Month: May 2017

For Immediate Release
May 31, 2017

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) is marking its 25th Anniversary Celebrations with a new mandate to support entrepreneurs and start-ups within the sector.

“The recent focus on clean technology from governments and their agencies has created a new public awareness about the importance of achieving better environmental outcomes in business,” says Kieran Hanley, NEIA’s Executive Director.

‘Clean technology’ refers to products, processes, and services that improve on environmental performance in support of sustainable development and clean growth. “We believe that the challenges faced in reconciling economic and environmental interests is capturing the imagination of entrepreneurs across the province,” says Hanley, adding that he expects this to result in new businesses offering new clean technology products and services.

“It is important for NEIA to engage these entrepreneurs at the earliest stages,” says Hanley, “because as an association we are able to offer important supports specific to clean technologies throughout the life of their businesses to help them grow and succeed.”

Hanley says that the development of clean technologies will be an important component in Canada’s efforts to meet its climate change and environmental objectives. “This creates an enormous opportunity for new businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador to contribute by providing new and innovative solutions.” Hanley says clean technologies can also be seen as an agent of economic diversification within industries. “Each of Newfoundland and Labrador’s key industries can benefit from improved environmental performances and efficiencies – and those solutions can be exported worldwide.”

NEIA was incorporated on September 2nd, 1992 and has had a strong history of supporting the growth of the province’s environmental industry and its green economy. In recent years, NEIA has strengthened the supports it has been able to offer its members in terms of their productivity and competitiveness, innovative capacity, international business and exporting, and training and professional development.

“An area where we identified gaps in our support system was for start-up businesses,” says Hanley, though he indicated NEIA does not intend to re-invent the wheel. “There are a variety of organizations throughout the province who are providing excellent supports for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Over the course of the next year we are looking forward to establishing formal partnerships with these organizations to strengthen the clean technology start-up ecosystem in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Follow NEIA’s progress on its 25th Anniversary activities at www.neia.org/25th.

NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 200 members. More information can be found at https://neia.org.

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Media Contact:
Kieran Hanley
kieran@neia.org

For Immediate Release
May 19, 2017

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) is excited by the Public Utilities Board’s ruling yesterday approving Newfoundland Power and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro’s request to establish net metering programming in the province.

“The introduction of net metering in this province will enable growth in our renewable energy sector,” said Kieran Hanley, NEIA’s Executive Director. “It will provide electricity consumers with new options to lower their costs, and allow businesses a better opportunity to incorporate renewable energy in their products and services.”

Net metering is an energy policy which permits customers to use small-scale renewable energy sources to feed power into the distribution system during periods when they generate excess power – and draw power from the grid when their generation does not fully meet their needs.

“This is a policy the industry has been waiting on for a long time,” says Hanley. “NEIA has been advocating on behalf of its members for the introduction of net metering for many years.”

“We are very pleased with the government’s performance on this file,” says Hanley. “It made a commitment in 2016 to establish the policy. Since that time the Department of Natural Resources has communicated with industry on progress and expectations throughout the process.” Hanley says that such open communication between government and industry can lead to timely and relevant public policy and enable economic development.

Hanley says the next step will be for the utilities to finalize and implement their net metering programming. “NEIA looks forward to working with the utilities and our membership to ensure we are ready to meet the demands of energy customers in Newfoundland and Labrador.” The PUB’s ruling allows programming to be rolled out as soon as July 1, 2017.

A number of NEIA’s members provide renewable energy services and will be able to work with property owners to connect technologies to the electricity grid. Contact NEIA for more information.

NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 200 members. More information can be found at www.neia.org.

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Media Contact:
Kieran Hanley
kieran@neia.org

For Immediate Release
May 9, 2017

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) held its first Innovation Connector on Monday, featuring the latest in clean technology research from the province’s university and colleges, and exploring the environmental challenges private sector businesses are facing.

“The objective of this event was to create a broader awareness within industry of the expertise we are developing within our academic institutions here in Newfoundland and Labrador around clean technology,” says Kieran Hanley, NEIAs Executive Director. “At the same time, we encouraged industry to send clear signals to the research community on their business needs as they relate to efficiencies and the environment.”

Over the course of the afternoon, attendees took in 24 presentations along three key themes: cleantech in ocean industries; cleantech in waste and water; and cleantech in energy. “Having the opportunity to be exposed to all of this excellent work was an important reminder of the calibre of ongoing local research in clean technology.”

‘Clean technology’ refers to products, processes, and services that improve on environmental performance in support of sustainable development and clean growth. “The development of clean technologies will be an important component in Canada’s efforts to meet its climate change and environmental objectives,” says Hanley. “This creates an enormous opportunity for research and business in Newfoundland and Labrador to contribute by providing new and innovative solutions.”

Hanley says that it is NEIA’s aim to contribute to the alignment of ongoing research and business activities with the climate change priorities of the region and associated growth opportunities internationally. “Through events like the Innovation Connector, we hope to foster increased collaboration between the private sector, academia, governments, and communities around environmental challenges and opportunities.”

More information on the Innovation Connector, including a list of speakers and topics, can be found on the event website at http://www.innovationconnector.ca, or by viewing the #innovationconnector2017 hashtag on twitter. The event was supported by the National Science Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry, and Innovation. The Research and Development Corporation (RDC), Memorial University (including its Grenfell Campus and the Fisheries and Marine Institute), and the College of the North Atlantic were key partners in developing the program.

The event was part of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Innovation Week, a province-wide celebration focusing on furthering growth and developing new opportunities in sectors that include information technology, ocean technology, oil and gas and the green economy. More information on Innovation Week can be found on its website at http://www.innovationweek.ca/.

NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 200 members. More information can be found at https://neia.org.

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Media Contact:
Kieran Hanley
kieran@neia.org

For Immediate Release
May 8, 2017

GANDER, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) partnered with Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador to present a session on wastewater management at the 2017 Municipal Symposium last week in Gander.

“New federal wastewater systems effluent regulations are now in effect, yet many of our systems across Newfoundland and Labrador need a substantial investment in order to be in compliance,” said Kieran Hanley, NEIA’s Executive Director. “The purpose of the session on wastewater management was to provide decision-makers with more information on what these regulations mean to their municipalities, and what some of the potential solutions are.”

The wastewater session included: a review of the national regulations and their implementation; a summary of what those regulations mean for communities across the province; and a panel discussion featuring local wastewater management service providers.

“NEIA members had the opportunity to discuss their expertise in wastewater management, and how their products and services could help meet the needs of municipalities,” said Hanley. “Firms in Newfoundland and Labrador have excellent capabilities to treat wastewater, and as decision-makers develop their plans to comply with the regulations, we want to make sure they are aware of these local solutions.”

Hanley notes that the continued development of capacity within local firms working with wastewater can provide significant longer term economic development opportunities. “There are many other jurisdictions internationally that face the same challenges we do with respect to treating wastewater,” said Hanley. “The expertise we develop here in providing efficient solutions in rural and remote areas where economies of scale are difficult to achieve – can be exported around the world.” Hanley says NEIA actively works with its members to bring their technologies to international markets.

“NEIA would like to thank Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador for allowing us to be a part of their Municipal Symposium,” added Hanley. “It is important that stakeholders on important issues like these work together to achieve the best possible outcomes – from both environmental and economic perspectives.”

NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 200 members. More information can be found at https://neia.org.

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Media Contact:
Kieran Hanley
kieran@neia.org