Environment

2024 Women of the Year Awards: Entrepreneurial leader – Runner-up Jill Doucette

Jill Doucette, founder and CEO of Synergy Enterprises, is a runner-up of the Entrepreneurial leader category of the 2024 Women of the Year Awards

By Nathan Caddell /

Runner-up

Jill Doucette
Founder and CEO, Synergy Enterprises

Jill Doucette graduated from the University of Victoria with a biology degree and a dream to start a company that would help businesses move toward a more sustainable, regenerative future. “I didn’t exactly begin with the business acumen you should have when you start a business,” she says with a laugh. “When I started Synergy [in 2008], I had $70,000 in student debt. The banks wouldn’t touch me.”

After bootstrapping for three years, Doucette began growing the team, working with organizations to measure their environmental impact, set GHG reduction targets and engage stakeholders, among other priorities. Today, Synergy has worked with thousands of clients, including the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (on a project that plugged cruise ships into clean power), the Calgary Airport (on decarbonization), Rocky Mountaineer and numerous clients in the nickel and copper mining sectors.

The company has around 30 employees and just moved into a new Victoria office it designed from scratch. “It’s been fun, lots of growth,” says Doucette. “It’s a fascinating change of tone with the banks, which I’m enjoying. ‘Hey, remember me from back then?’”