Meryem Baskoun is the Director – Corporate Sustainability Communications and Reporting at Air Canada in charge of publishing the company’s corporate reports: CSR Report, TCFD Report, Annual Report, AIF, etc. She is also a member of the Transition Implementation Group on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (TIG) that informs the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) about potential implementation questions that could arise when companies implement IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. Before joining Air Canada, Meryem worked as a VP – Sustainability Advisory Services at ISS Corporate Solutions advising North American issuers on their ESG reporting, strategies and performances. She also worked for more than 10 years with Vigeo Eiris (known today as Moody’s ESG Solutions) in different positions in their ESG Research team rating companies worldwide on ESG as well as negative and positive screenings.
Alanna was recently appointed Sun Life’s first ever Senior Vice-President and Chief Sustainability Officer, reporting directly to the CEO and President. In 2019, Alanna directed the development of a new Purpose-led Sustainability Plan that starts from a foundation of being a trusted and responsible business. In her new role, Alanna will further advance Sun Life’s sustainability and climate change vision and strategy. Alanna joined Sun Life in 2016 as Vice-President of Government, Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability, where she led government relations, regulatory initiatives, and sustainability teams.
Over her career, Alanna has held senior roles in private and public sectors, including working with Federal and Provincial Governments and over 10 years in the private sector working on sustainability. Prior to joining Sun Life, Alanna held the position of Partner and Vice-President, Corporate Affairs at Barrick Gold Corporation, where she led the company’s government relations and geo-political risk management functions across its global operations. Alanna was one of four women selected in Barrick’s innovative inaugural Partner group.
Alanna was born and raised in Victoria, BC. She holds a B.A. Hon. in Political Science, Economics and Spanish from the University of Victoria, and a Master of Arts, International Political Economy, from the University of Warwick. When Alanna is not on Zoom calls, she enjoys spending time with her toddler, reading a good book, hiking, or enjoying the outdoors.
As Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Learning, Himani leads the vision and execution of National Institute of Supply Chain Leaders (NISCL’s) learning and development strategy, with a strong emphasis on cultivating strategic partnerships that drive innovation, growth, and long-term value. In this role, she is responsible for aligning external collaborations with the organization’s strategic priorities.
Having worked at NISCL for the last six years, she has led the delivery of events and initiatives for senior executives, professionals, and government officials. Her work in the business space has been marked by a commitment to excellence, innovation, and ability to scale high-quality programming to meet the demands of the evolving markets and serving the supply chain community.
A seasoned executive with a strong foundation in strategic thinking, B2B marketing, and organizational growth, Himani brings a results-oriented approach to leadership. She has a well-established track record of growing businesses through brand development, strategic sales initiatives, and bottom-line profitability. Her collaborative style and commitment to empowering her teams have earned her a reputation as a trusted and inspiring leader.
Ted has over 25 years of experience working with leading-edge companies, governments and strategic initiatives to create value from combining business strategy and sustainability. Half of his experience has been with Delphi, helping business succeed through sustainability across most sectors of the economy, including: energy, food and beverage, retail, finance, telecom, manufacturing and transportation. He has delivered dozens of strategies for clients, and continues to work with many of them on ensuring successful implementation. He led Delphi as president from 2016 to the beginning of 2021.
Prior to joining Delphi, Ted worked for BC Hydro, where he was responsible for corporate sustainability strategy, policy engagement on carbon regulations, and climate change risk management. He also helped develop the first set of rules and guidelines for the international emission markets while working at Foreign Affairs Canada. Ted began his career at the David Suzuki Foundation.
Ted has a Masters Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia and an Honours undergraduate degree from Trent University.
Melissa Harris is a sustainability and climate policy expert with over 15 years of experience in environmental strategy, public policy, and organizational leadership. As Vice President of Operations and Culture at Profoundry, she leads the integration and optimization of operational functions across the collective, ensuring alignment with our mission to build a sustainable, prosperous, and socially just future in a generation. Previously, Melissa served as Senior Director at Delphi, where she leveraged her expertise to support organizations in navigating the complex landscape of sustainability and climate policy. This included providing policy advisory and analytical support across numerous sectors. She has a wealth of expertise in climate policy, carbon markets, policy evaluation, and GHG regulatory development across North America and internationally. Prior to joining Delphi, Melissa was a Senior Policy Advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). She has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations since 2009, supporting government, civil society, and industry participation. She also worked as the Research and Project Manager at the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management at the Richard Ivey School of Business. Melissa holds a master’s degree and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Outside of Profoundry, Melissa enjoys subjecting her friends and family to new recipes, and getting lost exploring new places.
Marie Jurcevic is the Sustainability Lead at ARC Resources where she oversees ARC Resources’ ESG disclosure efforts and supports the development and integration of sustainability strategy within the organization. She is also the co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, a network initiated by diverse sustainability professionals aimed at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of sustainability. Marie has been a corporate sustainability practitioner for about 15 years. She has held sustainability roles at Enbridge and CBSR. Prior to working in the energy industry, Marie worked in the non-profit sector. She specialized in youth engagement and supported youth in various capacities, most notably she was involved in a youth-led anti-racism initiative called Youth Reach Out Against Racism.
Marie has a BA in Sociology from the University of Calgary and an MSc in Responsibility & Business Practice from the Faculty of Management at the University of Bath.
Annie is a purpose-driven entrepreneur dedicated to enriching relationships between Indigenous and corporate communities.
Annie brings to the Board valuable relationships and experience gained through her work advancing Indigenous inclusion with a focus on economic development. She also serves as a volunteer on the Board of Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, serves as a Director on the Board with Shared Value Solutions, and her company, Rise, has been an active member of CBSR’s new small and medium enterprise (SME) cohort program.
