Member: CAN$35.00*
Non- Member: CAN$40.00*
Membership (Individual) + 1 Ticket: CAN$110.00*
Membership (Corporate) + 1 Ticket: CAN$310.00*

*HST Included

CMBG BIZ-NET Seminar

Today, environmental concerns are hot topics in the government. Businesses are facing unprecedented challenges to comply with the ever-growing sets of regulation pressed by the government and various public health organizations. To name a few, the Ontario government has instituted a cap-and-trade program this year in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emission. There is a heightened demand for efficient power usage, proper waste management, green technology, and clean and renewable energy to help mitigate environmental impacts and to conserve natural resources. Most companies see compliance to these regulations and the daunting environmental-related obligations as a costly and risky undertaking that may hinder business growth.

In this seminar, our guest speakers will once again examine issues at a global and local level and share with us how businesses can properly manage these risks and address related concerns. Participants of this seminar will have an opportunity to learn from companies that have been successful in engaging in environment-related business ventures and will also get a better appreciation on how these environmental concerns and issues can impact present new business opportunities, generate greater economic value, enable resilience and stronger growth, and contribute to a healthy socio-economic and environmental ecosystem.

Our first speaker Rayson Ho will walk through what in the 21st century, our prevailing economic growth model has delivered – huge gains not only for industries but for societies as a whole. For instance, more than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty over the past two decades. Our average life expectancy has doubled to 70 years over the past century. We’ve created more wealth in the past 100 years than the previous 10,000 years. We’ve defeated a catalog of diseases, from polio to smallpox…

With a planet sets to support 10 billion people by 2050, we have no choice but to keep growing. However, there are obvious signs that our current growth model is failing – deep social inequality, stubborn wealth gaps, 1 billion people go to bed starving, more frequent and severe natural disasters due to climate change, endemic waste, etc. So how could we grow in a way that fits the resource, demographic and climate realities of the 21st century? Rayson will talk about how environmental companies like Xynteo, can in collaboration with global industry leaders, work together to create future-fit growth.

Our second guest speaker, George Kirchmair, will discuss some of the common environmental issues that property owners face in Canada with respect to soil contamination. The discussion includes common types of contamination that property owners may encounter and the typical sources from which the contamination may originate.

Environmental standards in Canada have evolved over time, with several iterations of new standards being developed in the last 30 years. This has created a potential problem for property owners, as properties that were previously considered clean properties may now have environmental issues simply resulting from environmental standards becoming more stringent over time.

Environmental due diligence must be considered when buying and selling the property, leasing property, applying for site development approvals, financing, and regulatory compliance. The discussion focuses on solutions available to property owners and tenants for managing environmental risks, and for developers looking to invest in brownfield opportunities.

Our last speaker, Mark Steffler, representing “The Burlington Economic Development Corporation”, will share about the general business environment in Burlington and business opportunities in this growing environmental sector in Burlington, and how the City of Burlington can assist interested parties to take part in this exciting and booming business sector.

Speaker Biographies

• Rayson Ho

Head of Innovation and Incubation, Xynteo (Norway)

Rayson first joined Xynteo in 2010, and currently heads their efforts on innovation and incubation across projects and client relationships. In particular, Rayson has been a core manager in Xynteo’s Leadership Vanguard program – a long-term collaboration with Unilever, MasterCard, Tata Consultancy Services, the International Red Cross, plus several more global organizations to incubate commercial solutions to problems that threaten the future of growth.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada, Rayson has a Bachelor of Business Administration with honors from the School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Science in Industrial Ecology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Rayson has also backpacked around the world for nearly two years.

• George A. Kirchmair, P.Eng.

Vice President – Technical Services, exp Energy Services Division, exp Energy Services Ltd.

George Kirchmair is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario with over 27 years’ experience in the field of environmental engineering. He is also a registered Qualified Person (QP) with the Ministry of Environment as defined by Ontario Regulation 153/04. As Vice President of Technical Service and the exp Energy Services Division, George has been the Principal Engineer and Contract Manager for numerous environmental engineering consulting projects and has provided this service to such clients as Imperial Oil, who have a portfolio of over 700 sites across Canada.

Since 1995 as principal engineer, George has carried out or directly managed over 2,500 site investigations and remediation projects at contaminated sites. Retained as an expert by legal counsel on over 20 files, George has worked for both plaintiffs and defendants, and for both large global companies and individual landowners. He has provided assistance to legal counsel in the course of regulatory actions, environmental prosecutions, civil litigation and settlement negotiations. His clients include various law firms, and he has provided testimony to regulators during legal proceedings and participated in mediations, arbitrations, and municipal hearings.

George has also designed and implemented various innovative remediation techniques which include bioremediation, mobile vapor extraction systems, air sparging, soil flushing, in-situ steam stripping, in-situ chemical oxidation, in-situ chemical reduction, soil separation techniques involving petroleum contamination, and soil separation techniques involving widespread heavy metal contamination.

• Mark Steffler, Ec.D.

Manager, Investment Attraction and Growth, The Burlington Economic Development Corporation

Mark is a Certified Economic Developer by both IEDC and EDAC. He has been working for The Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) since 2013. BEDC is a non-profit, private-public partnership that promotes economic development on behalf of the City of Burlington. Through partnerships, economic development expertise, and long-standing corporate care program, BEDC is focused on creating a positive business environment that encourages new investment, supports local businesses, and facilitates opportunities for local growth and prosperity. BEDC is the first point of contact for companies seeking assistance, advice, and localized business solutions.