Canada has ambitious climate goals. The road to net zero is not a simple and straightforward path. It will require careful and thoughtful planning, targeted investments, and a robust, well-supported industry of cleantech innovators. Scaling back industry, while part of the solution, is not yet viable in many areas – the demands of our society need to be met. We need technological innovations that will allow the industry to advance while reducing emissions.

Earlier this year, Foresight conducted a national survey among Canada’s cleantech ventures which indicated entrepreneurs’ number one need is access to capital, followed by industry connections. We believe, and we’ve seen success, in addressing the third need- coaching.

By focusing on the three C’s, we can collectively support the commercialization and adoption of cleantech solutions that combat climate change.

Capital

Companies need capital to grow. If we want to achieve a net zero economy by 2050, we need to create a strong cleantech ecosystem in Canada. We need to accelerate the pace of innovation, bring new ideas to market faster, and scale the cleantech industry. To make that happen, emerging cleantech ventures must have access to capital.

In November, we announced the Foresight 50 – our inaugural list of the 50 most investable cleantech companies in Canada. These ventures represent cleantech innovators from across Canada, with solutions spanning from watertech and renewable energy to carbontech and agriculture. The goal of the program is to connect the Foresight 50 companies with investors and stimulate deal flow.

Foresight also recently launched our Investor Readiness Workshop that helps companies prepare to successfully pitch investors. Combining essential training and mentorship with matchmaking events and venture showcases to connect emerging cleantech ventures and investors helps not only give the foundations but also the introductions earlier stage companies need to succeed and scale.

Securing capital, especially early on, is a huge hurdle for cleantech innovators. But they also need partners willing to test their innovations in the field.

Connections

The second C, connections, refers to the need to develop relationships between innovators and industry.

Every major Canadian industry is facing the challenge of meeting ambitious emissions targets. If we’re going to reach net zero emissions by 2050, a lot of change has to happen. We need to connect industry with innovators and accelerate this process.

Foresight leads Industry Challenges that feature reverse pitches – industry partners outline their specific sustainability challenges to innovators, who can then present market-driven solutions. We need to do more of this.

Collaboration is key. Our goal is to grow the cleantech ecosystem, transform Canada’s economy, and position this country as a global leader in climate innovation. That is going to require purposeful partnerships and teamwork.

2030 is quickly approaching, and we need to scale the cleantech ecosystem with haste. Getting technologies to market at scale quickly means avoiding setbacks, and the best way to avoid bumps in the road is to have a guide who has travelled the path before.

Coaching

Coaching is a critical piece of the puzzle that is accelerating Canada’s cleantech ventures. We need experts to share their knowledge. Having a coach or mentor who has “been there, done that,” can illuminate the process of getting a company to scale. What pitfalls to avoid, mistakes they have made, opportunities to look out for – there is no substitute for experience.

One of the most valuable aspects of Foresight’s acceleration programs is one-to-one coaching with experts.

Our roster of more than 100 highly experienced Executives in Residence and mentors who work closely with ventures. They give them advice and guidance, and they also hold them accountable for their goals.

Graduates from our acceleration programs consistently comment on the quality of our roster of executives, and the high calibre of advice and guidance they received from those experts.

Canada is equipped to meet the climate change challenge. We have the talent, the expertise, and the will to develop climate solutions that will protect our precious planet. We need to invest heavily into the three C’s to get us there.

To achieve our emissions targets we need to support the innovators who are taking on these challenges with capital infusions, collaborative partnerships, and mentors willing to share their expertise

The post What Do Canadian Cleantech Ventures Need to Succeed? appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Supporting clean technology is essential to the Government of Canada’s goals for promoting clean economic growth. The diverse nature of clean technologies across all sectors of the economy makes it difficult to define the sector as a whole and to coordinate all federal supports, but the Government of Canada is addressing these challenges.

Clean Growth Hub

The Clean Growth Hub is a whole-of-government focal point for clean technology, which helps clean tech stakeholders navigate Government of Canada programs and services, while ensuring a coordinated federal approach to clean growth.

