Harvest Power turns food scraps and organic waste into biofuel and compost at facilities across North America – harnessing the opportunities at the intersection of waste, energy, and agriculture. We are pleased to have Wayne Davis, one of the co-founders of the company, at this year’s Zero Waste Conference (#ZWC2015) as a panelist for our afternoon session on materials innovation.
Harvest Power’s ‘Energy Garden’ in Richmond, B.C. started producing energy in mid-2012, processing nearly 200,000 tons of organic material annually by turning food scraps and organic material into bio-fuel and compost. The facility is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year and produce 1 megawatt of energy; enough to power more than 900 homes. It’s one example of the work the company is doing to divert as much organic waste as possible from landfills. With North America generating approximately 500 million tons a year of organic waste, Harvest Power’s approach, turning organic waste into sale-able products, is a fascinating example of materials innovation that also brings significant waste reduction benefits in the communities where the company operates.
Wayne Davis is Co-Founder and Vice President of Governmental Affairs at Harvest Power, Inc. He has successfully led efforts to secure nearly $10 million in grants and subsidized loans for Harvest’s projects. Active in the American Biogas Council since its earliest days, Davis is a Co-Chairman of ABC’s Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee. Before joining Harvest, Davis was a co-founder and former General Counsel of Backyard Farms, LLC of Madison, Maine, where he directed the environmental permitting processes for development of over 40 acres of greenhouses and a 17 MW combined heat and power biomass facility. Mr. Davis was Chief Compliance Officer for Fidelity Brokerage Company and graduated magna cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Williams College.
“We are pretty audacious for trying to do this,†said Davis in a 2010 interview with Forbes Magazine. “No one else is building the projects, doing all the development and testing, and getting the financing together.â€
That audacity is paying off in North America, which lags far behind Europe in waste reduction and diversion. The company now has a presence in 19 communities across the continent, ranging from relatively straightforward organic waste-to-compost facilities, to the bigger and more elaborate Energy Gardens – servicing larger population centres such as Metro Vancouver and even Disney World! With this wealth of experience and knowledge at his disposal, Davis is sure to offer valuable insights to conference attendees, whether they are in business or government.
Mark your calendar to attend Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Conference on Thursday, October 29, 2015, for a full day of compelling discussion on zero waste and the circular economy. We’ll showcase leaders from a broad range of backgrounds, offering their perspectives, tackling vital issues, and making zero waste principles a top-of-mind priority for industry, government, and consumers. Wayne will be a panelist for our afternoon session on materials innovation, exploring:
- how innovation in the types of materials that make up our products and packaging can offer solutions for reducing waste generation
- what kinds of innovations are taking place
- how upstream innovation best fits with end-of-life management infrastructure
- How  businesses and governments can better collaborate – to ensure the right innovation is happening at the right time, in the right place
This year’s edition of the Zero Waste Conference boasts yet another stellar list of speakers and panelists including opening keynote speaker Bill McDonough. Renowned for his ground-breaking work on zero waste principles. McDonough, along with Dr. Michael Braungart, is a cofounder of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, and the co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things and The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance
Register for Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Conference
Thursday, October 29, 2015, Vancouver Convention Centre East
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