Today, Divert Inc. – a top impact technology firm committed to safeguarding the value of food – declared an infrastructure development agreement worth $1 billion with Enbridge Inc. This deal cements Divert’s position as a pioneer in addressing the problem of food waste while fulfilling its goal of reducing the carbon footprint of the food industry and combating climate change.

Furthermore, Divert secured $80 million in growth equity from Enbridge and $20 million from its existing investor, Ara Partners.

This agreement will provide much-needed support for the development of renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities that will convert wasted food into clean energy across North America. Divert will leverage the funding to accelerate the expansion of its anaerobic digestion facilities. Through sustainable practices, the facilities will convert wasted food into clean renewable energy, resulting in a potential offset of nearly 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Divert has ambitious plans to scale its facilities to cover every major geographic region in the U.S. within the next eight years, ensuring that 80% of the population lives within 100 miles of its facilities. The company is also exploring opportunities to establish new RNG facilities in Canada.

“Enbridge’s agreement with Divert represents a historic commitment from the company in advancing technologies and solutions that achieve a cleaner energy future,” said Caitlin Tessin, Vice President Strategy & Market Innovation, Enbridge. “Divert has emerged as a leader in creatively managing wasted food and our partnership aligns with Enbridge’s priorities in pioneering RNG as an effective solution to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.”

Food Waste in the United States

In the United States, an estimated 30-40 percent of the food supply goes to waste. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, this figure is based on an estimate of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, which equates to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010. This wastage of food represents the largest category of material disposed of in municipal landfills and translates to lost nourishment that could have been used to feed families in need.

About Divert

• 5.4K retail locations across all 50 states
• 11M pounds of food donated since 2018
• 900M pounds of carbon removed annually by diverting food from landfills and converting waste to renewable energy

Divert is an impact technology company on a mission to Protect the Value of Food™. Founded in 2007, the company creates advanced technologies and sustainable infrastructure to eliminate wasted food, driving social and environmental impact. Divert provides an end-to-end solution that prevents waste by maximizing the freshness of food, recovers edible food to serve communities in need, and converts wasted food into renewable energy. The company works with five Fortune 100 companies and nearly 5,400 retail stores across the U.S., helping food retailers to reach their sustainability goals.

“The infrastructure development agreement with Enbridge marks a major turning point in the battle against the wasted food crisis,” said Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder, Divert. “For 16 years, Divert has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent wasted food nationwide and this new funding will serve as a catalyst to address this pervasive problem at scale. As one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies, Enbridge will play a critical role in the continued development of our transformative technologies and infrastructure.”