The Hub understands that finding relevant funding and support for clean tech projects can be challenging due to the variety of programs, including funding, loans, wage subsidies, collaboration opportunities, tax credits and more. The Hub’s advisors from 16 federal departments and agencies help connect clean tech innovators, developers and adopters with government programs to advance their initiatives. Small and medium-sized enterprises make up the majority of the Hub’s clients, although large firms have also benefited from the Hub’s advisory services.

To help drive Canada’s transition to a more inclusive and resilient clean growth economy, the Hub has also launched an inclusion strategy and action plan, as well as a toolkit to help stakeholders apply for federal funding. The Hub is working to integrate reconciliation, equity, diversity and inclusion priorities to better understand and meet the needs of Indigenous peoples, women, and other groups under-represented in the clean tech sector. Applying for federal clean tech funding: a toolkit is a valuable resource that includes information about federal grants and contributions, as well as tips and links to help clean tech innovators and adopters apply for federal funding.

Clean Technology Data Strategy

The Clean Technology Data Strategy measures the economic, environmental, and social contributions of Canada’s clean technology sector. The strategy informs policy and program design, supports sector growth, and enables private sector decision-making. The clean tech data produced is also essential for understanding how aspects of the government’s environment and climate change agenda contribute to clean growth.

The strategy’s website provides an overview of contributions from environmental and clean tech sectors to Canada’s GDP, exports, and jobs by province. It also summarizes employment diversity data on the workforce profile in categories such as gender, age, wage, immigration status, education, occupation, and Indigenous participation. To facilitate greater dissemination of the data produced by this initiative, the website is updated with interactive dashboards, detailed analysis, and dates for upcoming and previous data releases.

The post Government of Canada Measures to Enable the Clean Tech Sector appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Anne Toner Fung

CEO, Innovation Guelph

A long-time leader in cleantech and sustainability, Guelph is transitioning to the circular economy. Here’s how Innovation Guelph is supporting that transition.

Cleantech innovation and sustainability are nothing new to the City of Guelph. “Guelph has always been a bit of a natural centre for cleantech activity,” says Anne Toner Fung, CEO, Innovation Guelph, a regional business incubator that helps to accelerate start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Guelph was one of the first North American Cities to develop a community energy plan (CEP) and there has long been a cluster of companies in the Guelph Wellington area that fall into the cleantech sector. They range from wastewater management firms to water quality companies to solar panel manufacturers.

More recently Guelph has seen increased activity around the circular economy – an economic model that aims to transform the linear “take, make, waste” paradigm to the circular one of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and further to include “reimagine and redesign.”

It started about three years ago at the intersection of the food sector and sustainability with a Smart Cities project to create a circular regional food economy in Guelph-Wellington. This project has now expanded to include broader environmental issues. “It’s no longer just around food waste and access to food, but sustainability and cleantech in general and it’s now tied to the post-COVID green economic recovery,” says Toner Fung.

Innovation Guelph offers funding, mentorship and education programs

Innovation Guelph has been supporting the cleantech ecosystem in and around Guelph for the past decade through funding, mentorship, and education programs. These programs range from supporting women-led businesses, to start-up mentorship, to project-based programs for more established SMEs.

As the city and county further embrace the circular economy, Innovation Guelph is expanding its programs to do likewise. Building on its experience and expertise as one of the program delivery partners for the Smart Cities “Our Food Future” initiative, Innovation Guelph is also contributing to its next stage: COIL (Circular Opportunities Innovation Launchpad). COIL is an innovation platform and activation network dedicated to advancing circularity in businesses and communities. Through COIL programs, companies have the opportunity to create, prove, and scale transformative solutions. “The vision for this is a user-centred open innovation eco-system which fosters the development of new businesses and collaborations that support regional circular economy,” says Christopher Coghlan, Program Manager, Circular Economy iHub & COIL Accelerators, at Innovation Guelph. One of COIL’s key programs, the Activate Circular Accelerator, for example, focuses on funding and accelerating innovative circular economy businesses working in the nexus of the food and environment sectors.   

