Western Canadian Environmental Technology Forum

Executive Summary

On December 4-5, 2003, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) hosted the Western Canadian Environmental Technology Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Forum brought together over 120 leaders of western Canadian businesses as well as academic, not-for-profit and government organizations to discuss the development, commercialization and adoption of western Canadian environmental technologies.

The Honourable Stephen Owen, then Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification, opened the Forum by highlighting the social, economic and ecological reasons to support environmental technologies. He noted that any action taken to move the industry forward must link these three factors together and must recognize two key global transitions: the first transition is to a post-hydrocarbon era and the second is from resource-based to knowledge-based industries.

Mr. Paul Martin, then Prime Minister-designate, picked up this theme by stressing the role of technology in regional economic development, in solving social problems, and the economic benefits of addressing environmental issues. He pointed to enormous opportunities for Canadian technologies to help avert global ecological problems as the developing world industrializes.

During the open dialogue, participants identified key success factors for the industry, including access to capital and larger markets, innovative tax policies, incentives for technology development and adoption, and government leadership to streamline policies and demonstrate a clear commitment to eco-efficiency and sustainability.

In closing, Mr. Martin challenged the industry leaders to define their vision of an ideal industry-government partnership. He invited them to provide government with three concrete and clear actions that would ultimately make the greatest impact. Mr. Martin emphasised the importance of linking environmental technologies to cities and urban infrastructure, healthcare and social policy, an integrated energy strategy, and partnerships with Aboriginal people.

Oryssia Lennie, Deputy Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada, co-chaired the session and reiterated WD’s commitment to sustainable development and the need to realize social, economic, and environmental goals through environmental technologies. Co-chair John MacDonald, Chairman and CEO of Day4 Energy Inc. and co-founder of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, stressed that green alternatives will only be taken seriously if they are cost-competitive. John Wiebe, President and CEO of the GLOBE Foundation of Canada, presented the key findings of four studies of the western Canadian environmental technologies sector. He said new drivers for this sector include climate change, corporate responsibility, consumer demand, investor preferences, and risk management.

Following the morning plenary, participants broke into discussion groups by sector: energy, buildings, and water and wastewater. The discussion led to concrete strategies for moving the industry forward and consensus on five areas for future action:

Harmonized and supportive regulatory, policy and program mechanisms across all levels of government
Market intelligence, particularly about countries with large populations that represent significant market potential, as well as expertise in marketing to help those who develop the technologies to bring them to consumers
Fiscal incentives promoting investment and adoption of environmental technologies in the earliest stages of commercialization
Centers of excellence that are market-driven and could house “best practices”
Demonstration projects that illustrate the effective application of environmental technologies and pave the way for development of new products

The Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, delivered a luncheon address on the opportunities that climate change represents, and the roles that government and industry can play in pursuing those opportunities.

In the afternoon, participants again went into smaller discussion groups to work on regulatory/policy mechanisms, marketing strategy, fiscal initiatives, centres of excellence, and demonstration projects. These discussions yielded several concrete proposals:

Regulatory and Policy Mechanisms

Harmonize regulations across all levels of government, create performance-based environmental reporting for all government levels, and set-up a single portal for all government information
Promote eco-efficiency through performance-based standards, national waste recycling policy, minimum building efficiency standards, government sustainable building and fleet emission standards, public reporting of eco-efficiency for industry, and credits for reducing pollution
Transform the electricity industry into a distributed generation model, set national standards for interconnection and metering, and enable net metering

Marketing Strategies

Provide market enablers – resources that allow businesses to be efficient – not marketing strategies
Avoid provincial silos; use a pan-Canadian approach to promote exports
Target trade opportunities by market segment
Address fragmentation and a lack of resources among SMEs through facilitated networks for knowledge capture and dissemination, and case studies to highlight best practices.
Establish a brand or certification process; link commercialization support to R&D funding

Fiscal Incentives

Provide tax incentives for idea developers, manufacturers and consumers; level the playing field for energy technology; consider emission caps, and expand flow-through share incentives
Broaden and increase renewable energy production, consumption, and conservation incentives; consider net metering and a national green tag system, as well as expansion of this approach to other technologies
Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) financing could help consumer and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) financing; governments should purchase green energy first.

Centres of Excellence

Centres of excellence can demonstrate integrated solutions and allow independent review of new technologies
Link centres of excellence to help commercialize environmental technology
Define sector needs for commercialization to reduce risks for investors and new technologies

Demonstration Projects

Use demonstration projects for prototypes or large-scale applications
Build model “green” remote communities (e.g. Nunavut); export the knowledge to developing countries
Replicate technology in successful site clean-ups, e.g. B.C.’s Britannia Beach Mine Site
Other opportunities include the 2006 World Urban Forum and the 2010 Winter Olympics

During closing comments, it was noted that remote and Aboriginal communities that are “off the grid” offer unique opportunities for addressing Canadian social, economic, and environmental problems. At the same time, these communities are helping to develop sustainable technologies for export to developing countries, including water management, waste management, energy, and housing. Regina’s Communities of Tomorrow was cited as “a large lab for urban sustainability.” Leading Edge BC was also mentioned as a model for attracting capital, evaluating new technologies, and promoting exports.

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