Green Recognition Program

AISIN Canada INC

·        AISIN Canada participates in the municipality’s green bin program to collect compostable materials from lunchrooms and offices, supplementing their onsite composting to ensure reliable, year‑round diversion; facilities staff sort and weigh compost daily.

·        Over a 10‑month reporting period (2025–2026), the compost diversion program diverted an average of 638 pounds of organic waste per month, totaling more than 6,000 pounds to date; at the current rate, this represents approximately 7,650 pounds (3.8 tons) annually, preventing an estimated 1.15 metric tons of CO₂e emissions per year.

·        Additional compost generated on site is used in AISIN’s community garden program, active for more than 10 years, with produce donated to House of Blessing and the gardens are supported by six rain barrels for water harvesting.

Alzheimer’s Society of Perth and Huron

·        Soup’s On, the Alzheimer Society Huron Perth’s annual January fundraiser, welcomes approximately 2,000 attendees and is intentionally designed to minimize environmental impact through careful planning and strong volunteer engagement.

·        A volunteer Green Team of up to 20 people manages clearly marked waste stations for recycling, compost, and garbage, resulting in more than five full recycling bins, five compost bins collected by Davidson Environmental, and only 4–5 bags of garbage, with food scraps composted and soup taster cups rinsed and recycled.

·        The event prioritizes reuse and attendee participation, offering 300+ reusable metal spoons and 300 reusable plastic trays that are washed and redistributed throughout the day, while many returning guests bring their own spoons, muffin tins, and water bottles to further reduce waste.

o   Special recognition given to Jes Kapcza, a dedicated volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Society of Perth and Huron. She has served as the Green Team Coordinator for the Soups On event for the past three years.

Pazzo Company

·        Pazzo Pizzeria and Café Bouffon are committed to reducing their environmental impact through active waste diversion, including participation in the City of Stratford’s municipal composting program, diverting up to 600 kg of organic waste from landfill each week.

·        To reduce single‑use packaging and beverage waste, the restaurants installed an in‑house water filtration and bottling system, eliminating commercially bottled water and diverting approximately 700 litres of glass annually from the recycling stream.

·        Both restaurants have transitioned to more sustainable takeout solutions, using Friendlier’s reusable container system and ensuring that all other takeout packaging is recyclable or compostable, supporting practical, measurable progress toward Stratford’s sustainability goals.

Toner & Ink Shop

·        Since 2008, Toner & Ink Shop in Stratford has been remanufacturing printer cartridges for the community, keeping thousands of cartridges out of local landfills while helping customers save money by choosing reuse over replacement.

·        A single printer cartridge can take up to 450 years to break down in a landfill, creating long‑term environmental impacts and unnecessary carbon emissions that remanufacturing helps prevent.

Nancy Campbell Academy

·        Since February 2025, the Grade 7/8 World Citizenship Class has led a school‑wide green bin program, running for approximately 38 weeks (February to early June 2025 and September–early March, with no school in January), with students collecting and managing organic waste as part of a hands‑on service‑learning initiative.

·        Each week, students collected three 22‑gallon green bins, diverting approximately 66 gallons or 550 pounds of food waste per week from the garbage; over the duration of the program, this resulted in more than 2,500 gallons, or approximately 20,000 pounds of food waste redirected into the green bin program.

·        In addition to significantly reducing the school’s environmental impact, the initiative built leadership, responsibility, and environmental awareness among students, who are now focused on their next challenge: educating the wider school community and increasing participation to 100%.

·    Blowes Properties Inc

•      Recently renovated their downtown building built in 1875 at 28-34 Wellington Street and built 10 residential units and one commercial unit on the upper two floors of the building that had previously been empty since 1951.
•   They sourced local contractors to do the renovations and have used high efficiency Mitsubushi heat pumps in all of the individual unit's HVAC needs as well as replaced all original windows with modern but historically relevant energy savings grade aluminum windows. The entire upper floors were insulated to minimize heat loss as compared to there being no insulation previously

·     Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance - Stratford General Hospital

•   In 2024, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance identified and implemented opportunities to significantly reduce natural gas and electricity use at Stratford Hospital through 86 targeted energy-efficiency actions.
•   Working with Enbridge and WalterFedy, HPHA upgraded boilers, heat recovery systems, air handling units, and building automation controls to improve heating, ventilation, and overall system performance across the hospital.
•   These improvements are expected to cut natural gas use by about 550,000 m³ and electricity use by nearly 160,000 kWh each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1,060 tonnes annually.

·      Stratford Honda

•      All lights have been upgraded to LED
•   Public electric vehicle charging stations installed for community use

Stratford Vintage Market

·        Stratford Vintage Market actively supports a low‑carbon visitor economy through clear sustainability requirements for its vendors. All vendors are required to sell vintage, secondhand, handmade, or repurposed goods, keeping items in circulation and reducing demand for new production.