Gaining momentum and attracting international attention

Both within Innovation Guelph and around the City of Guelph, the circular economy is gaining traction with broader initiatives taking place. “We’ve managed to garner the attention of some international players,” says Toner Fung. “One of the entities that provided curriculum for the Activate Circular Accelerator program was the University of Exeter in England, which is affiliated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global group of thought leaders on the circular economy, so I’d say the momentum is fairly significant and we’re just a piece of it,” says Toner Fung.

In support of COIL, Innovation Guelph has engaged with circular economy accelerators and investment firms around the world, such as Closed Loop Partners in New York City, Tondo in Milan, and Circular Valley in Germany. “The work being done here is certainly attracting interest in organizations that are working in this space worldwide,” adds Coghlan.

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The Solstex^® Solar Façade System enables building owners to generate clean energy, save on electricity costs, and provide community benefits.

We tend to think of traditional solar systems as ground mounted or rooftop mounted projects. However, there’s an argument to be made for integrating them with building facades. “If you’re looking at a high-rise building, for example, you have more opportunity to put solar panels on a façade than you do on the rooftop just due to space constraints,” says Hugh Lowry, Special Projects Engineer at Elemex Architectural Façade Systems, a London, Ontario based company specializing in photovoltaic façade systems.

Solar facades can bring economic, environmental, and community paybacks to a project. They yield cost savings and a return on investment by capturing and turning solar rays into clean energy in the building space. “Along with that, you’re offsetting the possible carbon emissions and providing a benefit to both the environment and the surrounding community,” says Lowry.

While using standard shapes, sizes, and colours is the most economical way to build a solar wall, there may be the odd finicky corner or tricky area that requires something more flexible and customizable. That’s one important consideration when looking into solar facades. Another is the fact that here in the northern hemisphere the south-facing walls are more economical than north-facing walls.

Solstex^® building-integrated photovoltaic façade system offers economical, custom solutions

Elemex’s Solstex^® building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) façade system lets designers and architects incorporate lightweight, large format panels onto a façade and is ideal for new construction and retrofits. The panel surface resembles black glass and integrates well with other surfaces like aluminium plates, sintered ceramic, and natural stone, and works seamlessly with the entire family of Elemex^® façade systems using our Unity^® Attachment Technology.

Solstex^® façade systems are also built to withstand the harshest elements and will soon be available in a new array of coloured panels to include dark grey, light grey, bluish-green, bronze, brass, gold, and orange.  

The post Solstex® Line of Solar Facades Generate More than Just Clean Energy appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Corporate decarbonization can be a long and complicated process, but Amp helps its clients become leaders in the push to net-zero.

The transition to a low-carbon global economy is increasing the corporate demand for power purchase agreements (PPAs) as organizations seek to reduce emissions and secure their long-term energy costs. As one of Canada’s leading renewable energy developers, Amp’s vision and technological innovations are reshaping traditional sustainability strategies and helping corporations realize their clean energy future.

Forging a new era in Canadian renewables

Steve Schaefer has been with Amp since its inception in 2009 and now serves as Senior Vice President of Origination and Head of Canadian Operations. Schaefer and his team have developed over 130MW of renewable energy across over 550 projects, primarily in the form of feed-in tariff contracts supplied by solar and, more recently, hybrid solar plus battery storage assets.

“The genesis of our commercial and industrial (C&I) strategy is to solve the challenges associated with C&I clients achieving their environmental sustainability targets by providing the most beneficial solutions,” says Schaefer. “This is why Amp is now a top-tier PPA provider globally.”

With decarbonization being new territory for many C&I organizations, Amp’s initial role focuses primarily on education, data collection, and strategic planning.

“More and more C&I organizations are making ambitious net-zero commitments, but they don’t always know where to start,” says Schaefer. “That’s exactly where we come in.”

