An environmental company launched by two recent Waterloo Engineering graduates has been awarded $500,000 in federal funding to help move Canada towards a zero plastic waste future.
A Friendlier Company, co-founded by Kayli Dale and Jacqueline Hutchings (both BASc ’20, chemical engineering) in 2019, is a sustainable food packaging provider that reduces plastic waste through reusable product design.
Since its launch, Friendlier has reused over 400,000 food containers, diverting 23 tons of waste and reducing carbon emissions by over 67 tons.
The company plans to use the funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario to increase production and add 10 new jobs.
"We believe Canada should be at the forefront of the transition away from single-use packaging and this funding will help us continue to lead the movement towards a circular economy in packaging,” Dale, CEO and co-founder at Friendlier, said in a news release.
Dale and Hutchings were awarded the Faculty of Engineering 2022 Team Alumni Achievement Medal in recognition of their company’s significant environmental, economic and social impact achieved in such a short space of time.
News update (May 2023): Friendlier raises $2.3M to grow its business across Canada.