Meet the Next Generation of Enviro-Stewards Leadership!

Mats and Spencer are not newcomers stepping into unfamiliar roles. They are leaders shaped by years of hands-on experience within Enviro-Stewards. They have both lived the company’s mission, worked directly with clients, mentored colleagues, and contributed to the collaborative leadership model that has been in place since 2017.

Mats

Mats joined the Enviro-Stewards team in December 2020. He is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) and Certified Energy Manager (CEM), and leads our team of engineers, consultants, and software developers at Enviro-Stewards. Mats oversees the development of Stewwi (System to Track Energy, Water, and Waste Improvements), Enviro-Stewards’ EMIS platform for automated utility savings, GHG reporting, and project tracking. He also teaches the Enviro-Stewards’ approach through the EMC Green Skills in Manufacturing program micro-credential course, to speed up adoption throughout industry. His work delivers measurable impact, uncovering major energy and water savings that cut emissions by thousands of tonnes annually, while reducing operating costs. Outside of work, Mats was the campaign manager for former MP Mike Morrice, the first Green MP elected in Ontario. He is an avid speed skater, cyclist, and co-founded the Waterloo Region Climate Collaborative which connects 50 environment-related groups that support each other in collective climate action.

Mats believes in leading through service and care for team members, our clients, and our partners. There are big challenges that we are working at solving, and we do that better when people are empowered with the right tools. While reflecting on projects that stand out to him, Mats points to his work with Gay Lea, one of Enviro-Stewards’ first major Stewwi clients. From early Process Integration assessments through Fractional Engineering support, the work eventually evolved into an award-winning project which was recently recognized at the Clean 50 Awards. Mats hopes to inspire more clients and partners to use business as a force for good, like Enviro-Stewards does as a Certified B Corp.

Spencer

Spencer has been with Enviro-Stewards since September 2014. He joined the team as an intern after studying mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo. He was attracted by Enviro-Stewards’ approach to reduce industrial resource waste at source through a root cause-based approach. Spencer was also drawn in by Enviro-Stewards’ approach to capacity building through its international development work in South Sudan. Over the past decade, he has worked with some of Canada’s biggest food processors, helping unlock major efficiency improvements to reduce operating costs and environmental impact. A number of his projects have been recognized with national awards through Clean 50.

Much like Mats, Spencer’s leadership style reflects the same honesty and trust, including a willingness to have the tough or uncomfortable conversations that are sometimes necessary to create real change for our clients. Spencer has also been involved in many projects, including decarbonization planning at Unilever, helping Maple Leaf Foods become carbon neutral, and has a long-standing relationship with Maple Lodge Farms, which began nearly eight years ago. From assessing five of their plants, followed by a successful implementation, Maple Lodge’s sustainability goals have now evolved towards recent discussions around setting company-wide decarbonization goals.