Oct. 27, 2026

A family-owned food manufacturer driven to inspire a healthier and more compassionate world, where access to good food is a reality for all, is now in a better position to track key sustainability data, thanks to a successful collaboration with Seneca Polytechnic.

Riverside Natural Foods – the Canadian company behind the MADEGOOD snack brand and a leader in corporate sustainability – approached Seneca Applied Research seeking a more credible process for collecting and reporting information regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other important environmental metrics. This sort of data tracking is now mandatory for many companies in Europe. While that's not yet the case in North America, Riverside wanted to ensure that it remains transparent about its environmental commitments and footprint.

"Riverside wanted to get ahead of the curve and set an example for how to do GHG reporting more easily," said Dr. Andrew Paton, Research Manager, Seneca Polytechnic.

Previously, compiling this data was a difficult and time-consuming process. Riverside employees had to extract information from various internal and external systems and, in some cases, contact suppliers with questions about their GHG emissions.

A team led by principal investigators Thomas Perdue and Sophia Yi, professors in Seneca's School of Global Business, worked closely with Riverside to understand their data collection and reporting methods. They then used the SAP software platform to create a more effective solution.

"We mapped out all of the information that they needed to collect and created an auditable process for collecting and compiling all of that information," said Dr. Paton. "What was previously hundreds of hours of manual work every year can now be done automatically and much more quickly, anytime they want."

This project deepened existing relationships between Riverside and Seneca. Previously, Riverside had worked with Mr. Perdue on other projects. Key Riverside executives also knew of Dr. Paton through mutual involvement with the York Region Circular Economy Working Group.

"Working with Seneca has been a truly exceptional experience," said Shenali Madhanaroopan, Environmental Programs Manager, Riverside Natural Foods. "The Seneca team approached their difficult assignment with an attention to detail and commitment to understanding the nuances of our business that have helped us build internal capacity, streamline our processes and drive meaningful change for our organization."

Seneca’s research team also included recent graduates George Francis and Divineshia Sharon. They were involved in all aspects of the project, from determining how best to integrate SAP with Riverside’s existing systems to customizing the solution so that it best fit Riverside’s needs

Ms. Sharon describes being part of the project as a “wonderful experience” that helped her launch her career by working on a real-world business problem using the skills she’d learned in Seneca’s Supply Chain Management – Global Logistics (SCM) graduate certificate program.

“Most of what I was doing is connected to what I learned in class – even the SAP environment is quite similar to what I learned – so I got a chance to see what I learned in action,” she said.

Ms. Sharon’s work impressed Riverside so much that the company has since hired her as an SAP S/4HANA Master Data Analyst.

The project has also attracted international attention – Ms. Yi shared the research findings at industry conferences in Canada and the United States this summer. In addition, the project will be taught as a case study in the SCM program.

Funding for this project was provided by the national innovation connector Mitacs, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Riverside Natural Foods.