DIG AnnualReport2015 7x7 v3 spreads3dig.archetypeorange.com/.../2016/04/DIG_AnnualReport2015_spread… · annual report to the communityannual report to the community 2012015–25–2016016

annual report to the communityannual report to the community2015–20162015–2016

doitgreen.ca [email protected] 403-389-5367doitgreen.ca [email protected] 403-389-5367

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Calgary is a different place than it was when we launched DIG three years ago. The City’s new bylaws are making the need for our services that much more necessary, attractive and financially viable. As a result, DIG is increasingly seeking to work with venues to ensure compliance with the new recycling bylaws and bring the same custom environmental solutions we deliver to major events. Let us know how we can help you.

New this year, DIG is launching a distributed power solution (called Portable Electric) as part of our suite of services. It is a battery storage technology that displaces the loud diesel generators, common at so many events. Contact us to find out more.

DIG had an exciting 2015. We diverted more than twice the amount of waste from the landfill as we did in 2014 and increased our overall diversion rate to 87% (up from 76% in the previous year). This means we are diverting more waste from the landfill and doing it more efficiently while helping our clients become zero waste events.

Our presence and impact has increased at major events like the Calgary Stampede, Calgary Marathon andWorld Partnership Walk. We also launched several new partnerships with amazing events like Beakerhead,the Calgary Dragonboat Festival and 24 Hours of Adrenalin in Canmore.

Our mobile water stations are becoming standard infrastructure at major festivals and the demandfor our bicycle valet program is growing too.

We received recognition as recipients of the Calgary Award for Environmental Stewardship andfinalists for an Alberta Emerald Award.

Achieving this level of success as a new business during an economic downturn is the fortunate resultof a very loyal group of clients, the addition of talented core team members and a small army of dedicated volunteers and supporters.

Thank you to all of you. You mean the world to us!

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FUN-FILLEDEVENTS

62 3.4MILLIONPEOPLE REACHEDSINCE FOUNDING IN 2013

87PERCENTDIVERTEDFROM THE LANDFILL IN

2015162,583LITRES OF WATERPROVIDEDFROM OUR H2O BUGGIES

EQUIVALENT TO

325,166500 ML BOTTLES

67%COMPOST[17,664 kg]

8%RECYCLING

[2,156 kg]

13%LANDFILL[3,343 kg]

12%REFUNDABLE

[3,212 kg]

EQUIVALENT TO

117,760APPLES

EQUAL TO

46COWS

35.9TONS OF WASTEDIVERTEDFROM THE LANDFILL

SINCE OUR START IN 2013BICYCLES1816

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ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTENVIRONMENTALIMPACT

100ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATORSVOLUNTEERED WITH US

MORE THAN

We were excited to take our relationship with the Calgary Stampede to the next level in 2015. Our vendor compost program was expanded across the entire midway and we collected over 12,000 kg of organic materials such as mini donuts, onions, lemons and pineapples, which would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. This was a vast undertaking as we nearly tripled the amount of compost collected in 2014 at the Stampede with more vendors participating and more pickups scheduled!

CALGARY STAMPEDEJULY 3-12, 2015

STRENGTHENING A RELATIONSHIP

“I knew right away I had found a winner when I talked to DIG about the challenges we are all starting to face as commercial generators of waste and recycling. They had a lot of ideas and had been working toward viable systems for several years. What I liked best was their work ethic and enthusiasm.”Kevin MulliganPark Maintenance Manager, Calgary Stampede

Following the opening of Calgary’s downtown cycle track, DIG introduced a new Bike Valet service at the Stampede and welcomed more than 1,600 cyclists over the course of the ten day event. DIG and the Stampede received positive media coverage from almost every major media outlet and representatives from the City of Calgary, Cyclepalooza and Open Streets Calgary were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of the new Stampede Bike Valet.

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Like DIG, Beakerhead is three years old and since they launched with a zip, bop, bang in 2013, the spectacular citywide ‘mashup’ of art, science and engineering has captured people’s imagination and quickly become one of Calgary’s premier annual events.

Environmental sustainability fits nicely into Beakerhead’s mandate to engage, inspire, build awareness and give back to the community– goals that have remained important to DIG in our development as well.