A holistic approach to decarbonization

Amp has evolved from supplying clean energy solutions to complete decarbonization strategies. In the increasingly competitive renewable energy sector, one of Amp’s key differentiators is its holistic approach to C&I energy transitions.

“Many organizations have taken small steps in the decarbonization space to date, but have now either generated their own net-zero target or had one imposed upon them,” says Schaefer. “Decarbonization doesn’t rely on one single pillar. The only way to reach these goals is through a holistic approach.”

Amp’s unique approach will include combining renewable generation with battery storage and its proprietary digital energy platform, Amp X. “We’re now integrating and unifying real asset development with Amp X, combining supply and demand through a digital platform with a single optimization engine,” says Schaefer. “We will be taking all the energy nodes, whether they’re consumption, generation, or both combined with storage, and providing the unique capability to optimize behind the meter.”

Unlocking energy flexibility with Amp X

The development and evolution of Amp X has been a revelation in the integrated energy solutions space. Working in conjunction with renewable energy and storage assets, Amp X is designed to unlock new levels of optimization and flexibility, enabling C&I customers to potentially generate new revenue streams via participation in energy markets.

Amp is also rapidly establishing itself as a global leader in the energy storage space, with an expanding portfolio of standalone assets and hybridized systems pairing batteries with solar or wind. In addition to extending the penetration of renewable generation, energy storage is emerging as an effective way to reduce peak energy demand.

Amid the rapid progress of Canada’s C&I decarbonization efforts, Schaefer is excited by the scale of the opportunities that lie ahead. “It’s breathtaking to see how many organizations are making that net-zero pledge, and my team and I are excited to support our C&I partners in achieving this vision,” he says.

The post Enabling Commercial and Industrial Decarbonization with Amp appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Plastic can be a valuable material. But the amount of it that currently ends up in oceans and landfill is now almost universally recognized as unacceptable.

Plastic can be a valuable material. But the amount of it that currently ends up in oceans and landfill is now almost universally recognized as unacceptable. In Canada, over 85% of plastic is used only once and is then discarded.

This huge waste problem is an inevitable part of the linear economy that we all operate in – we take resources from the environment, make things with them and then dispose of them as waste. It’s an unsustainable system and one which is responsible for at least 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

There is another way. The adoption of a circular economy can tackle plastic pollution at the source as well as potentially mitigate climate change. But it does require some big changes to the ways that most businesses operate – eliminating the plastics we don’t need at the design stage; innovating to ensure the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable; and circulating everything to keep it out of the environment and in the economy.

Get this right and the benefits could be widespread. A circular economy has the capability to reduce GHGs from the production, use, and disposal of plastics by 25%, and create 700,000 new jobs by 2040.

In 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme established the Global Commitment to bring together businesses and governments behind a common vision of a circular economy for plastic. More than 500 organizations have agreed to work towards concrete 2025 targets on how they produce, use, and reuse plastic.

These actions are furthered by a network of groups, sharing best practices. Under the banner of the Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network, there are now 10 Plastic Pacts convened at individual country levels, together with two regional Pacts.

Canada’s Plastic Pact was launched in January 2021, led by The Natural Step Canada and with members including Walmart, Danone Canada and Maple Leaf Foods. The group has just unveiled its Roadmap for 2025 – a manifesto comprising four targets;

1.    Define a list of plastic packaging that is to be designated as problematic or unnecessary and take measures to eliminate these by 2025

2.    Support efforts towards 100% of plastic packaging being designed to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025

3.    Undertake ambitious actions to ensure that at least 50% of plastic packaging is effectively recycled or composted by 2025

4.    Ensure an average of at least 30% recycled content across all plastic packaging (by weight) by 2025.

These are ambitious goals, but action is already happening among international businesses. The latest Global Commitment Progress Report shows that after decades of growth, the use of virgin plastic (i.e plastic that has not yet been used) appears to have peaked for Global Commitment brands and retailers.

