Aseem Pandey and Shahrukh Shamim | Top 40 Under 40 2025

Age: 35 (Pandey); 32 (Shamim)

Occupation: CTO & Co-Founder (Pandey); CEO & Co-Founder (Shamim), EnviCore Inc.

Few people think about the environmental impact of cement as much as Aseem Pandey and Shahrukh Shamim do. “It’s something you use daily without realizing its carbon footprint,” says Pandey. “It doesn’t look like oil and gas — where you can see the smoke coming out when you burn it in your car — so it’s not talked about.”

But every tonne of Portland cement (the most common kind used globally) creates 0.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and cement manufacturing makes up more than seven per cent of CO₂ emissions worldwide.

If the cement industry were a country, it would be the world’s third- or fourth-largest emitter of CO₂.

Back in 2019, Pandey and Shamim were at the University of Calgary working in nanotechnology: Pandey focused on energy systems and Shamim on tailings (waste byproducts from the mining industry). After graduating from the university’s GreenSTEM fellowship program, they launched Envicore Inc., a cleantech company that reduces emissions in both the mining and construction industries — killing two birds with one low-carbon stone.

Envicore transforms landfill-destined materials like mine tailings and demolition waste ashes into a viable cement material that produces only 0.08 to 0.09 tonnes of CO₂ for every Envicore tonne. Called a “supplementary cementitious material,” it can replace up to 35 per cent of traditional Portland cement.

“We’re bringing down the emission footprint considerably,” Shamim explains. International industry titans have taken notice — Envicore has completed successful pilot trials in Thailand and is currently running one with Heidelberg Materials in Belgium — but it’s focus remains close to home (including a 600-tonne-per-day Envicore demonstration plant is underway in British Columbia).

“It’s incredibly important for us to put Calgary, and Alberta in general, on the cleantech map,” says Shamim.

The co-founders acknowledge that Calgary’s oil, gas and construction industries are known for being active polluters, and say now is the time for the province to cement itself as an active contributor to sustainable solutions, too.

Thank yous
Aseem Pandey: “My parents; my wife Surbhi, for believing in me; the entire EnviCore team for believing in this vision and making it real.”

Shahrukh Shamim: “I would like to thank everyone who believed in my vision from the start: my parents, loved ones, team, mentors, and partners, for standing by me as we work to turn bold ideas into real impact.”