BEAKERHEADSEPT 16-20, 2015

A NEW PARTNERSHIP

"Beakerhead applauds DIG Events for its dedication to the very important conversations we need to have about greening our events in Calgary."Hanan ChebibDirector, Creative Experiences for Beakerhead

DIG provided waste diversion stations, environmental educators, a mobile water station and a Bike Valet throughout the five days of Beakerhead including the 50,000 person street festival known as Beakernight. Beakerhead saw 112,000 visitors in total, including upwards of 25,000 students! Despite the high number of visitors, this event was already a low-waste affair, and DIG diverted nearly 200 kg of waste from the landfill and set a diversion rate of 55% as a benchmark for future Beakerhead events.

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DIG is stoked to have launched a new partnership with 24 Hours of Adrenalin in 2015. This crazy 1,600-participant extravaganza (with many more spectators) taking place each year at the beautiful Canmore Nordic Centre, has earned the reputation for ‘fastest growing mountain bike event series in North America.’ It revolves around a massive relay race where solo riders and teams compete to ride as many laps as possible within a 24-hour time period.

The event presented some unique challenges that were new to our team. For example, all waste bins had to be bear proof and accessible 24 hours a day and waste could not be left unattended outside of these bins.

24 HOURS OF ADRENALINJULY 17-19, 2015

A UNIQUE CHALLENGE

Mark NewtonEvent Director for 24 Hours of Adrenalin

"24 Hours of Adrenalin operates in one of the most pristine wildlife corridors in all of Canada. Not only did DIG help us to provide the best environment for our participants and spectators, but they also helped us achieve our highest landfill diversion rate in 19 years of running our event! DIG was not only able to meet our needs but also exceeded our expectations by helping us set and achieve goals that would otherwise have been unattainable, and they provided measurable results for us to draw from for years to come."

The DIG team rose to the challenge and delivered a successful environmental program that included a mobile water station and a team that picked up recycling, compost and trash from every single campsite on the park. Together, DIG and 24 Hours of Adrenalin diverted over 1000 kg of waste from the landfill and set a benchmark of 68% diversion rate for us to build on in future years.

We enjoy working with 24 Hours of Adrenalin because they involve us in their planning process. They utilize our expertise as well as our on site services. They share our environmental ethos and like DIG, are also members of 1% for the Planet.

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One of our most exciting projects of 2015 was the beginning of our relationship with one of Calgary’s premier venues, Arts Commons. Arts Commons is one Canada’s largest and most vibrant arts centres – occupying a full city block with five theatres and the world-class Jack Singer hall. We couldn’t be happier then to have this iconic Calgary venue as a key component in our work with indoor venues, offices, and shops.

Our partnership will include reviewing their current recycling and waste diversion practices, adding

ARTS COMMONSONGOING CONSULTING

EVENT VENUES

“Throughout our dealing with DIG, they displayed a high level of professionalism and knowledge of working with the City of Calgary Waste and Recycling depart-ment… I believe that the services provided by DIG are exemplary and can benefit any organization striving to meet its environmental goals.”Niels HagenBooking and Sales Manager for Arts Commons

new waste streams and equipment, and infusing their staff and event goers with our knowledge and passion for being waste conscious!

We believe that this work will be the start of a long relationship with Arts Commons, where DIG will play an integral part in pushing Arts Commons to continuously challenge themselves to improve, continuously setting the bar for venues in Calgary.

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In an effort to eliminate bottled water at events and in accordance with our belief that drinking water should be free, clean and accessible to the public, DIG has offered our H2O Buggies to events and festivals for the past two years. We have three different types of mobile water units; the Senior H2O Buggy, the Junior H2O Buggy, and the H2O Spigot.

These have become increasingly popular at events and provide one of the easiest ways to reduce waste. The City of Calgary has been great supporters of this initiative by providing funding for some events to cover

WATERFRESH, CLEAN, ACCESSIBLE

H2O BUGGIES

"CAWST is delighted to be selected as DIG's water partner. Their work amplifies our message about finding new solutions to water and sanitation challenges. By allocating 1% of their gross revenue to us, DIG is meet-ing their commitment to 1% For the Planet while setting an example for other organizations to direct their commit-ments toward a partnership with CAWST as well."Shauna CurryCEO, Centre for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technology (CAWST)

the rental costs of one of our units, ensuring that they can provide drinking water to their attendees.

As 1% for the Planet members, we formally launched a partnership with the Calgary-based CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology) in the Spring of 2015. This non-profit teaches people how to get safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in their own homes, using simple, affordable technologies. They have benefitted 11.4 million people and counting and we are proud to support their efforts through our partnership.