Many challenges remain. Progress has largely been driven by recycling, but that is not enough to solve plastic pollution. We need urgent action to eliminate single-use packaging.

We also need a legally binding, global agreement to level the playing field so that all businesses and governments can play their part. A large number of businesses and countries are supportive of a UN treaty on plastic pollution.

Everyone has a vital role to play in solving the plastic problem. Businesses, public organizations and citizens are all encouraged to be inspired by the Roadmap and find their way of contributing to this shared action plan. Where will you start?

The post Eliminating Plastic Waste at Source in the Circular Economy appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Nivera Wallani

President & General Manager, KFC Canada

Armando Carrillo

Food Innovation Manager, KFC Canada

KFC’s commitment to sustainable packaging is setting an example for the industry and helping to protect our planet.

Protecting the planet is one of KFC’s core values, and over the last several years the company has made great strides in lessening its environmental footprint. A big part of this initiative has been the restaurant’s commitment to evolving its food packaging. Today, you won’t find a plastic straw in sight at a KFC restaurant, and the company has launched some truly innovative new products, like bamboo buckets and fibre based cutlery along with other sustainability-minded initiatives, including their recent commitment to move to 100 percent home compostable packaging by 2025.

A long history based on unique values

KFC’s leadership in making its food packaging more environmentally-friendly and sustainable has a big impact, especially as it’s one of the largest global restaurant chains.

Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952 down in Kentucky, KFC is now the world’s most popular chain of chicken restaurants. Today, KFC has more than 25,000 restaurants across 145 countries and territories around the world, including more than 600 locations right here in Canada. 

To this day, the Colonel’s proprietary blend of 11 herbs and spices is still used to season KFC’s world-famous chicken, and it remains a closely-guarded secret. Colonel Sanders, the visionary behind Kentucky Fried Chicken, is still an important part of KFC’s brand and values. Throughout everything the Colonel did, he espoused his own unique brand of values, famously saying, “A man’s life is written by the way he lives it.” Here in Canada, the team at KFC has been writing its own unique chapter in the KFC story — and embodying the Colonel’s integrity and spirit of hard work remains at the core.

Protecting the planet is one of KFC’s core values and over the last several years the company has made great strides in lessening its environmental footprint.

Sustainability that’s grounded in a sense of responsibility

Reducing plastic packaging and waste is essential for conserving resources and energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing pollution. KFC understands this imperative and is at the forefront of sustainable packaging and practices in the fast food industry.

KFC has been leading the industry in sustainable packaging since 2019, when it removed all plastic straws and bags from its restaurants, eliminating 50 million plastic straws and 10 million plastic bags across the country and replacing them with fibre-based alternatives. KFC also now sources 100 percent of its fibre-based packaging from recycled sources.

“We’re on a continuous journey to lessen our environmental footprint and believe that, as one of the largest global restaurant brands, we can make a tremendous impact not only in our local communities but our global footprint as well,” says Nivera Wallani, President and General Manager of KFC Canada.

A commitment to reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging

The KFC bucket is an iconic part of the brand’s heritage, and evolving it into a bamboo version was a major step forward in achieving their goal to eliminate non-recoverable or non-reusable plastic-based packaging by 2025. Bamboo is fast-growing, anti-bacterial, and 100 percent biodegradable — the perfect solution. KFC has removed 12 million plastic poutine containers from its operations by transitioning to bamboo.

“We want KFC’s packaging to be forward-thinking and inspiring, and to champion functionality, food safety, and eco-friendly solutions,” says Armando Carrillo, Innovation Manager at KFC Canada. “We’ve continued to accelerate our efforts and push the boundaries to bring more environmentally-sustainable packaging solutions to market, including our move to bamboo poutine buckets.”