Inspired by reconciliation in Canada and her own Metis ancestry, Annie founded Rise to respond to reconciliation and advance Indigenous inclusion with a focus on economic development.
Annie champions a values-based approach to strategic inclusion. She creates undisputed space for her clients to realize their vision and establish inclusive relationships, ultimately supporting clients in reconciliation. Annie holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Calgary and her background in economic development, marketing and communications provides her with a solid foundation for translating multifaceted socio-economic challenges and opportunities, while leveraging the strengths and skills of those around her.
Annie lives in Treaty 7 Territory, Region 3 of the Metis Nation of Alberta, in Calgary, with her husband and their two young children where they spend as much time as possible, skiing, biking, and hiking in the mountains nearby.
As BASF Canada’s Head of Sustainability and Government Relations, Eva Musso is responsible for designing and executing BASF’s sustainability strategy to help us achieve our ambitious targets, as well as for creating and implementing BASF Canada’s long-term government relations strategy for legislative and regulatory topics and advocate for BASF’s business interest at the municipal, provincial, and federal level. Moreover, she serves as BASF Canada’s representative at multi-stakeholder sustainability and advocacy oriented technical groups, committees, and consortiums and drive key business partnerships with key partners, associations, customers, and other public and private stakeholders.
Eva leads Indigenous Relations at BASF. Under her leadership BASF has achieved certification at the committed level of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) program. Eva has driven progress in BASF’s commitment to Indigenous relations in areas including employee engagement and cultural awareness training, leadership commitment and action, site-level outreach and engagement, and community outreach, as well as enhancement to programs such as recruitment and retention (HR) and expanding our Indigenous procurement and supplier network.
Prior to joining BASF, Eva has worked for Ontario Public Service (OPS), where she served in various ministries, including Environment, Transportation and most recently Economic Development, working on policies and programs related to environment and climate change, low carbon economy and entrepreneurship. Eva developed and led an award-winning sustainability program at the OPS, and she has worked closely with businesses both inside and outside of her government roles to help them with their sustainability plans.
Eva has served on various boards, including the Women’s Healthy Environments Network and Fashion Takes Action, and has been an active volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society and other charities. Eva holds a MA in Geography with a specialization in Environmental Health from University of Toronto and a bachelor’s in environmental studies from York University.
Geoff has more than a decade of experience as a Head of Sustainability for a large Canadian publicly-traded company, a Board member for several NGO’s and as an educator, mentor and consultant on many ESG topics. An expert in corporate sustainability governance, reporting, sustainable finance, renewable energy purchase agreements and leading highly-engaged teams. Geoff has also been the President of a successful and growing small business in the forestry sector.
A Clean 16 honouree for leadership in sustainable development and clean capitalism in Canada, Geoff has also earned his GCB.D from Competent Boards and a Graduate Certificate in Governance Essentials from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Geoff is regularly sought out as a subject matter expert and speaker at sustainability conferences across the country on many ESG topics and issues, including social purpose, governance and disclosure, renewable energy and the SDGs.
Having worked for both commercial and corporate real estate organizations, and as a sole proprietor of his own green tech consulting firm, Wayne’s deep experience in real estate and environmental/climate change management, provided him a unique opportunities to engage and collaborate across a broad spectrum of stakeholders. His close working relationships with investors, NGOs, tech innovators, utility companies, and all levels of government, position him well to support the CBSR’s national education, sustainability, and financial objectives.
Married, a father and a ‘young’ grandfather, Wayne enjoys spending time with his family at his ‘happy place’ in the Kawarthas. Originally from a small farm town in PEI, and a family line of deep-sea fishermen, his ties to the environment and biodiversity run deep. Wayne is also an insatiable reader and avid creative writer.
Eric Saarvala is the Executive Director of the Raymond James Canada Foundation and Head, Corporate Sustainability. His 20+ years of consulting and management experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors focuses on social impact through sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), strategic philanthropy
and social purpose. Organizations have relied on him for successful strategies, sales, programs and operations, environmental, social & governance (ESG) initiatives, partnerships, stakeholder engagement, business sustainability and digital transformations to power their social impact goals. Eric has also helped organizations advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Eric holds an Executive MBA from the Ivey Business School, Western University, a Graduate Diploma in Social Responsibility & Sustainability from the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto (G. Dipl. SR&S) and is a Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSR-P).
Eric also looks to create social impact through his volunteerism. In addition to his role with the CBSR Education Foundation, Eric sits on the Advisory Council of the Graduate Diploma in Social Responsibility & Sustainability and Chair of the Alumni Engagement Committee. He is on the Board of Directors of the Central Eglinton Community Centre and Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Eric is also a Member of the Risk Management, Finance & Audit Committee of Imagine Canada’s Board of Directors and volunteers as a coach, mentor and speaker in purpose and sustainability for the Executive MBA (EMBA) and Honours Business Administration (HBA) programs at the Ivey Business School.
Sydney is Cree Métis and Ukrainian from Treaty 6 territory, St. Albert, AB and is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. She currently resides on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, also known as Vancouver, BC.
Sydney has worked in the construction industry for a decade, ranging from onsite positions to most recently Sustainability Manager. Sydney completed her Bachelor’s in Construction Management at British Columbia Institute of Technology, and is currently completing her MBA in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Victoria.
Sydney has led corporate sustainability strategy, reporting, materiality assessments, and greenhouse gas accounting in her roles with a key focus on building relationships across organizations and industries.
The values that lead Sydney and her work are building connections, sharing knowledge, and having fun. Her curiosity lies at the intersection of sustainability, Indigenous knowledge and ways of being, and economies. She is curious if there is a better way forward for business through these lenses.