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Beginning on February 1, 2016, the City of Calgary is implementing new regulations for Waste and Recycling Services. Multifamily dwellings, such as apartments, condos and townhouses will be required to offer on-site recycling to residents– similar to the ‘blue bin’ service that single family homes have enjoyed since 2009!

As part of the City‘s Industrial, Commercial, Institutional (ICI) Waste Strategy, higher fees will be implemented for paper and cardboard dropped off at the landfill, in order to encourage recycling. Currently, 75,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard goes to the landfill in Calgary each year, largely from these non-residential spaces. By increasing the fee per tonne from $110 to $170, the City hopes to see that number substantially decrease. In 2018, paper and cardboard will be banned from the landfill altogether.

The ICI Waste Strategy will continue to be implemented in stages over the next few years, with food and organics being subject to higher fees at the landfill in 2017 and being banned altogether in 2019.

CITY OF CALGARYVARIOUS ACTIVITIES

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

DIG supports and applauds the City of Calgary’s efforts to divert waste from the landfill in Calgary.

DIG is fortunate to have enjoyed a close relationship with The City of Calgary since the very beginning. We have consulted with various departments on greening events and food trucks and our staff serve as active members of the City’s Waste and Recycling Services ICI Working Group, which supports the City’s goal of reducing waste going to landfill by 80% by 2025* The City of Calgary regularly subsidizes DIG’s mobile water stations, known as H2O Buggies for several festivals and events around town. This year, the City of Calgary funded or directly hired us to provide water for TEDxYYC, Canada Day celebrations, Neighbour Day, the Calgary Marathon, and Beakernight, among many other events. *Was revised from 2020 just this past year.

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Over the past year, we have been happy to donate our services to events such as TEDxYYC, the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival, Acumen Voices of Impact, as well as a fundraiser for Medical Mercy. As a social enterprise, it is important to DIG that we continue to support events such as these that positively impact the world, both locally and globally.

We have remained members of REAP (Respect for Earth and All People) Business Association, a non profit association for locally owned businesses that care about the community and the environment. Our President, Leor Rotchild, frequently shares his knowledge and expertise as a keynote speaker, guest lecturer and panelist for various sustainability-related

COMMUNITY IMPACT

LOCAL + GLOBAL

SPONSORSHIP + INVOLVEMENT

“Having DIG teach the Green Beans workshop at our summer camp was an amazing experience that was really impactful on the kids. The kids loved learning about composting and recycling, and even started bringing food scraps from home to compost at our facility”

Chloe DusserOwner and Operator, Little Hippies

initiatives and groups. A few of these engagements have included the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, Ambrose University College, Bow Valley College, Alberta BoostR, Emerald Days in Fort McMurray and the City of Lethbridge.

Throughout the summer, DIG ran a ‘Green Beans’ workshop every week as part of the Little Hippies summer camp. This workshop included learning about recycling and composting, and involved building musical instruments from recycled materials. In addition to spreading our love for being waste conscience, DIG is happy to support Little Hippies and other members of Calgary's local small business community.

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The Calgary Awards recognize outstanding achievements and contributions made by Calgarians. In Spring 2015, we were so excited to be presented with a Calgary Award in the Environmental Achievement – Corporate category from Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Councillor Shane Keating in the annual ceremony at City Hall.

CALGARY AWARDSMUNICIPAL RECOGNITION

JUNE 10, 2015

We were honoured to be a finalist in the Small Business category for the 2015 Alberta Emerald Awards. The purpose of these awards is to recognize, celebrate and inspire environmental excellence in Alberta.

They acknowledge organizations that ‘raise the bar’ for environmental protection, innovation and merit in all sectors. It was humbling to be a finalist amongst so

EMERALD AWARDSPROVINCIAL RECOGNITION

JUNE 4, 2015

This particular award recognizes environmental achievements in advanced technology, management, conservation, protection, enhancement, education, stewardship, and promotion of the city's environment and goes to a business that displays innovative and exemplary environmental conduct in our city.

many great projects and environmental leaders in our province, including our friends at Verge Permaculture, the Calgary-based winners of this award.

It was a natural fit for DIG to also take on the waste diversion plan of the awards ceremony itself, held at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton– our first event in the provincial capital!

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Special thanks to Kelsey McColgan for design work on this report and so much more.