On the final day of GLOBE Forum, attendees had a hands-on opportunity to shape the clean economy through our first ever GLOBE Advance. Participants chose from six different session topics and then worked with experts to deliver action plans and other influential outcomes related to the topic. 

Our hope is that GLOBE Advance will help us go farther and faster when it comes to addressing risks and capitalizing on opportunities in the clean economy. Read on for a summary of each session, preliminary outcomes, and ways you can get involved.

Partnerships to Achieve Deep GHG Reductions in Transportation

Sponsored by: Canadian Gas Association and Global Automakers of Canada

Achieving deep GHG reductions in the transportation sector will require a multi-pronged approach across modes and technologies, and multi-stakeholder action and collaboration. Building on the transportation-related discussions at GLOBE—and including brief presentations by the City of Toronto, Enbridge, FortisBC and the Global Automakers of Canada—this session engaged representatives from government, transportation companies, alternative fuel providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other industry members. It explored how stakeholders can come together to achieve big results, with a focus on (1) identifying key success factors for partnerships, and (2) articulating how these partnerships need to be supported by public and private sector decision-makers.

Main Topics: 

Speakers from the City of Toronto, Enbridge, FortisBC and the Global Automakers of Canada shared examples of best practices in GHG reductions. The participants discussed:

• Types of collaboration required across all fuels (natural gas, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, electricity, biofuels etc.) in the movement of people and goods
• Transportation-related GHG reduction goals and how partnerships could address challenges in achieving these goals
• Key success factors for partnerships
• Public and private sector roles in supporting partnerships and key messages to decision-makers

Outcomes:  

Participants identified a number of success factors for partnerships including mutual benefit, trust, the need for leaders within each organization and clear goals and outcomes. They made connections between the roles of the public and private sectors: for example, the private sector provides delivery, execution and long-term stability for initiatives, which is supported by policy certainty from the public sector to assist in long-term commitments. Decision-makers within the public sector should look for opportunities to incentivize partnerships, such as through program or incentive delivery. Decision-makers within the private sector should understand that partnerships need space to build trust and make mistakes while pursuing mutual goals.

A summary report will be made available in the future.

Delivered by: Pollution Probe and The Delphi Group

For more information or to get involved, contact Joe Rogers, Senior Director at The Delphi Group (jrogers@delphi.ca, 613-562-2005 x 222) or Steve McCauley, Senior Director at Pollution Probe (smccauley@pollutionprobe.org, 416 926 1907 x 252).

Taking the Fossil out of Fossil Fuels: Defining Hydrocarbons’ Role for Future Fitness

Sponsored by: Enbridge, Suncor, and WestJet

In an effort to get past rhetoric around the role of hydrocarbons in energy transformation, participants explored possible criteria for hydrocarbon resources to be considered part of a sustainable, future-fit energy system.  After a high-level overview of the Future-Fit Break-Even goals, breakout groups discussed and generated ideas for specific criteria that could be used to align hydrocarbon development with future fitness.

Main Topics:

• Polarized rhetoric on energy transformation
• The Energy Futures Lab
• Future Fit Break-Even Goals
• Opportunities for hydrocarbon development that promote future fitness and support energy transformation.

Outcomes:

Each breakout group presented 3-5 high-level ideas for criteria. We then grouped the content into similar themes, including life cycle impacts, economic prosperity, and community and environmental health. Organizers are currently distilling this content into a preliminary report for participants and we will continue to iterate on the recommendations March through June 2020. Additional feedback sessions are being considered at other conferences and events through the spring.

Delivered by: EFL and The Delphi Group

For more information or to get involved, contact Matt Beck, Director at The Delphi Group (mbeck@delphi.ca 1.403.805.8200).

Advancing a Circular Economy in Canada: Tackling the Barriers Sector by Sector to Move the Dial

Sponsored by: Government of Canada and Canadian Tire

In partnership with the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition, the Circular Economy Advance session was designed as an important stepping stone towards the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) in Toronto (Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2020).

