With every challenge comes opportunity, and climate change is no different, Windmill Development Group founder and CEO Jonathan Westeinde said during a resoundingly positive keynote speech he delivered Wednesday night to business students with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa.
The 33rd Toast to Success dinner, organized by the student-led Entrepreneurs’ Club, was held in the National Gallery of Canada’s Scotiabank Great Hall. There to introduce the speaker was Telfer’s dean, Stéphane Brutus, who described Westeinde as “a beacon of innovation and leadership in the realm of sustainability”.
In Ottawa, most business people have at least heard of the Westeindes. Jonathan’s role-model parents, John and Shirley, spent decades building deep connections in the community through their eponymous construction company. His older siblings, Jeff and Julie, have also “excelled at everything they put their minds to … and were great influences on me,” Westeinde said before leading the room in the first toast of the night: to all the early mentors in life and shapers of minds.
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Westeinde demonstrated honesty and humility while sharing his career path, which eventually tapped into his enthusiasm for sustainability, and led to him becoming a trailblazer in the development industry through his building of low-impact communities.
If you’re only now realizing Windmill is not actually a wind venture, don’t feel embarrassed; many have made the same mistake. The 20-year-old visionary real estate company is focused on creating happy, healthy communities within the finite resources of our planet. Its ideals of ‘people, planet and profit’ place value on social environment and environmental responsibility, as well as the bottom line, of course.
The audience was briefed on Windmill’s first project, Dockside Green, in Victoria, B.C. It was a ground-breaking, mixed-use development project involving an environmentally sensitive area. It was awarded the highest level — a Platinum LEED rating — by the Canada Green Building Council. This was the first community in North America to be LEED Platinum certified.
Windmill, which has gone on to build LEED Platinum mixed-use projects across the country, is best known in Ottawa for Zibi. The waterfront community is located on Domtar’s former pulp and paper mill site, spanning across the Ottawa River to include both Ottawa and Gatineau.
Zibi faced numerous challenges long before the first shovel ever hit the ground. We’re talking contaminated land, cross-border provincial politics, Indigenous interests and NCC’s reputation for being difficult to deal with. Yet, Windmill’s strong team and track record paid off, because it was able to purchase the land and launch the development, achieving all the entitlements and approvals required to develop the site in alignment with the One Planet Living sustainability framework. It also brought in a larger partner, Dream Unlimited.
“I’m happy to say today, while that project still has many phases to go, it has a zero-carbon energy system in place, has unlocked some of the most beautiful waterfront in the country from what was a gated-off industrial site, and the company that came in as our partner now promotes itself as one of the most sustainable companies in the world, using this as their showcase,” said Westeinde.
“For me, in many ways, that’s more gratifying than the results we get on the real estate outcomes, by seeing that impact we can have in the industry with other larger partners.”
Westeinde, who’s married with three daughters, closed his speech with some truly inspiring messages. He encouraged the students to embrace boldness and purpose, to never settle for mediocrity, and to collaborate with others, especially diverse minds.
“When you’re passionate about your mission, you’ll find creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems,” he continued, calling for collective action in dealing with the climate crisis.
“Embrace disruption. The status quo won’t save us — I think we know that. Challenge norms, innovate fearlessly; the next breakthrough could be yours.
“And, most importantly, because it’s hard these days, lead with optimism. Yes, the climate crisis is daunting, but it’s also an opportunity. Every challenge is a chance to create positive change. Be the optimist who can turn adversity into progress.
“As you embark on your business and entrepreneurial journey, remember that you’re not just building business, you’re shaping the world. Prioritize people, protect the planet, and let profit be a force for good. Together, we can solve the climate crisis and leave a legacy worth celebrating.
“The future is yours; make it sustainable. Make it innovative and make it ridiculously awesome.”
The evening included an engaging conversation between Westeinde and his friend Nick Quain, who’s vice president of venture development at Invest Ottawa, a serial entrepreneur and a Telfer alumnus.
Quain got to the bottom of the Windmill name. It was inspired by Westeinde’s Dutch-born father, who was at the dinner that night, along with Westeinde’s sister Julie and wife Susan Finlay. Some 20 years ago, his dad became known around town as Mr. Windmill after he tried to bring a working windmill to Dow’s Lake, to serve as a tourist attraction and to commemorate the special bond between two countries after Canada helped to liberate the German-occupied Netherlands during the Second World War.
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