·        Environmental impact is further reduced through mandatory local and regional vendor sourcing, the discouragement of single‑use plastics, and a strong emphasis on reusable bags, minimal packaging, and waste reduction. The market prioritizes digital promotion and reusable signage and event materials to limit resource use.

·        By partnering with local food producers and businesses and showcasing upcycled and zero‑waste products, Stratford Vintage Market encourages walkable, community‑based tourism and models responsible consumer choices for visitors.

Stratford Walking Tours

·        Stratford Walking Tours offers guided walking experiences that share the stories of the people, places, and events that shaped the city, while encouraging guests to explore Stratford’s history and natural environment outdoors.

·        Tours promote sustainable, low‑carbon tourism by replacing car‑based sightseeing with immersive walking experiences that appeal to both visitors and local residents.

·        Through partnerships with local organizations, we deliver educational tours such as Spread Your Wings and Local Plants, Local History, which highlight the Avon River, local wildlife, native plants, and Stratford’s rich cultural heritage.

FIO Automotive

·         Energy Management and Electrification

• FIO implemented a robust electrification and energy efficiency strategy to support its goal of reducing carbon emissions 50% below 2019 levels by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Key initiatives include replacing propane‑powered lift trucks to electric, installing air‑source and waste‑heat recovery heat pump HVAC systems, upgrading lighting to LEDs, and deploying advanced building automation and energy monitoring systems.
• Since approximately 68% of FIO’s Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions are attributed to natural gas heating, these efforts have delivered measurable results, reducing 4,851 tonnes of CO₂e emissions between January 2023 and March 2026.

·         Waste Reduction and Diversion

•           For over two decades, FIO has demonstrated leadership in waste reduction and circular economy practices at its Stratford facility. Certified to ISO 14001 since 2004, the facility achieved zero waste to landfill in 2018 through comprehensive recycling, reuse, reduction, and composting programs.
•      In 2025 alone, FIO diverted approximately 17,600 tonnes of non‑hazardous material from landfill. Of this total, just 0.3% (60.5 tonnes) was directed to waste‑to‑energy streams where recycling was not feasible. Beyond production processes, employees are supported through onsite recycling programs for clothing, prescription glasses, milk bags, alkaline batteries, and e‑waste, helping embed sustainability into everyday operations.

Shelia Clarke

·        Special Nomination: Sheila Clarke is recognized for her exceptional leadership of the Climate Conversations series, bringing together diverse voices across Stratford to learn, listen, and collaborate on climate action. Through ten thoughtfully organized community conversations, she created a safe, inclusive space that strengthened connections between residents, city staff, and community partners. Her perseverance, vision, and ability to unite people around shared environmental goals have left a lasting impact on our community.

Rotary Club of Stratford

• Created and implemented an ‘organization-wide’ sustainability policy, as well as a ‘green events initiative’.

• Ongoing efforts toward waste segregation, reuse, recycling and diversion from the landfill.

Stratford Public Library

• ‘Drop and Swap’ programs held in 2023 helped divert unwanted items from the landfill into the hands of people who can prolong their useful life. Significant community-wide participation resulted in approximately 500 kgs of waste diverted from the landfill.

• The Library continues to host Terracycling boxes for art supplies, disposable masks, and is also a collection point for used batteries for recycling.

Lot8 (small business: Kim McCallum)

• Lot8 designs and creates sustainable, functional products that reduce our reliance on plastic and divert textile and food waste from the landfill.

Claire Upcycled (small business: Claire Scott)

• A sustainable, eco-friendly local brand that upcycles material from existing fabric and discarded material into ‘new’ clothing to elongate their life cycle.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

• The store offers a venue for people to donate miscellaneous items they no longer need, without the need to dispose them off to the landfill.

• Items donated to and sold at the store get a second lease of life, thus contributing to a circular economy.

VicWest Building Products

• In 2023, Vicwest completed its solar photovoltaic project at their Stratford facility. This array of 1,206 solar panels is capable of supplying 86% of the facility’s power requirements. It is estimated that annually, this array will generate approximately 600-700 MWh of electricity, which can power 60-70 Ontario houses for a year. Such a system is also anticipated to reduce the GHG emissions generated by 40 tonnes of CO₂e.

• Additionally, through collaboration with Festival Hydro, VicWest is directing excess renewable energy produced to the Stratford electricity grid- thus supporting the broader community with its energy needs.