The workshop explored the need for and current state of transition to a circular economy (CE) in specific sectors; identified key areas of challenge and opportunity as relates to sector-level transition to a CE; and clarified areas of overlap and interdependencies between CE-relevant sector challenges and opportunities.

Through small and large group discussions, augmented by expert resources (including the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Sitra, and Partnership for Accelerating the Circular Economy), nearly 100 workshop participants generated sector-relevant opportunities and barriers that could be (1) brought forward as potential foundations for industry roadmaps, and (2) incorporated into discussions taking place at the WCEF 2020.

Main Topics:

• Policy-makers, investors, private sector executive and operational leaders from a variety of sectors and industries explored the barriers and opportunities for important sectors including: food systems, forestry and bioeconomy, oil and gas, construction/built environment, textiles, and plastics production and supply chain.
• Cross-sector barriers and enablers were explored across four thematic areas: systems, culture, trends, and policy.
• Special breakout discussions also explored the role of education as part of the transition to a more circular economy, as well as the opportunities for creating more circular cities.

Outcomes:

• The information shared in the workshop was distilled into a set of key areas for focus to move the dial on a transition to a CE in Canada in multiple sectors and areas for further collaborative exploration and effort.
• Table and group discussions, as well as voting results, were collated into a high-level session report.
• Barriers and enablers that were identified by the group are listed in the figures below.
• Check out the summary report here. 

Delivered by: The Natural Step and The Delphi Group

For more information or to get involved, contact Paul Shorthouse, Senior Director at The Delphi Group (pshorthouse@delphi.ca 1.250.412.1863 X 601).

Scaling Up the Blue Economy: A Domestic and International Roadmap (in partnership with the Ocean Partnership Summit)

This Advance session explored the nature of the value that oceans create and a number of the challenges that oceans face as well as financial mechanisms available to deploy in ocean-based initiatives. The blue economy discussion touched on the ‘best fit’ for domestic and international expansion based on best practices deployed to date. Then, the discussion moved to priorities for deployment (e.g., shoreline resilience, blue carbon) as well as the scale and timing for advancing investment interest. Participants also considered actions that could advance ocean and inland water investment within Canada and at a global scale.

Main Topics:

• The trillions of dollars in services supplied by oceans and waterways are at risk and the value of these services may be diminished.
• Canada has unique features through its expansive shorelines and in-land seas and waterways that should position us globally as a leader in the blue economy.
• Technology, innovation and investment in the blue economy to address challenges is in its infancy e.g., blue bond activity is dwarfed by green bond activity, much greater scale for land deployment.
• There are many uncertainties and limited knowledge associated with ocean investment that need to be addressed if capital is to flow.
• There is urgency to address the gaps and scale of ocean innovation and investment as our oceans are in desperate need of solutions.

Outcomes:

• Since this is early days, participants were interested in GLOBE creating a platform for information exchange and continued dialogue.
• GLOBE was encouraged to build a blue economy discussion into GLOBE Capital with a focus on the Great Lakes and case studies on the returns associated with GL investments.
• GLOBE should track and pursue the blue economy discussion at COP26.
• There was interest among the investment community at the session to launch a blue investment vehicle.
• Public education on the issues and the need for solutions is needed.

For more information or to get involved, contact Bruce Dudley, Senior Vice President at The Delphi Group (bdudley@delphi.ca).

Turning Social Purpose Dialogue and Vision into Action (in Collaboration with the Social Purpose Institute)

The Social Purpose Advance session prioritized five accelerator topics as most likely and necessary to drive social purpose progress in Canada and beyond, including engaging corporate leadership, creating an enabling ecosystem, fostering social purpose in procurement, integrating social purpose business in K-12 and post-secondary education, and mobilizing industry and professional associations to become social purpose and foster social purpose among their membership. For each of these topics, participants identified an aspirational future vision by 2030, starting actions to advance on the vision by 2022, and personal and organizational steps to pursue right away.

Main Topics:

• Creating the Ecosystem: Engaging key actors to create an enabling ecosystem to accelerate social purpose.
• Corporate Leadership: Engaging investors/shareholders, corporate boards and executives in oversight and pursuit of social purpose.
• Procurement: Engaging procurement and supply chain managers in buying from social purpose companies.
• Post-Secondary Education: Engaging post-secondary business schools to educate about social purpose in business.
• Associations: Engaging industry and professional associations in advancing social purpose through their memberships/capacity building.

