Category: Member News

Request for Expressions of Interest: Hosting a Clean Energy Entrepreneurial Work Term Student

Posted on by kieran

In partnership with the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE), econext is helping to facilitate the placement of entrepreneurial work term students within SMEs in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) that have clean energy interests.

The entrepreneurial work term sees students from Memorial University complete a placement which allows them to explore new business ideas and work on their own startup enterprise. This joint MCE-econext initiative will encourage students to pursue clean energy-focused ideas while embedded within a local SME that has the expertise and interest in assisting them with their ideas.

Throughout the placement, the student will be provided entrepreneurial guidance from the MCE. Students can come from faculties with established co-operative education programming (e.g., business, engineering) or from any other discipline even if there is no formal work term programming or requirements in place. The first work terms will take place between May – August.

The objective of this initiative are to (1) help build the talent pipeline in NL to succeed in the emerging clean energy industry; (2) build interest and capacity in clean energy innovation and startups; (3) provide meaningful work-integrated learning opportunities for students and their hosts.

econext is seeking the participation of five (5) of its members to help pilot this initiative. If you are interested in hosting an clean energy entrepreneurial work term student, please contact Kieran Hanley at kieran@econext.ca.

White Paper – Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador

Posted on by kieran

Building on discussions held at the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Workshop in September, this white paper explores technical, economic, and policy considerations related to advancing the technology and its application in the Newfoundland and Labrador context.

This white paper is a product of The Net Zero Project. The Net Zero Project was formed by Energy NL, econext, and OilCo in early 2022 with a primary objective to ensure the long-term sustainable future of the Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil and gas industry by embracing and analyzing lower-emission pathways in line with broader provincial and national objectives of achieving net zero by 2050.

Download White Paper

Call for Interest in econext’s Board of Directors

Posted on by kieran

In April econext will elect its Board of Directors for 2023/24.

econext‘s Board of Directors provide direction and support to the organization’s staff in their work to accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are a total of five (5) positions to be filled.

Interested individuals can contact econext’s CEO, Kieran Hanley, at kieran@econext.ca for more information about the nomination process. Nominees will be asked to provide (1) a photo, (2) a biography – 500 words or less, and (3) a statement as to their objectives for serving as a member of econext‘s Board of Directors – 250 words of less.

econext Directors must represent a voting member of the organization’s membership in good standing.

The deadline for nominations is March 28, 2023. Voting for director positions shall take place online March 31 – April 7, 2023.

econext is growing, and we need you to join our team!

Posted on by kieran

We are at a special moment in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. This province has before it the resources, expertise, and opportunities to make a global impact in the global fight against climate change.

We are at a special moment in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. This province has before it the resources, expertise, and opportunities to make a global impact in the fight against climate change.

econext – an association of businesses working together to drive clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador – has a number of exciting projects and initiatives on the horizon to help the province take steps to realize those opportunities.

And we need your help!

From clean energy to clean technology, our work is going to require skills in project management, events coordination, community engagement, marketing and communications, and more. Our team needs to grow to meet the task at hand.

We are advertising for a number of open positions (see below), and anticipate more to come!

econext offers a hybrid working model to help its staff achieve the right work/life balance. When its staff are in the office, econext works out of a dynamic new co-working space in downtown St. John’s called NoPicnik. Here you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside not just the econext team, but a host of other businesses and organizations too!

Want to help build something special?

econext presents you with a unique opportunity to grow Newfoundland and Labrador’s green economy and make a lasting difference for our province.

Get on our radar by applying for one of the positions above!

– Kieran

CEO Message – January 11, 2023

Posted on by kieran

Happy new year, and I hope that your 2023 is off to a good start.

2023 is already at lightning speed for econext. We were thankful to have the opportunity to take some time over the holidays to refresh and prepare, and hope you were able to do the same.

To say that the past few years have been a whirlwind for econext would be an understatement. From the oil price crisis in early 2020, to the onset of the pandemic, to intensifying global action on net zero and emissions reductions, to the rapid emergence of a new renewable energy industry through to the end of 2022 – the challenges and opportunities related to clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador have come fast and furious.

I wanted to take a moment to thank our staff, our Board of Directors, our funders, and all of our members and partners who have supported us through this time of great change. I am very proud that econext didn’t merely just survive – it was able to make some very tangible contributions to both environment and economy during this time. From timely policy guidance, to strategic research, to investment attraction – we’ve played a role in helping the province navigate some of its most pressing economic challenges and opportunities.

econext has come through the other side of the pandemic with stronger and more meaningful partnerships with governments, industries, academia, and communities. This has already resulted in new growth and diversification opportunities for our members.

We know that the vast majority of our members have had a similarly disruptive three years, and we hope that we have helped meet some of your needs throughout it all.

In 2023 we are looking to return to a state of normalized operations. We are well positioned to continue to make a difference in Newfoundland and Labrador in the four areas we identified in our comprehensive strategic planning efforts: the pursuit of net zero in our industries and our communities, clean energy and fuels, value from waste, and our cluster of expertise in environmental sensing, characterization, and monitoring. We have some exciting initiatives on the horizon which will help move the needle in each of these areas this year that we can’t wait to share with you.

We are getting back to basics with the hiring of a new Membership and Events Coordinator who will engage with all of our members on a one-on-one basis to make sure that we are doing all that we can to help you succeed. We will be returning to our series of workshops and training activities that have been so important in building ‘green economy’ capacity in our province. And we’ll be finding new ways to tell more of your success stories.

In 1992 the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association was founded. Just over 30 years later, we believe that 2023 will be a banner year for the organization. The econext team looks forward to chatting with each and every one of you in the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,

// Kieran Hanley
CEO

CEO Message – May 20, 2020

Posted on by kieran

Canada’s economic recovery is going to be tied to clean growth, and we need your ideas to make sure NL is ready

It is a safe bet to assume that Canada’s economic recovery efforts are going to be attached in some shape or form with clean growth.

This means that initiatives and projects that are tied to climate change mitigation, sustainability, environmental technology, clean energy, etc. are going to play a significant role in efforts to stabilize the economy – with a view to help Canada reach its target of net zero emissions by the year 2050.

Newfoundland and Labrador has to be ready to establish priorities that are line with these objectives.

The Smart Prosperity Institute has outlined to decision-makers at the Federal level what it believes to be the three ingredients for initiatives in support of a ‘resilient recovery’: (1) does the measure stimulate timely, lasting economic benefits and jobs?; (2) does the measure help the environment and support clean competitiveness; and (3) is the measure equitable, implementable, and feasible?

Image courtesy of the Smart Prosperity Institute

The spirit of these recommendations are being echoed by other influential organizations like the Pembina Institute.

We need to be keenly aware of this perspective in Newfoundland and Labrador so that we make this most of the opportunities associated with economic recovery. As we try to climb out of the hole that we find ourselves in, NEIA and its members believe that embracing the clean growth approach can go a long way in both supporting our existing industries that have been hammered, and in stimulating the long term economic diversification of our economy.

Looking for your input

NEIA has been hard at work developing a series of clean growth ideas and proposals for decision-makers to consider. We are looking for your ideas – no matter how big or small – on specific projects or broad initiatives that can help up our province succeed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic… both in the short and long term.

Please contact me directly with your ideas at kieran@neia.org. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Time is of the essence.

Best,

Kieran Hanley
Executive Director
NEIA