Inspiring change and constantly innovating

KFC has also been testing fibre-based cutlery. In November 2020, select restaurants began testing a new fibre-based spork made from bamboo, corn, and sugarcane. The new cutlery naturally decomposes at room temperature and requires no additional treatment, nor does it leave any toxic by-products. The process of decomposition takes approximately 18 months. Once fully introduced into the KFC restaurant system, the compostable cutlery will eliminate 40 million pieces of plastic cutlery annually.

KFC also recently announced that by 2025, all consumer-facing packaging will be fully home compostable, and the first home compostable bucket will begin piloting this year. KFC’s new eco-friendly sandwich bag, currently rolling out across all restaurants nationally, is an excellent new addition to the company’s home compostable initiatives. It’s made with 100 percent sustainably-sourced paper and coated with a plant-based, certified home compostable, marine-degradable coating. This bold commitment will divert nearly 200 million pieces of packaging from Canadian landfills each year.

“We hope it encourages our peers in the industry to follow suit,” says Wallani. “One of our leading principles at KFC Canada is feeding people, not landfills. The move to 100 percent home compostable consumer packaging is a bold and ambitious step we’re taking to inspire positive change in the communities we operate in.”

Giving back with the Harvest program

Alongside its packaging, KFC also takes food waste extremely seriously and donates its surplus chicken to charities within its local communities through its Harvest program. The team at KFC was inspired to create its prepared food donation program when it learned that there’s enough wasted food in the world to feed two billion people, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

KFC works with suppliers to purchase only as much fresh food as it expects to sell to customers based on its projections, and any surplus food is donated to food banks, soup kitchens, and other non-profits across Canada through Harvest. The restaurant donates an average of 85,000 pounds of food annually. Since 2016, KFC restaurants have donated over 260,000 pounds of food to 241 unique charities across the country.

“KFC Canada is committed to fighting food waste through our Harvest program while helping nourish those in need of high-quality protein — one of the most in-demand foods at relief shelters and food banks across the country,” says Wallani. “Colonel Sanders famously said, ‘I’m proud that I’ve helped bring good chicken to the tables of millions of people.’ Through Harvest, we’re building on that achievement beyond our restaurants while also ensuring it doesn’t end up in landfills.”

Fostering a sustainability culture

There’s no doubt that KFC is a major player in sustainability. The company’s strong voice and stance on sustainability demonstrates to its team members and franchisees that it has a stake in the game and that it cares. The KFC team lives and breathes a heart-led culture, giving its teams the permissibility to live these values every day.

KFC also works hard to ensure that its in-store initiatives make living this approach easy. For example, it’s on a mission to digitize all back-of-house operations, meaning no more paper and waste, and doing everything electronically (which also helps with supply chain management), allowing its team members to focus on delivering the best possible customer experience. KFC has also removed all financial barriers for its franchisees by paying the up-front costs for their restaurants to onboard onto the Harvest program.

KFC is working hard to inspire its industry peers and make a tremendous impact. And it’s working.

The post KFC’s Bold Sustainability Strides Are Setting an Industry Example appeared first on HiveInnovates.

As the cost of living and population density rises in major cities, businesses are looking at the advantages of living and working in smaller centres.

Small-to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are an important part of Canada’s economy. According to a report published by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in 2020, SMEs account for more than 50 percent of the value added to the country’s GDP. But, as the cost of living continues to rise and population density grows in major city centres, many businesses are looking at the advantages of living and working in smaller cities and towns.

Truro, Nova Scotia recognized the professional and personal needs of business owners and has been savvy in creating a place where entrepreneurs can find the services they need to run their business and a place to call home at the end of the day.

Here are just a few reasons to consider Truro

Location, location, location: This real estate idiom really does hold true. Truro is located approximately 30 minutes from Halifax Stanfield International Airport; is at the junction of TransCanada Highway 104 and Highway 102; the confluence of the north-south and east-west rail lines; and is about one hour from the Port of Halifax—making this town a dream destination for any business that relies on the shipping of goods to and from the rest of the province, Canada and the world.