Outcomes:

The Social Purpose Institute (SPI) will summarize and distribute the Social Purpose Action Agenda to workshop participants and its followers. The SPI and GLOBE will collaborate in sharing the Agenda to a broader Canadian and global audience. Workshop participants will be asked to advance initiatives in their mandates. The SPI will convene a Social Purpose Conference in 2021 to which the social purpose business community and ecosystem enablers will be invited to further the work. The SPI and GLOBE will report out success on these initiatives at GLOBE 2022. By 2022 it is expected that at a minimum the following will advance:

• More companies will be adopting and implementing a social purpose.
• A network of social purpose businesses will be created.
• Case studies of social purpose business will be developed and shared.
• More boards will be providing oversight of social purpose.
• Some post-secondary institutions will be including social purpose in their curricula.
• 3–4 business associations will be helping their members learn about social purpose in business.
• The social purpose business ecosystem in Canada will be mapped and gaps identified.
• At least one local ecosystem to foster social purpose in business will be created as a template that could be scaled across Canada.

For more information or to get involved, contact MaryEllenS@uwlm.ca, or go to www.socialpurpose.ca. 

Scaling Cleantech: What’s Next for Canada?

Sponsored by: CMC Research Institutes, Foresight, RBC

This session brought together more than 80 participants from across the Canadian clean technology ecosystem including government agencies, banks and funding institutions,  accelerator programs, industry, and technology developers. MaRS Data Catalyst presented on trends within Canada’s cleantech sector, after which participants shared their own insights. A fireside chat with three Canadian cleantech companies (Axine Water Technologies, Mangrove Water Technologies, and Terramera) offered different perspectives on the unique challenges and barriers facing scale-up companies. During group discussions, participants explored how to consider their own networks and spheres of influence, as well as the commitments they could make to scale cleantech in Canada.

Main Topics:

• An overview of the current state of Canada’s pureplay cleantech sector, provided by MaRS Data Catalyst
• Insights and lessons learned from non-pure play technology development (i.e. in-house technology development by industry)
• Challenges in scaling technologies and companies, as well as exporting barriers
• Solutions to accelerate the path to commercialization
• Actionable commitments by attendees to deliver impact

Personal/Organizational Commitments Shared by Participants:

• Increasing data/information sharing with stakeholders and partners
• Getting educated on the cleantech ecosystem and available financing programs
• Educating others (e.g. friends, family) by sharing entrepreneurial and cleantech success stories
• Providing mentorship to entrepreneurs
• Providing training and funding programs for entrepreneurs
• Building relationships and partnerships with like-minded organizations, while promoting broad ecosystem collaboration
• Measuring action by creating an accountability structure
• Working to better understand the needs of entrepreneurs
• Leading by adoption and inspiring through action
• Driving organizational change by linking performance goals to cleantech development
• Promoting the value – economically, environmentally, and socially – of Canadian cleantech
• Incorporating diverse perspectives in clean technology discussions

A summary report will be made available in the future with additional outcomes.

Delivered by: Emissions Reduction Alberta, GLOBE Series and The Delphi Group

For more information or to get involved, contact Carol-Ann Brown, Vice President Innovation and Cleantech at The Delphi Group (cabrown@delphi.ca) and Kristine O’Rielly, Cleantech Consultant at The Delphi Group (korielly@delphi.ca).

What’s the best way to pitch investors and raise capital? How can government support and supercharge growth? Where can the power of strategic marketing make the biggest impact? These were just some of the questions addressed during GLOBE Exchange, our first-ever event dedicated to business-to-business transactions.

Over the course of Feb. 10, almost 800 curated business-to-business matches were made between more than 300 innovators and investors, enhancing deal flow and accelerating business growth.

