Congratulations to Ashley Smith, Managing Director of Fundamental Inc., on winning the 2021 econext Industry Champion Award!

econext celebrated the achievements of its members in balancing economy and environment today at its Industry Awards ceremony.

The econext Industry Champion Award recognizes the contribution of an individual (such as an environmental practitioner, business owner, decision-maker, etc.) to the growth of Newfoundland and Labrador’s environmental industry. Contributions can be considered from a practitioner, economic development, or regulatory perspective. Champions can be recognized for singular contributions or the culmination of their activities over a period of time. The award is judged according to the contribution (over and above commercial success), its associated positive environmental effects, and its lasting impact on the industry.

The winner of this year’s Industry Champion Award is Ashley Smith. Ashley is the Owner and Managing Director of Fundamental Inc, a company that she founded to pursue action on climate change in whichever capacities possible, with social wellbeing always at the core. For those who know Ashley, they know that she works tirelessly to pursue climate action in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ashley has played a significant role in shifting the dialogue across communities in the province when it comes to climate change action and its social and economic co-benefits. She has fostered working relationships with municipalities, businesses, researchers, and academics that through her leadership have come together on a number of climate action projects. Her impact has been substantive, focusing on a broad range of topics from renewable energy installations, to building retrofits, to asset management, to food security, waste management, and sustainable, affordable housing. Over the last 5 years, her efforts have resulted in significant local investments (including over $1 million in federal funding) in climate action planning, greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, and climate adaptation initiatives across over 25 municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador. She has worked with municipalities like Baie Verte, Bauline, Channel-Part Aux Basques, Paradise, Stephenville, and Torbay to quantify their greenhouse gas emissions and develop community-specific GHG reduction plans for each of them. While these are exemplary professional accomplishments for her and her team at Fundamental Inc, Ashley continues the fight against climate change in her free time. Currently she is volunteering her time and expertise to help to lead a community composting, greenhousing, and food security initiative in her hometown of Harbour Main. The projects Ashley has led in just a few short years have reduced energy consumption, saved greenhouse gas emissions, improved community resilience, and increased awareness and understanding of climate change across Newfoundland and Labrador. Ashley has shown that doing the right thing can not only create jobs, but meaningful, satisfying jobs – and has become an environmental industry champion in the process.

econext is an association of businesses that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.