This year's winners focused on sustainable agriculture and carbon measurement, capture and reduction

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is proud to announce the 10 winners of its global 2022 Net-Zero Research Fund. The Fund was established in 2021 as part of Scotiabank's commitment to becoming a net-zero bank by 2050, including achieving net-zero operations by 2030; mobilizing $350 billion in capital for climate-related finance by 2030; and committing $25 million over 10 years in community investments to support non-profit and charitable partnerships that enable systems change and decarbonization.

The Net-Zero Research Fund provides $10 million in grants over 10 years to organizations conducting research in support of the transition to a low-carbon economy. This year's winners are from across Canada and Latin America and are focused on developing research in the areas of sustainable agriculture and carbon emissions measurement, capture and reduction.

One of this year's winners from Latin America is Con Vida Foundation, a Colombian NGO focused on promoting sustainable, green avocado farming across the tropical Andes. Canadian winners include Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (for research into regenerative farming practices) and Pollution Probe (supporting the first electric school bus pilot project in the City of Calgary).

"Scotiabank has an important role to play in supporting the global transition to a low-carbon economy," says Meigan Terry, SVP and Chief Sustainability, Social Impact and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "Through our Net-Zero Research Fund, we are proud to support organizations across our footprint that are pioneering new and innovative approaches to tackle climate change—and look forward to seeing their future impact."

The full list of the 2022 winners is below. For a more detailed description of winner submissions, and for more information about the Fund, visit the Scotiabank Climate Change Centre of Excellence. The next call-for-submissions for 2023 research will be held in the spring of 2023.

List of 2022 Net-Zero Research Fund Winners with Grants of $100,000 each:

1. Centre for Sustainable Transport of Mexico to support decarbonization of the State of Mexico's automotive cluster (CLAUTEDOMEX). The project will analyze the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of selected companies and will provide a cost-benefit analysis and recommendations for abatement including required technologies for decarbonization.
   
   
2. Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) to research and develop a circular economy (CE) assessment methodology focused on regenerative farming. The methodology will help recognize, evaluate and validate the best innovations and practices to accelerate the transition to a new climate-smart circular economic model in Canada.
   
   
3. Construction's Technological Innovation Centre will define a baseline of embodied and operational carbon for residential construction in Chile, in compliance with the requirements of Chile's Long-Term Climate Strategy (Estrategia Climática a Largo Plazo, ECLP). The research will establish general mitigation scenarios for the transition to carbon neutrality.
   
   
4. Con Vida Foundation for research into the "negative effect" of avocado crops on water yields at the watershed level and their "positive effect" as a new carbon sink across the tropical Andes. Best practices and new tools for crop management will be shared with the agricultural community.
   
   
5. Ean University, Bogotá, Colombia for the Food System Resilience Lab project to design a specific methodology that analyzes and disseminates the best urban sustainable agricultural practices assisted by technological tools and detection of indicators of change in student diets, crops and soil. The project will result in a report promoting adoption of best practices for energy, food and water to gain carbon reduction in urban agriculture.
   
   
6. Pollution Probe to support the first ever electric school bus (ESB) pilot project in the City of Calgary. The project will involve monitoring key performance and cost data from the ESB as it is used in regular service over the course of a school year. Outputs will include a business case for ESBs in Canada, a technical brief for school bus fleets, and a research report.
   
   
7. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile together with the University of California, Berkeley, and DUOC UC, to analyze the benefits and encourage consumer adoption of electric heaters in replacement of wood burning stoves, with the objective of helping improve public policies that promote positive environmental outcomes.
   
   
8. Reef Aquaculture Conservancy to study the benefits of AragoReef material designed to restore coral reefs and seagrass lagoons in the coastal area of Mexico. Research will also assess compliance with Chile's carbon-neutrality commitments.
   
   
9. Tecnologico de Monterrey to conduct research within the Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing for the development of technologies to advance CO₂ utilization and an alternative decarbonization pathway for the cement industry in Mexico.
   
   
10. The University of Chile's Energy Center (CE) and Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2 to develop and implement regional GHG emissions data capture technology and protocols for monitoring mitigation. Research will also assess compliance with Chile's carbon-neutrality commitments.

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SOURCE Scotiabank