Read on for a few key takeaways from select Exchange sessions.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM INVESTOR PRESENTATIONS

By: Phil Cull, CEO, Offsetters 

Heading into 2020, the world faces a pressing reality—we have 10 years to keep global warming below 1.5ᵒC and cut global emissions by 45% of 2010 levels. Meaningful change has had a slow uptake; however, the last few years have been a turning point for mass public awareness and advocacy on environmental issues. By the end of last decade, millions of people across the world had taken to the streets to protest climate change inaction. The messages echoing from the streets were clear: We are not doing enough. Listen to the science. Protect nature and people. Act on climate.  

The best time to act was yesterday. The second–best time is now. 

The next decade is our last opportunity to take responsibility for what climate scientists have been saying for years. It is clear that we need to transform the way the global economy impacts the climate, environment, and people. It is clear that sustainability as it has been approached in the past isn’t enough anymore. And, after the disappointing results of COP25 in Madrid, it is also clear that business leaders have the responsibility to lead in areas where international cooperation remains at a standstill.   

The good news is that businesses are starting to get the message. In our work within the carbon management space, we have witnessed an important corporate culture shift towards embracing climate action. Private sector interest in carbon management is growing rapidly. In 2019, between September and December alone, corporate buy-in to Science Based Targets doubled in size. Hundreds of organizations have come to us curious about measuring, reducing, and offsetting their impacts. However, climate leadership still needs to go beyond just measuring and offsetting emissions. 

We need the leaders of the future to step up today. 

Although there are now 187 countries signed onto reduction targets through the Paris Agreement and more than 9,000 companies and governments worldwide reporting environmental information to the Carbon Disclosure Project, we are still failing to meet global targets. Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, global emissions have still increased by 4%. The UN has now reported that we need to reduce emissions by at least 7.6% every year by 2030—that’s if we started today. By 2025, the reductions necessary for a 1.5 degree world could be as high as 15.5% each year.  

There is a lot of work to do. 

Effective action requires real climate leadership. 

A future where real climate leadership takes center stage will require a sense of urgency, innovation, a lot of grit, and a true commitment to change. Venturing away from the comfort of doing ‘what you think you can’ towards doing ‘what you know you must’ is both difficult and necessary for effective climate action.  

Climate leaders of the new decade will need to embrace new values. Our 2020 climate leaders will be committed to transparency and continuous improvement—mapping their supply chains and taking responsibility for all their impacts. They will be engaged in climate policy and lobbying for more effective systems that create real solutions. Climate justice and equity will be front of mind—prioritizing relationships with Indigenous communities, the land, and all other stakeholders. Leaders will have redesigned business models that prioritize Science Based Targets, natural capital, equity and diversity, circular economies, internal carbon prices, and enforceable policies to support them. The thought leaders of the 2020s will transform entire industries. 

We’re ready for change. We just have to create it. 

Some companies are already leading the way. In December 2019, Harbour Air made headlines for its historic launch of the world’s first all-electric commercial airplane. Harbour Air has always been committed to climate action. The Vancouver-based airline has been Carbon Neutral through Offsetters for 12 years. They have also been consistently dedicated to improving fuel efficiency, lowering their impact, and investing in real emissions reductions. Now, they will soon be a world leader in low carbon aviation. 

The low–carbon transition no longer means talking about how our industries will change 20 years from now. It means embracing climate planning, innovation, and technological investments today. As an environmental services company, Offsetters defines success by empowering those we work with to make an impact on climate. To do our part to foster a better future, we plan to spend the 2020s and beyond putting climate leadership at the forefront of everything we do and we invite you to do the same. This decade, it’s our only option.  

– 

Phil Cull is the CEO at Offsetters. He is responsible for the delivery of emissions reductions from Offsetters’ portfolios and is a key member of the project development team, particularly in the high level design and quality control role. He also is responsible for the development of carbon finance deal structures, revenue sharing arrangements and manages offtake negotiations for Offsetters and its clients. Phil has been involved in project development, quality control and financing for projects both in the clean technology and land use arenas. He is a key technical review resource and leads Offsetters’ project due diligence. Phil is heavily involved in the Canadian clean tech community and regularly speaks on carbon finance at conferences on behalf of Offsetters.