The best of both worlds: Truro offers a small-town sensibility with the amenities of a big city. “Over the past 10 years or so, Truro has invested a lot in infrastructure, which has enhanced the quality of life here,” said Alison Grant, Manager of Economic Development, Town of Truro. This includes a new hospital, full-service recreation and aquatic centre, library and a 3,000-acre park. New residents will also find a vibrant downtown which includes a local farmer’s market, small local shops, services, and restaurants, all located close to quality family homes, with an average price of $230K in the local area.

The personal touch: This is a town where business owners know other business owners, and everyone knows where to turn for support. “We work closely with businesses and people know that we are only a phone call away,” Grant comments. Programs are designed to meet current needs. During the COVID-19 shutdown, for instance, the Town of Truro partnered with the local Business Improvement District and organized a free local delivery service so companies could get their products to the local consumers. This helped to encourage local spending and was a significant resource for the local small businesses. The organizations also offered a streetscape and beautification program so when local shoppers and tourists started going downtown again, businesses were welcoming and ready for when they arrived.

Be well connected: Truro’s motto is Make the Connection and that really reflects how the community interacts at large. Most people, when asked, say that they like to shop local but, in Truro, the majority of businesses are owner-occupied, and those owners are the locals. It’s not uncommon to shop at a store in the afternoon and see that same owner at a local restaurant later in the evening. It’s also likely you’ll know them by their first name, and be able to strike up a conversation about the local hockey team. There is a real connection between businesses in Truro and the community they serve and live in.

Don’t take our word for it: Miriah Kearney is the CEO/Founder of My Home Apparel and My Home Mercantile. Kearney has lived in Truro for most of her life and opened her second successful business there in 2016. “My Home Apparel is now a national brand, and we ship our goods all over the world, right from Truro,” says Kearney. “Our success is largely due to the support we receive from locals and the Town of Truro, and their belief in my business.” Kearney adds, “The vibrancy of Truro, the growth, affordability and amenities have attracted people from all over Canada. As a result, I am able to hire amazing employees who also love this town we call home.”

The post Quality of Life Is as Important as Business Success in Truro appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Oftentimes, entrepreneurs and business owners find themselves hampered by a lack of robust market intelligence. With that in mind, the City of Abbotsford, BC, has set out to provide tools that business owners need — online, interactive, mobile-friendly data to guide their decision-making, especially when crisis hits, such as a pandemic or natural disaster.

Nicknamed “the Sitefinder,” the first tool that Abbotsford introduced for local and new businesses was the Geographic Information System (GIS) ZoomProspector tool back in 2016 — making it the very first community in British Columbia to put tens of thousands of data variables alongside available commercial properties for analysis.

Powered by technology from GIS Planning Canada, and augmented by five additional interactive tools the following year, investors and businesses could use the tool to research, analyze, export, and share demographic, wage, consumer spending, business, and industry data. The information comes from a variety of regularly updated sources, including Environics Analytics (based on Statistics Canada data), Emsi and Data-Axle. But the Sitefinder makes these sources of data interactive and highly visual – and available to any business looking online for solutions.

“Abbotsford’s location is right next to the border as well as the port, which helps us to get our product anywhere in the world. Also, we have a lot of industries here to support our manufacturing. If a saw breaks down at the mill, we’re not going two hours out of the bush to get it sharpened, we’ve got a guy right next door that can do that for us,” says Nav Sangha of North American Forest Products.

This ability to “shop local” took on a new urgency for businesses when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With lockdowns, enforced closures and supply chain disruptions, everything became that much harder for businesses. Abbotsford responded by launching Open for Business (ZoomBusiness), which allowed area residents to quickly map and find local businesses that were open; to learn about modified hours, contactless delivery, gift card programs and more. The tool was one of the first to launch in Canada and remains a great way for businesses to list themselves and to see others around them. Moreover, with the help of this tool, people could spend their dollars at home instead of online.

