econext contributes to Newfoundland and Labrador economic development conference

For Immediate Release
October 9, 2024

Last week econext staff attended and participated in a panel discussion at the Economic Developers Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (EDANL) conference in Twillingate, NL.

econext‘s Manager of Industry and Community Engagement (Colin Heffernan), Special Project’s Lead (Sara Jafari), Manager of Climate Services (Sepehr Khosravi), and Director of Workforce Development (Ogaga Johnson) at the EDANL Conference.

“econext have staff members who specialize in helping communities tackle their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change,” says Colin Heffernan, econext‘s Manager for Industry and Community Engagement and panel moderator. “Viewing a town’s opportunities and challenges through that green lens opens the door to new economic development possibilities”.

The event was focused on providing information and resources for the province’s economic development practitioners working to support their communities. “A community can be defined geographically, like a town, or more holistically as a group of businesses, stakeholders, and so on,” said Heffernan, noting that many of the same economic development principles apply in different scenarios. The event was attended by staff from municipalities, industry associations, sector organizations, business, and the public service.

econext‘s panel also highlighted the major clean energy projects being pursued in the province, and the workforce that will be required to develop them.

“There are lots of opportunities available for municipalities to help finance economic development initiatives through green and environmental projects,” said Heffernan. “What we wanted to convey at the event was that econext‘s staff are here to help communities identify and pursue those opportunities.”

Heffernan said that those interested can contact econext directly at https://econext.ca/contact/.

About econext

econext is a not-for-profit association with a mission to accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador by: (1) stimulating research, development, and innovation; (2) preparing its workforce for a greening economy; and (3) acting as a catalyst for climate change action within its industries, businesses, and communities.

econext has been working for over 30 years on behalf of its members across many sectors to support environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.