Cleantech Forward

All around the world, scientists, researchers, advocates, and activists are calling for urgent action on climate change to avoid the dangers that it poses to the stability of our society. In response, governments and corporations have made pledges to commit to cleaner, more sustainable practices, reduce emissions, and begin transitioning toward a net zero future. 

However, we’re seeing a disconnect between the level of action requir...

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Canada has some of the most talented innovators in the world. Across the country, cleantech entrepreneurs are busy developing amazing solutions that can help us reach emissions targets, and transition to a net zero economy. Yet, many of those solutions won’t see the light of day. 

High operational costs, low rates of domestic adoption, and lack o...

Climate disasters are on the rise, and as these events rise in both frequency and severity, the fight against climate change is also becoming more and more urgent. Canada has a wealth of passionate, inspiring cleantech innovators who are working hard to develop, deploy, and scale technologies and solutions that will help Canada and the world eliminate emissions, waste, and achieve a net zero economy. 

However, many innovators in Can...

Plastic waste has become ubiquitous in our environments, oceans, and even our bodies. Plastic waste is accumulating in our landfills at an alarming rate, and the question of how we move away from petroleum based plastic products toward less harmful renewables is becoming more and more urgent. 

Microplastics in our air, water, and food are causing a number of health concerns in humans, including effects on our reproductive and immune...

On this episode of the Cleantech Forward podcast, Foresight CEO and host Jeanette Jackson is joined by Allan Edwards, the Senior Trade Commissioner, and Head of Office at the High Commission of Canada's Trade office in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Lynn Cote, the National Lead of Cleantech Ecosystems and Market Intelligence, with the Cleantech Team at Export Development Canada. 

Canada has been recognized as a hotbe...

Although large in terms of its geography, Canada has a relatively small domestic market for cleantech adoption. 

Many Canadian cleantech innovators must pursue opportunities outside of our borders if they want to be successful, but navigating the global marketplace can be challenging. With often-complex laws and regulations, logistical and infrastructure challenges, and different cultural business environments, bridging the gap betw...

With a relatively small domestic market, Canadian cleantech innovators must often look to international markets in order to stay competitive. So, how can Canadian cleantech ventures thrive in the global marketplace? 

On this episode of Cleantech Forward, Foresight CEO and host Jeanette Jackson is joined by Jocelyn Campbell, the Director of Business Development at CarbonCure, and Emily Hicks, President and co-founder of FREDSense. To...

The climate crisis continues to grow more urgent. Despite the many clarion calls from the scientific community, the emergency continues to build unabated, due to our collective inability to take meaningful, decisive measures in opposition. Mountains of evidence, and many recent examples of storms and other weather events that set records in terms of intensity and financial impact, don’t seem to be enough to galvanize the population...

The adoption of cleantech is a critical step that needs to be taken in order for Canada to achieve a net zero economy, but securing an industry partnership can be a long and difficult path to navigate for new cleantech entrepreneurs. 

At Foresight, we facilitate partnerships and collaboration between industry and cleantech innovators through our award-winning SDG Connect Challenge Platform, which drives innovation and the adoption o...

On this episode of Cleantech Forward, we kick off our new three-part series on the adoption of cleantech. 

Every major Canadian industry is facing the challenge of meeting ambitious emissions targets. Canada’s plan of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 requires a lot of immediate change. We need to rapidly connect industry with innovators to deploy emissions-reducing cleantech into traditional practices.

Host and...

On this episode of Cleantech Forward, we wrap up our three-part series on capital, exploring the keys to unlocking a net zero future through the lens of capital and policy, and what can be done to help Canadian entrepreneurs gain access to the resources they need to commercialize and scale their solutions. Foresight CEO and host Jeanette Jackson is joined by Foresight VP Operations Elizabeth Thorsen, and the head of the University ...

The cleantech investor landscape has changed significantly in the past few years, and continues to shift in response to current global economic conditions. As interest rates rise and economic uncertainty deepens, investors are proceeding with an abundance of caution. Yet access to capital remains critically important for Canadian innovators who are developing and deploying cleantech solutions. 

On this episode of Cleantech Forward, ...

In Season 2 of the Cleantech Forward podcast, host Jeanette Jackson brings listeners on a 9-episode narrative on how Canada can win the race to #netzero. First up, we’re addressing the role Capital plays in the green transition.

Access to capital is changing for ventures. In the midst of economic uncertainty, supply chain delays, and rising operational costs, ventures are having to adjust and navigate fluctuating markets.

CEOs Anthea...

On this episode of the Cleantech Forward podcast, Jordan MacKenzie, CEO of Bioform, discuss his plans to disrupt the single-use plastic industry with our panel of expert cleantech investors, Jason Switzer, director of carbonNEXT, Evok Innovations’ Marty Reed, and Pangea Ventures’ Sarah Applebaum. 

Jordan MacKenzie is the CEO of Bioform, a Canadian company seeking to rid the world of single-use plastics by replacing petroleum-based p...

On this episode of the Cleantech Forward podcast, Circular Rubber Technologies CEO Maartje van der Sande pitches her tire recycling innovation to our panel of expert investors. Jason Switzer, director of carbonNEXT, is joined by Evok Innovations' Marty Reed and Pangea Ventures’ Sarah Applebaum to evaluate Maartje’s pitch, give her feedback, and answer her questions about the changing landscape of venture capital. 

Maartje van d...

This week, Mariam Awara, COO of Pulsenics, joins Foresight CEO Jeanette Jackson to discuss how Pulsenics’ technology can create efficiencies in electrochemical processes – used in industries critical to the net zero transition like hydrogen or battery production. Mariam and Jeanette dig into why we urgently need to decarbonize these technologies, and how a network of seasoned mentors can help new entrepreneurs overcome a lack of ex...

This week, Sean Hazaray, CEO and co-founder of Haze Automotive, joins Foresight CEO Jeanette Jackson to discuss his environmentally friendly carbon fiber manufacturing process, how it can positively impact the electric vehicle industry by increasing safety and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and how Canadian accelerators like Foresight and Climate Ventures’ Accelerate from Anywhere program have been instrumental in his entrepren...

This week on the Cleantech Forward Podcast, CEO and founder of Permalution, Tatiana Estevez Carlucci joins Foresight CEO Jeanette Jackson to discuss how her unique innovation harvests water from fog, introducing a new novel source of water into drought-prone and water-scarce regions. The two also discuss drawing inspiration from nature, being a woman CEO, and the importance of mentorship in the entrepreneurial journey. 

Tatiana Este...

This week, JF Gauthier, founder and CEO of Startup Genome, discusses some of the key findings from their 2022 Global Startup Ecosystem Report: Cleantech Edition alongside Foresight CEO, Jeanette Jackson. The two discuss why it was so important for Startup Genome to create a cleantech-specific version of the report, what it says about the global cleantech ecosystem, and what needs to be done to help innovators gain access to the ess...