As highlighted in previous issues of Spotlight on Cleantech, Canada is poised to become a significant global player in what is projected to be a $3 trillion industry by 2020. If we stay on course over the next eight to ten years, Canada will develop a $60 billion clean technology industry. However, successful industries do not evolve by chance. It takes a coordinated effort between the private and public sectors to create foundation strong enough to sustain a globally competitive industry. To stay on course, small and medium sized companies (SMEs), which make up the majority of the cleantech industry, can benefit from domestic procurement as the springboard for market penetration internationally.

A recent announcement by the federal government exemplifies such a procurement initiative. On Friday, February 3, 2012, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Rona Ambrose announced the Government of Canada pre-qualified 36 innovations that it may buy and test. These innovations were pre-qualified for procurement as part of the second round of the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), a $40 million pilot program announced in Budget 2010, and intended to bridge the pre-commercialization gap for technology companies. Pre-qualified companies included four clean tech companies in the first round and seven in the recently announced second round. Demand for this program is proving strong, with successful candidates qualifying against a crowded field of over 300 applicants in both round one and round two.

The Canadian clean technology industry should applaud this pilot program and celebrate this success. This program and others like it will prepare the cleantech industry for long term viability ande support the industry’s contributions (as highlighted in recent Spotlights): direct and indirect employment, R&D spending, export intensity and productivity. The message: we need procurement initiatives like CICP to act as a domestic springboard for international competitiveness.

This cleantech insight was prepared by Analytica Advisors, a trusted boutique consulting firm and thought leader in Canada’s clean technology industry. For more information regarding the 2011 Canadian Clean Technology Industry Report, Analytica Advisors’ comprehensive study of the industry’s revenue and employment profiles covering its nine major sectors, or to view previous issues of Spotlight on Cleantech, visit www.analytica-advisors.com