Carbon Offset King

Ryan Djakovic is the CEO of EcoBalance Canada, a carbon offsetting company out of Calgary. They plant trees in local regions for clients who want to balance out their carbon emissions. Founded in September of 2009, it now has upwards of 5,000 residential clients on a yearly subscription model. EcoBalance currently has 28 employees and is looking to expand by year-end. Djakovic studied computer engineering for three years before he got the itch to strike out on his own.

Why did you choose to join the green economy?

It’s a huge industry and it’s only growing. I have a three-year-old daughter and it kind of makes you more conscious of protecting the environment and living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Why start your own company?

It’s tough. I didn’t really have any resources to turn to. We had to figure it out, see what worked and what didn’t and now we have 5,000 residential clients.

What kind of potential do you see for eco-entrepreneurs?

I think there is huge potential, especially for people out there with innovative ideas. We’re trying to set ourselves up. We’ve been trying to meet up with Jim Prentice but he’s been busy with Copenhagen. Our clients are working with us because they feel it’s important, but if down the road there was some kind of taxable benefit or policy that encouraged what we were doing, well, that’s win-win for our clients and us.

What is the biggest potential growth area for the green economy?

Finding ways to balance out our impact on the environment in a tactful way. There are a lot of companies out there saying that they’re being green but in reality what are they really achieving?

Politics is huge. If we have the right kind of policies, things could potentially get really big.

What were you doing five years ago and where do you see yourself in five years?

Five years ago I was getting out of college and learning how to run my first company. In five years I hope to be sitting on the boards of at least 10 companies I’ve started. My overall goal is to see these companies grow, perhaps even go public. Maybe even politics in the future. It’s something I’ve always thought of but haven’t quite figured out if I want to go into.

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