Completely unbeknownst to me, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund has been quietly operating as a slush fund for grants, pilot projects, and other initiatives relating to sustainability in the city for the past 15 years. Apparently we have TAF to thank for LED streetlights, downtown’s deepwater air conditioning system, hybrid taxis, and dozens of other projects relating to renewables and energy conservation.

I found out last week from my boss that today was their annual general meeting, so I made the trek down to Hart House to see what it was about. There were brief speeches by David Miller, Hugh MacLeod (Ontario’s newly appointed climate change czar), and a few of the members of TAF, but primarily the event was an opportunity to schmooze.

I am atrocious at schmoozing, but there was delicious beer available, and I did end up talking to a few interesting people. I was mostly struck by the huge diversity of people who had ideas of tackling climate change in ways that were of particular interest to them.

A woman from the Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Centre told me about the ways that they were integrating concepts of sustainability into language training courses (e.g. when doing a sorting exercise, to use garbage and recyclables instead of other arbitrary objects as a way of attaching the ideas early).

There were plenty of people who had their hands in various green technologies for new buildings, energy programs, and conservation retrofits, and still others concerned with sustainability education.

One idea that I thought was quite promising (that I’d actually heard elsewhere, and was planning on posting months ago) was from a company called SkyMeter that provides systems to facilitate pay-as-you-go parking and insurance. Big Brother aside, the idea is so brilliant because it forces drivers to really think about their automobile usage, since conservation actually allows them to save money on one of the most expensive aspects of a car’s operating costs (in addition to gas, of course). Sustainability and economy, hand-in-hand, as it should be.

Which is where the other big revelation struck me, as I looked around. The room was full of suits, ties, and white, middle-aged men - stereotypical business types in the extreme - and yet everyone was having impassioned discussions about sustainability. And they were networking like no tomorrow, a frenzy of hands shuffling business cards to and fro.

Green has officially hit the big times, and it’s not just marketing any more. These people are going to be making lots of money by doing the right thing. Who’d a thunk it?