Salish Environmental Group receives $2.5 million investment to expand B.C. composting operation

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners has invested $2,500,000 in Salish Environmental Group Inc, the parent company of Salish Soils, a composting and waste recycling company located on shíshálh Nation Territory in Sechelt, British Columbia, on the Sunshine Coast. Raven Indigenous Capital is an Indigenous-led impact investment fund operating in both Canada and the U.S.

"Salish Environmental group is successfully executing on a huge vision that will fundamentally change the way that Indigenous people and all communities view how economic reconciliation, contemporary land stewardship and land remediation can be done without extraction and while healing the land. We are very excited to support the next phase of Salish's growth and impact."

Salish Environmental Group operates a number of environmental services from its Salish Soils facility in Sechelt. Salish Soils operates in residuals management, from collection to processing, including fish waste, food scraps, and biosolids residuals and works currently within the territories of the shíshálh, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, and the Tla'amin Nation. Salish Soils uses a number of processes to turn what would be garbage into value-added products including compost, fuel for energy, and growing media for food production. Currently, 50 percent of the waste streams headed to the Sunshine Coast landfill are diverted to Salish's facility for recycling and composting.

Raven's investment will enable the enhancement and expansion of several Salish initiatives:

• Reconfiguration of Salish's retail and commercial depot
• Development of finished storage for all composts and soil to allow for greater consistency throughout the season
• Creation of a branded bagged product
• Increased safety and efficiency of the recycling and sales area at the Sechelt facility
• Sustained improvement in the social and environmental well-being of the people of the Sunshine Coast and the planet

"I am a proud shíshálh Nation member, and I believe my role as an Indigenous entrepreneur is to create real lasting social impact within our community and to build a pathway towards economic reconciliation," comments Aaron Joe, CEO, majority owner, and co-founder of Salish Environmental Group. Aaron Joe started the company with a vision of creating a secure closed-loop food system, which requires high-quality soil, a component that was missing on the Sunshine Coast. "We are very intentional about creating win/win partnerships that share our mission to bring positive social and economic outcomes. I aim to transform how we think about waste and I am grateful for Raven's support."