Jana McDonald | Top 40 Under 40 2024

She’s changing how emissions reduction happens and what it looks like to be a leader in the energy industry.

Photo by Jared Sych. Location: Centennial Place.

Age: 29

Occupation: Founder and CEO, Guardyan Conservation Corp.

As a young, female, 2SLGBTQIA+ leader working in the male-dominated energy sector, Jana McDonald is used to confronting challenges. “The more intimidation I experience, the more certainty I have that my company is a force to be reckoned with,” she says.

McDonald is the CEO and founder of Guardyan Conservation Corp., a full-spectrum emissions-reduction project developer. Guardyan works with businesses to identify and develop untapped revenue streams through reducing emissions. Early in her career, McDonald recognized that, for heavy emitters to make meaningful changes, there needed to be significant associated revenue — money talks, after all, and going green requires, well, some “green.” McDonald and her team of environmental strategists help companies reduce their emissions, get third-party verification of the reductions — resulting in carbon credits — and ultimately monetize those credits.

One carbon credit equates to one tonne of CO2 reduced from the atmosphere. Voluntary carbon credits, where companies do more than just offset their required carbon tax requirements, range dramatically in price, but typically sell for between $5 and $20. Through Guardyan’s Greenhouse Gas Avoidance Methodology, one Alberta-based heavy oil producer earned 271 million voluntary carbon credits in 2023, which could potentially be the largest emission-reduction project to ever hit the global market.

As a member of the organization Young Women in Energy, McDonald mentors up-and-coming female engineers and was honoured this year with a Young Women in Energy Award, recognizing women in Alberta’s energy sector in the areas of leadership, innovation and performance. She is also a co-founder of the WhyNot International Aid Foundation, a non-profit that, since 2022, has delivered more than $2.5 million in donations to recipients that include the Blood Tribe in Southern Alberta and refugees from Ukraine and Syria.

Despite these achievements, don’t expect to find McDonald resting on her laurels. “I’m nowhere near done what I came into this industry to do,” she says.

Thank yous
“My Everest team, Josh Fitch, Andie Daggett, Jamie Fisher, Fay and Felipe Gonzalez, Joanne Piche, Randal, Dan and Jay McDonald; my incubators, Mark Czechowsky, Taylor Bianchini and Shane Smith; and my Guardyans, without you, this would all still be just a dream.”

 

Top 40 Under 40 2024

Eluvier Acosta & Juan Castillo

Pierre Billon

Mackenzie Kamâmak Brown

Ian Cantelo

Marisa Clark

CONTRA

Mary Jansen Dunbar

Marcie Hawranik

Michelle Hoogveld

Kelle Hurd

Jennifer Jackson

Tracy Johnson

Nketti Johnston-Taylor

Eva Kiefer

Andrew Kim

Michael Kryshtalskyj

Dallin Laycock

Quan Ly

Allison Lynch

Nadia Maarouf

Joseph MacDonald

Meg Martin

Amy Matychuk

Lucas McCarthy

Jana McDonald

Robert Miller

Jamie Parker & Mike Wenzlawe

Nabeel Peermohamed

Chris Powell & Travis Powell

Alex Putici

Roman Rabinovich

Jason Ribeiro

Sarah Rieger

Andrew Sedor

Paul Shumlich

Apoorv Sinha

Anna Skrzypek

Lili Yas Tayefi

Josh Traptow

Tim Ward

Learn more about the people and organizations moving Calgary forward with Avenue's Innovation Newsletter.

This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Avenue Calgary.

Related posts

Daryl Betenia Looks Back on 42 Years at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum

Chris Landry

5 Things Calgary Musician Chantal Vitalis Loves

avenuecalgary

Calgary Then & Now: A Look Back With Al Duerr, the 34th Mayor of Calgary

Eula Mengullo

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Privacy Policy

Privacy & Cookies Policy
Avenue Calgary