MTE Consultants for Three Categories: Waste, Energy and Green Building

• Significant efforts towards organic waste management, ongoing recycling of office supplies, hosting an annual e-waste collection drive, organizing cleanup activities on Earth Day, and recycling single use personal protective equipment (PPE) through TerraCycle’s Zero Waste box initiative.
• The organization has also been encouraging employees to use active transportation and carpooling, installation of secure bike racks - both these initiatives implemented as an effort to reduce vehicular emissions, and enhance local air quality.
• MTE’s Pollinator Garden Project involved the design and construction of two pollinator gardens at the Stratford office demonstrating their commitment to sustainable practices and environmental stewardship.

Schaeffler Canada Inc. for Three Categories: Waste, Energy and Green Building

• Schaeffler Canada Inc. has placed a large focus on organization-wide sustainability, including managing energy consumption, reducing its carbon footprint and establishing specific goals, such as those for energy efficiency and landfill diversion. They were successful in creating and implementing a program for recycling, and successfully achieved an annual waste diversion rate of over 85%, with approximately 720 tonnes of waste being recycled and diverted from landfill in 2022-2023.
• In partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Schaeffler Canada Inc. installed a 4MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on its Ontario St site, which has minimized the facility energy usage during peak consumption period, thus resulting in reduced strain on the provincial hydro as well as achieving annual cost savings.
• In 2023, Schaeffler implemented projects that resulted in water reduction by over 2% from previous years, and annual savings of more than 300,000 liters of water.

Keystone Hospitality

• Source produce locally and grow some of their own

• Support farms that adhere to sustainable practices

• Focus on bulk sales to reduce paper and plastic packaging material

• Reuse cooking oil as biofuel

• Partnered with local business to reduce packaging waste from takeaway containers

Eco Club, Stratford District Secondary School

• Demonstrated efforts in organics waste management and diversion through an on-site composter

• Aimed to build a closed-loop system: organic and landscape waste is composted to nutrition-rich soil for the school's garden. Produce grown in this garden is given to the student-run restaurant for meal preparation.

Vicwest

• Aim to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2025
• Since 2020 Vicwest Lorne Avenue has reduced waste by 40%
• Ongoing tracking of waste through internal and external systems

Rotary Club of Stratford

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) recycling program including disposable masks, gowns, head and foot protection, and face shields

• Green Event Program, wherein all fundraising and other events minimize the use of plastic, ensure waste segregation (recycling and organic waste collection) in suitable receptacles

Rosehurst Stratford

• Kitchen garden growing produce including herbs and vegetables for guests

• On-site composting system for food waste, paper and yard waste

• Use of natural water retention techniques and drip irrigation system

• Egg shells used as fertilizer, negating the need to procure synthetic fertilizer

• Phase-out of single use plastic containers for soap, shampoo and conditioner for guests

The Green Hair Spa

• Ongoing waste diversion includes single-use plastics, PPE, excess hair colour waste and hair clippings

• Reuseable and biodegradable foils that are made from construction waste and converted to stone dust at end of life

• Refill and bottle return program for select hair products

MTE Consultants

• Implementing organic waste collection have successfully diverted 224 L of organic waste from landfill

• Organization of e-waste drive for electronics

• Office supply waste recycling program to discard old writing instruments through another local business' writing instrument recycling program

• Participate in ink and toner cartridge recycling through another business' program

• Introduced Terracycle Zero Waste Boxes in our offices for recycling personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks and hard hats. Equal importance given to education and awareness amongst staff

• Employee engagement and community outreach

• Reiterate company's sustainability commitment with an updated Corporate Sustainability Policy

The Gentle Rain

• Waste reduction efforts - reduced 4-5 garbage cans to one can per week

• Installed Terracycle boxes to recycle makeup containers, oral health products, razors - blades, handles, tubes & bottles that are not normally recyclable, and all associated packaging

• Supply plastic waste (that would otherwise end up in landfill) to a business in New Hamburg to create recycled plastic products such as plastic lumber

Sam Ogilvie and Lorne Bolton

John Hotson

• Received Federal rebates (Canada Greener Homes Grant)

• Home energy audit to identify deficiencies

• Upgrade of insulation to R50

• On-site energy generation through installation of solar panels

• Realized cost savings from fuel switching, e.g. electric lawnmower

• Switched to an electric car to reduce emissions even further

Laura Clark

• Installed geothermal source to fulfil heating and cooling needs of home

• No natural gas usage

Carolyn Schmidt

• Switched to an electrical vehicle to eliminate need for fossil fuels for transportation
• Charge vehicle during off-peak times, use regenerative braking, moderate speeds, minimized use of air conditioning/heating

Vicwest

Decarbonization efforts throughout operations, including but not limited to:

• on-site renewable energy generation
• use of daylighting in the office
• fleet transition to electric vehicles
• rainwater harvesting and waste diversion strategy

Tom McKay

• on-site renewable energy generation to supply energy and hot water requirements
• wind turbine and use of storage batteries to supplement energy needs
• water collection system and upgraded insulation