Vancouver's clean technology sector receives a boost

Three clean technology organizations receive more than $3 million in funding from the Government of Canada

VANCOUVER, March 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Three local companies will benefit from strategic investments to help grow the Canadian clean tech industry, protect the environment and create jobs in British Columbia.

Through Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), the Government of Canada will invest over $3 million in funding in the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, Light House Sustainable Building Centre and Geoscience BC as they develop projects and technologies that advances sustainable environmental objectives.

Jonathan Wilkinson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the funding on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for WD, at the Globe Forum 2018 during his address at Foresight's ARCTIC Innovation Challenge Showcase.

These investments, like all those made through the Western Diversification Program, are designed to enhance and strengthen the economy in Western Canada while improving the lives of Canadians.

Quick Facts

• Canada's clean technology industry directly employs over 55,000 people in over 800 firms.
• A record-breaking 13 Canadian companies made the Global Cleantech 100 List for 2018 and three made the list of "Ones to Watch"
• In 2015, revenue from the clean technology industry amounted to an estimated $13.27 billion.
• GLOBE Forum brings together business, all levels of government, non-governmental organizations (NGO), international agencies, technology innovators and the finance community to manage risks and capitalize on opportunities in the clean economy.

Quotes

"Taking action on climate change and promoting clean growth is a top priority for Canada. In 2017, Canada jumped from seventh to fourth among global clean technology innovators, which speaks to the extraordinary leadership of Canadian companies in this sector. The Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, Light House Sustainable Building Centre and Geoscience BC are breaking new ground and demonstrating the kind of leadership that will ensure Canada's place among the world's technological leaders for years to come."
-       Jonathan Wilkinson, Parliamentary Secretary, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"We are thrilled to be partnering with WD on the next stage of growth not only for Foresight, but for the Canadian cleantech and advanced manufacturing sectors. We have come a long way in supporting innovative startups, and Foresight Growth will help us do even more to bring real-world solutions and technologies to market."
-        Neil Huff, Managing Director of Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre

"The Canadian pilot of a National Industrial Symbiosis Program aims to connect businesses to each other using a proven, structured format to enable the re-purposing of wastes as resources, and to realize a variety of triple bottom line benefits. The first four NISP workshops held as part of the pilot - two each in Metro Vancouver and Edmonton have had 100 participants attend, representing a variety of businesses. Combined, these workshops have examined over 400 distinct resources, and have yielded over 900 potential business-to-business linkages that have the potential to reduce emissions, implement innovation, increase resource efficiency, and retain or create employment."
-       Timo Makinen, Lead Practioner, Canadian National Industrial Symbiosis Program Pilot at Light House Sustainable Building Centre

"Geoscience BC's GHGMap project is using innovative, NASA-developed technology attached to drones to map greenhouse gas emissions in northeastern British Columbia. The Western Diversification Program's involvement in this collaboration brings a great new product closer to market and creates unbiased scientific data so that the resource sector, First Nations, governments and communities can make more informed decisions about natural resource development."
-       Carlos Salas, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Geoscience BC

Backgrounder: $3 Billion Investment in Vancouver's Clean Technology Sector

Canadian clean technology companies develop innovative technologies and programs that help reduce negative impacts on the environment. The investments announced today are part of the Western Diversification Program (WDP), the main program through which WD makes strategic investments in initiatives that enhance and strengthen the economy of Western Canada.

Today's announcement is for three clean technology projects in British Columbia:

Organization	Project Description	Location	Funding
Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre	Deliver the Foresight Growth Accelerator Program for growth oriented clean technology companies in Western Canada.	Vancouver, BC	$2,000,000
Light House Sustainable Building Centre Society	Deliver the first Canadian National Industrial Symbiosis pilot program (NISP) in Western Canada. The NISP model facilitates a circular economy by identifying industrial waste from one organization that is a needed resource for another.	Vancouver, BC	$691,500
Geoscience BC	Demonstrate novel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement technology in Western Canada with the use of drones and NASA-developed sensors.	Vancouver, BC	$458,000
TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING			$3,149,500

Additional Links

• Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre
• Canadian National Industrial Symbiosis Program
• Light House Sustainable Building Centre
• Geoscience BC

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SOURCE Western Economic Diversification Canada

Ben Stanford, Regional Communications Manager, Western Economic Diversification Canada, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Alexandra Carr, Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, Media Relations, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Timo Makinen, Lead Practitioner, NISP Program | Light House Sustainable Building Centre, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Richard Truman, External Relations, Geoscience BC, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Laura Mitchell, Advisor to the Parliamentary Secretary, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]