planet. Our future, as a species, depends on it.

    Read More

    Let’s talk about the future of farming in Canada

    The Ag Podcast, hosted by agricultural communications leader Crystal Mackay, features frank conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing farmers and their communities

    Read More

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      Together, let’s prove that innovation for people, nature, and the economy is possible. This is the most important project of our time and it can only be achieved by working collectively and collaboratively.

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