Canadian Environmental Technology Advancement Centres (CETACS)

March 2003

What are they?

Environment Canada's (EC's) mission is to make sustainable development a reality in Canada. To this end, the Department is committed to the development, demonstration, and deployment of innovative environmental technologies to realize environmental, economic, and social benefits. This was also the foundation for establishing three Canadian Environmental Technology Advancement Centres (CETACs) in 1993. Enviro-Access, the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA), and CETAC-WEST are private sector, not-for-profit corporations that operate at arm's length from government. Their goal is to help environmental enterprises demonstrate and deploy their technologies.

What are the benefits?

The Centres are third party delivery organizations that foster the growth of environmental industry in Canada by bringing innovative technical solutions to environmental problems while contributing to economic growth.

The CETACs work with environmental Small and Medium size enterprises to accelerate the commercialization of their technology. More specifically, they support companies that address Canada's environmental priorities such as climate change, pollution prevention and the reduction of toxic products in the environment. This support of innovative technologies addressing key environmental priorities contributes to the federal government's efforts toward sustainable development.

How are the services delivered?

The CETACs assist environmental enterprises in commercializing environmental technologies by providing a wide range of services, including: assistance in accessing investment capital, general business development counseling, demonstration projects technical services, market analysis, and strategic advisory and mentoring services. CETAC services also include an initial assessment of a company's technology commercialization strategy and the identification of any gaps. It may also assist a company in obtaining financing and, further down the road, in developing a strategy to effectively use these finances to move the project to the next stage of commercialization.

The three Centres serve all regions of Canada:

• Enviro-Access based in Sherbrooke, Quebec
• OCETA based in Toronto, Ontario
• CETAC-WEST based in Calgary, Alberta

ETAD's role

EC's Environmental Technology Advancement Directorate (ETAD) was the driving force in establishing and funding the CETACs. It continues to provide funding as well as operational oversight.

Progress and opportunities

In 2000-2001, the CETACs were involved in over 100 projects with environmental enterprises: 17% of these were on Air Quality;14% on Climate Change; 15% on energy efficiency; 33% on water quality; 10% of toxic substances; 3% on Persistent Organic Pollutants; 8% on other priorities.

For more information

Details on each Centre are available on their Web site and in their annual reports.