Truzaar Dordi In 2020’s Class Of ‘Top 30-Under-30 Sustainability Leaders’ In Canada

29-year-old Canadian, Truzaar Dordi, an experienced researcher and doctoral candidate in Sustainability Management at the University of Waterloo – was named as one among the prestigious ‘Top 30-Under-30 Sustainability Leaders of 2020’, by the prominent organisation, Corporate Knights, which recognizes young change-makers and sustainability leaders in Canada for their pathbreaking work and steadfast commitment to their field of work.

Working in the fields of climate finance, energy policy, and risk management, Truzaar Dordi’s research examines financial system stability along a low-carbon transition, which is necessary for safeguarding societal welfare against the high costs of inaction. Truzaar holds a Masters in Sustainability Management from the University of Waterloo and has worked on sustainable capacity building for small and medium enterprise in the Waterloo region, infrastructure projects like Canadian pipelines, policy recommendations for a national climate finance strategy, and on flood risk governance. He has presided over the Executive Committees of Sustainable Youth Canada, Sierra Youth, Fossil Free UW, and the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics and now provides strategic advice on partnerships and the sustainable development goals to several regional initiatives. 

Corporate Knights is a media, research and financial information products company based in Toronto, Canada, focused on promoting an economic system where prices fully incorporate social, economic and ecological costs and benefits, and market participants are clearly aware of the consequences of their actions. For the selection of the ‘Top 30-Under-30 Sustainability Leaders of 2020’, an internal team brought the submissions down to a shortlist of 50, then a panel of judges each submitted their top 30 picks and the votes were tallied. This list was further narrowed to finalize the top 30 sustainability champs, who serve as an inspiring group of indigenous leaders, social entrepreneurs, non-profit founders, cleantech champions and more.

“As we approach what will be the largest transfer of wealth in human history, youth will play a pivotal role in how that money is invested,” said Truzaar. His research on stranded assets in particular seeks to reconcile Canada’s commitment to the Paris Agreement with its role as a major exporter of oil from the emissions-intensive oil sands. Truzaar also co-founded a regional chapter of Sustainable Youth Canada and led a team to host two ‘What can YOUth Do?’ sustainability conferences, connecting more than 300 community members and 30 local organizations on environmental sustainability.

Currently serving as the Vice President, Communications, for Canadian Society for Ecological Economics, Truzaar is a two-time recipient of the 2018-2020 Energy Council of Canada Energy Policy Research Fellowship and three-time recipient of the 2018-2021 Ontario Graduate Scholarship, awarded for his work on financial stability.