Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ: VFF) holds number 17 of the 50 fastest-growing Canadian companies whose business aligns with the transition to a global clean economy, according to research and clean economy-focused media group Corporate Knights.
In a release last week, the food and cannabis growing firm said that out of 6,115 companies –1,100 public and 4,015 private– it was selected as one of 15 publicly traded companies with the highest year-over-year percentage increase in “clean revenue”.
The ranking was done by Corporate Knights Inc. which is an independent media and research team that produces corporate rankings, reports and product ratings focused on a sustainable economy. The Future 50 is an inaugural list of the fastest-growing Canadian companies whose business activities align with the transition to a clean economy.
To find the Future 50, the company used two different but complementary criteria that included company revenues from clean energy themes and ranked according to their one-year revenue growth rates.
“For privately held companies, Corporate Knights tapped the S&P Capital IQ database, with data on recent fundraising rounds, and sorted them based on percentage growth of capital raised from the two most recent years of fundraising rounds,” reads the Corporate Flights website.
Village Farms subsidiary Pure Sunfarms is a cannabis producer that operates out of Delta, British Columbia and is one of Canada’s best-selling brands. The company also owns 70 per cent of Québec-based cannabis producer Rose LifeScience.
Village Farms uses hydroponic growing that needs less water compared to outdoor growing and some of its facilities collect and reuse rainwater throughout the year. It also has a 50-acre greenhouse that can produce as much pot as a 1,500-acre farm.
The company also recycles carbon dioxide that comes from the heat of boilers used to keep plants warm. It also uses bumble bees to keep its plants healthy and pollinated as well as wasps to help combat unwanted pests. At its Delta facility, the company uses methane gas from the City of Vancouver landfill as an energy source.
Other publicly traded companies included at the top of the ranking were Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc. (TSXV:NXH)(OTC:NWHSF), Modern Plant Based Foods Inc. (CNSX:MEAT), Li-Cycle, Burcon NutraScience (TSX: BU) (NASDAQ: BRCN), META Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT)(FSE:MMAT), among others.
Village Farms stock went up by 1.17 per cent on Monday to US$3.04 on the Nasdaq Exchange.
Read more: Canadian cannabis sales flat for Village Farms in Q4
Read more: Village Farms buys majority stake in Rose LifeScience for $46.7M
Village Farms CEO Michael DeGiglio said the company has put the environment and sustainable agriculture at the heart of everything they do since it was founded over 30 years ago and it is honoured to be included in the Future 50 list.
“We are firm believers that what’s good for the earth is good for our business, good for our employees, and good for our stakeholders,” he added.
We look forward to building on our proud history of leadership and innovation in sustainable agriculture as one of the largest producers of greenhouse-grown fresh produce in North America, and as a top producer of cannabidiol products internationally: cannabis in Canada and Australia, with plans to enter the Netherlands, and CBD and other cannabinoid products in the United States, as well as selected Asia-Pacific markets,” DeGiglio said.
Founder of Corporate Knights Toby Heaps said that all companies are now in the business of dealing with climate change.
“Our reason for devising this list is our belief in the success of these companies being pivotal to creating a more sustainable Canada, as well as acting as inspiration for other entrepreneurs,” said Heaps.
