ST. JOHN’S, NL – May 31 – June 6 is Environment Week in Canada, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) is looking to promote your organization’s initiatives and activities in recognition and celebration.
By tweeting us using the hashtag #nlenviro, or by emailing us at info@neia.org, NEIA will share how your organization is recognizing Environment Week.
“One opportunity we can investigate is the amount of waste we are producing at work,” says Ted Lomond, NEIA’s Executive Director. “60% of this province’s waste is produced at work or school.” Lomond notes that per capita, Newfoundland and Labrador produces more waste than most other provinces in the country.
For its part, NEIA is undertaking one unique initiative each day. Stay tuned to its twitter account @NEIASSOC to see the small things the organization will be doing to recognize Environment Week 2015.
“Simple deviations in our daily routines and decisions can help to significantly reduce our collective impact on Newfoundland and Labrador’s environment,” says Lomond. “We look forward to hearing about and sharing your stories.”
NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the growth and development of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 190 members. More information can be found at www.neia.org.
ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) was a partner in Innovation Week 2015 – a series of eighteen events highlighting, promoting, and exploring innovation attended by hundreds of individuals over the course of four days.
“Innovation in Newfoundland and Labrador is essential from both an economic and an environmental perspective,” says Ted Lomond, Executive Director of NEIA. “It is key to the long-term international competitiveness of our firms but it is also necessary if we are to avoid or mitigate the environmental impacts of our business activities.”
During Innovation Week, NEIA and the Aerospace and Defence Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (ADIANL) jointly held a session in collaboration with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises on the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).
The BCIP helps companies bridge the pre-commercialization gap, enabling the Federal government to purchase late stage innovative products and services to test them and to address operational challenges.
“This is important for a number of reasons,” says Lomond. “First it allows the firm to earn revenue from the sale. Second, the firm now has a recognizable and credible client to reference when trying to sell their products and services,” which Lomond notes is important for businesses when selling internationally. “Third, firms get detailed feedback on the performance of their product or service before going to market.”
Lomond says NEIA strives to promote and foster innovative practices at all of its key events. “Innovation includes new research and product development but it should be broadly understood as including the novel use of existing technologies, process improvement, imaginative market segmentation, improved workforce training and skills development or any other application of creativity to add value to firms within the province.”
“NEIA works in close partnership with a number of entities that support innovation in the private sector,” says Lomond. “For firms and entrepreneurs interested in acquiring support, it can be daunting trying to determine which programs and agencies can help.” Lomond says that NEIA can expedite and simplify this process, and encourages interested firms to contact NEIA staff.
Innovation Week was jointly organized by a number of organizations led by the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI). A full list of event partners can be found on the Innovation Week website: www.innovationweek.ca.
NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the growth and development of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 190 members. More information can be found at www.neia.org.
ST. JOHN’S, NL – Last week the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) held its Oil Industry and the Environment Seminar, NOTES 2015. The two-day event brought operators, large corporations, SMEs, federal and provincial governments, and academia together to discuss environmental challenges the oil and gas industry faces in the region, and to explore possible solutions.
“It is important that we do what it can to balance this important industry in our economy with the beautiful natural environment which provides a living for many Newfoundland and Labradorians,” says Ted Lomond, Executive Director of NEIA.
“NOTES 2015 provided an opportunity for persons involved in all aspects of the province’s oil and gas industry to share information, insights, and experiences as they relate to our natural environment,” says Lomond, “with a focus on increased efficiency and innovation.”
Lomond contends assisting in the growth and internationalization of local technologies in the industry must be a priority. “From a business development point of view, we must encourage and support our local businesses to innovate and develop products and services that they can bring to the global market.” This will help diversify Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy and ensure that the province benefits from the oil and gas industry long after its offshore reserves are depleted, says Lomond. “There is significant opportunity for that international growth in the environmental business sector, and that was the driving force behind NOTES 2015.”
The event was anchored by a keynote presentation by Preston Manning, CEO of the Manning Centre and member of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission’s advisory board. Manning spoke on the pursuit integrating energy and environmental interests through market mechanisms – a topic of growing importance in Newfoundland and Labrador as its provincial counterparts are implementing programs to address climate change.
NOTES 2015 featured a wide spread of topics ranging from environmental effects and monitoring, to oil spill response technologies, to the socio-economic impacts of the industry to-date, to a keynote panel discussion on benefits agreements and their application on future mega-projects.
“Important discussions were had on the past, present, and future of the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, and how we can structure future agreements for the long-term benefit of the province,” noted Lomond.
One session of the agenda focused exclusively on planning and consultation. “Whether oil and gas projects are the negotiation, construction, operations, or de-commissioning stage, we learned that proper engagement is a critical factor in success,” says Lomond.
“And so we were encouraged to have had participation from all levels of industry, government, and academia at NOTES 2015. We look forward to continuing the conversation with our partners.”
More information on NOTES 2015 can be found on the conference website at www.neia.org/notes2015. NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the growth and development of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 190 members. More information can be found at www.neia.org.
