City of Guelph Carbon Credit Innovation Challenge

As part of Our Food Future, Guelph-Wellington’s smart cities initiative to create a technology enabled circular food economy, the City of Guelph has launched an innovation challenge to create a new regional currency or loyalty program leveraging carbon credits on the voluntary market. We’re looking for an innovation partner – a start up, entrepreneur, not-for-profit or established business – with an idea for how a carbon credit backed digital currency or loyalty program could incentivize climate positive and circular actions by small businesses and/or individuals.

We are open to a range of potential proposal ideas and approaches, including:

• A digital application that partners with employers to encourage and verify carbon reducing behaviors in their workforce.
• A digital regional currency that leverages carbon credits to help SMEs build local supply chains and support circular food businesses/activities.
• A digital loyalty program that uses carbon credits to create consumer incentives for climate-positive behaviors and purchases.

To explore this concept further, the City of Guelph is offering a potential innovator up to $15,000 to support the development of a solution or pilot, potential access to up to 15,000 tonnes in quantified and verified carbon credits to seed the new enterprise, along with expertise, guidance and support from the city and other organizations  across the Our Food Future / COIL Urban Rural Testbed.

Applications will be accepted through Guelph’s Bids and Tenders Portal until January 12, 2022 (**note – all fees associated with applying via Bids and Tenders will be reimbursed for this challenge)

The City is hosting an info session on Wednesday, December 8 at 10:00 AM for anyone interested: REGISTER HERE

Please share this opportunity with your networks and any companies, students or entrepreneurs who you think may be interested.