Kevin Smith

To achieve his ambitious goal of converting a waste product into a valuable resource that is also a climate solution, Kevin Smith has had many technical and business-related challenges. Smith 2024 startup, SilvaChar Environmental Inc., has been producing biochar, a beneficial soil additive that also sequesters carbon for centuries. Every year, approximately five million tons of forest slash is burned in B.C., releasing a massive amount of carbon into the atmosphere that represents nine percent of the province’s yearly greenhouse gas output.  Diverting this waste into pellets or hog fuel can reduce the amount of oil and gas used for heat or power, but the carbon still ends up in the atmosphere. Turning this waste into biochar instead will capture and store carbon, increase crop yields, reduce water and fertilizer use, as well as help solve problems, including excess phosphorus polluting waterways and causing algae blooms.