As the pandemic dragged on, it became clear that important, long-lasting shifts in how business was being done were underway. Businesses were pivoting. And Abbotsford followed, leveraging a third, highly customizable GIS tool to its data toolkit. The virtual ZoomTour uses Google Maps technology, supports images, video, sound and can link to business websites or the City’s other GIS Planning data software.

Abbotsford’s “Passport to Patios” tour showcases restaurants offering extended outdoor patio service to customers wanting a safe eating experience at their favourite locales. The “Abbywood Walk of Fame” tour leads visitors down the main street and through town to discover locations and businesses popular with film and video producers. And the newest “Agriculture Resource Map” offers help, funding and support for farmers and other agri-business affected by the 2021 flooding disaster.

“Although we have hundreds of clients across North America, the City of Abbotsford is one of the first places we contact with any new data tools. We know they intuitively understand the importance of supporting businesses and investors with critical information,” explains GIS Planning Canada’s VP Marketing, Alissa Sklar, PhD.

The City of Abbotsford remains a model for how communities can actively support their local businesses in the ways that count, by giving them easy access to the information they need when they need it.

The post How Abbotsford Is Supporting Businesses with Critical Market Intelligence Data appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Since the very first modern computer appeared in office, we’ve all been asking, “Do we still need all this paper?” It’s a harder question than it seems. If we want to limit the waste, the ecological impact, and the productivity drain of paper, we need to step back and ask ourselves what it is that keeps drawing people to the printout. We need solutions that ease the transition to an enhanced digital workflow while understanding real-world business needs.

The reality of paper

The invention of paper ushered in a never-before-seen age of literacy and education. It’s a cheap, portable, accessible, and lasting vessel for information. Those qualities still drive its use today. But, in an era where workers are spread across the globe, handing a sheet of paper to a colleague is rarely convenient. This is a world where information may as well not exist if it can’t be accessed from your phone. This is a moment when costs are measured not only in dollars, but in time and tons of carbon.

The advantages of going paperless are clear. The Association for Intelligent Information Management has reported that 84 percent of organizations that undertook paper-free projects achieved payback in less than 18 months. But that value is only realized when the undeniable power of print is preserved through this transition.

Canon has spent decades perfecting the philosophy and the practical reality of how people and businesses create, preserve, use, and share information. They’ve leveraged this experience and insight into the creation of new suites of tools that aren’t just paper replacements, but reinventions of the business information ecosystem. And, critically, these systems are informed by a deep understanding of what businesses and employees want and need.

A complete digital transformation

According to Gartner, every time an employee touches a piece of paper, it costs the company $20. Gartner further estimates that the average employee loses almost four weeks of productivity every year searching for lost and misfiled documents. There’s real money and time to be saved here.

But, when the office is a maze of filing cabinets, and home work spaces are chaotic mountains of paperwork organized only by memory and hope, the gap to a structured digital solution may seem unbridgeable. Going paperless is a process, not an event.

Canon’s flagship information management solutions provide an answer to this problem. And cutting-edge OCR, intelligent document fingerprinting, and high-accuracy indexing provide a seamless on-ramp for any document into the digital workflow the moment it’s needed.

These solutions provide workers with the ability to capture, archive, retrieve, edit, and process data at any point in the workflow quickly and securely. They turn every document into a transactable work space with a memory of its own, providing every bit of the power and flexibility of a paper and a pen while maintaining the accessibility and security of cloud-based collaboration.

And, just as importantly, the new digital paradigm to which these documents are transitioned, to has been crafted from the ground up for efficiency. After all, little is gained by replacing a stack of marked-up paper with a tangled email inbox housing dozens of threads with hundreds of versioned documents. A comprehensive solution gently and seamlessly tames this mess into a cohesively streamlined whole.

So, do we still need all this paper? Not necessarily, but we do need a knowledgeable and thoughtful guide to lead us away from it. We need a voice that is intimately familiar with the way businesses work and is unafraid to imagine ways they could work better. Reaping the benefits of the paperless transition requires not a leap, but a series of well-informed steps along a carefully crafted path, a path paved by companies like Canon.

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