Greenfield Global Documentary Premiers at COP30: How We’re Built Differently to Deliver Lower-Carbon Solutions at Scale

Greenfield Global was honored to be chosen to be featured in the Bioenergy Horizons documentary series, which premiered at the UN-sponsored COP30 conference in Belém, Brazil. Produced by the World Bioenergy Association and Black Rook Media, the series spotlights bioenergy leaders and how they are innovating lower-carbon solutions at scale.

Greenfield Global’s episode highlights our farm-to-biorefinery model, showing how the company’s quality systems and community partnerships power lower-carbon ethanol and renewable energy across North America.

What Makes Greenfield Global Different: Integrated Circular Energy Systems

Unlike conventional ethanol producers, Greenfield Global operates a circular energy model that connects agriculture, municipal waste management systems, and biorefinery operations. The documentary showcases this approach through two key facilities.

In Quebec, Greenfield Global owns part of and operates SEMECS, one of North America’s largest anerobic digestion facilities. Each year, the facility converts 120,000 metric tons of municipal organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG). Some of this RNG is used to offset energy demand at Greenfield Global’s adjacent biorefinery. Community waste streams are transformed into renewable energy that helps power ethanol production, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

At Greenfield Global’s Johnstown, Ontario biorefinery—one of four ethanol facilities in our North American network—1,600–1,800 metric tons of locally sourced corn is converted each day into low-carbon fuel ethanol and valuable co-products, including high-protein animal feed, corn oil for renewable diesel production, and CO₂ for industrial use.

This integrated approach demonstrates Greenfield Global’s innovative thinking that extends beyond traditional ethanol production into building durable systems that cut waste and lower emissions over the long term.

Farm-to-Refinery Partnerships that Anchor Rural Communities

The film also showcases the type of long-term agricultural relationships that anchor Greenfield Global’s business model. Featured in the documentary is a fourth-generation farm owner and operator whose family’s 125-year connection to the land now supports Canada’s lower-carbon future. Collaborations like this provide stable markets for growers while ensuring our biorefineries receive high-quality, renewable feedstock.

Most of the corn processed through Johnstown is grown within 100 km of the facility. Every part of each kernel is used to create value for local agriculture, industrial, and fuel markets. Water used in the process is treated and returned to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Transparent Sustainability, Measurable Progress

While the documentary highlights elements of our approach, our full environmental performance is documented in annual Sustainability report.
Although Greenfield Global is privately held and not subject to mandatory sustainability reporting requirements, the company voluntarily publishes ESG reports that track key data and initiatives with the same level of transparency you would expect from a public company.
Transparency is not a compliance exercise; it is a core principle of how we operate, and it helps build trust with customers, communities, and partners who rely on dependable, lower-carbon supply chains.

• Watch the full documentary
• Read our ESG Report
• Read more about the documentary series

Andrea Kent, VP Government & Industry Relations, emphasizes the urgency of action in the film:

“The reality is that some of the most important greenhouse gas reductions that we can make are the reductions we can make today.”

That principle—delivering meaningful climate impact today while building infrastructure for tomorrow—shapes how Greenfield Global invests and operates.