As president and general manager of Envirem Organics Inc., Robert Kiely has led his group to become Canada’s largest private compost and organic residuals management company. He has grown his business in 10 years to approximately $30 million in revenue, more than 150 employees and has established a U.S. company and operation to facilitate Envirem’s export growth.

For this episode of Take 5 with the Top 50, Greg MacDonald, senior manager tax services with Top 50 CEO presenting sponsor Grant Thornton—digs deeper to find out what makes this award-winning leader tick.

The conversation kicks off by exploring how and why Kiely, a professional engineer, transitioned from road building to the environmental sector (hint: it relates to the substrate the two sectors have in common).

MacDonald then asks for the business case for going green. A lot of people think being environmentally conscious is the right thing to do, but that it’s more of an expense than an investment. Using Envirem as an example, Kiely talks about green’s impressive ROI.

Other topics covered in this insightful discussion include Kiely’s management style (coach, GM or umpire?), the surprising intersection of innovation and organic waste, plus Kiely’s long-term plans for Envirem – and how he plans to get there.

For each episode of Atlantic Business Magazine’s Take 5 with the Top 50 CEOs video series, we ask five questions of a Top 50 CEO award winner.

Nominations for the 2022 Top 50 CEO awards are now open. Click HERE to nominate.