 Our Speaker Leah Lawrence  Jim Shaner Thanking Our Speaker | Howie Shikaze introduced Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). SDTC is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to support Canadian companies in becoming leaders in developing new technologies to address climate change, clean air, water and soil. It seeks to be a catalyst for Canada's rapidly expanding clean technology sector to develop new solutions and bring these to the global market. Ms. Lawrence, a native Calgarian, has been working in Ottawa to promote clean technology companies based in Calgary and across Canada. She began her presentation by telling us that many of the stereotypes regarding Alberta businesses, especially those describing a change-adverse corporate culture and Alberta mindset, are wrong. Reminding us that Alberta is the birthplace of carbon pricing in Canada, Ms. Lawrence told us that Calgary taught her how to appreciate what is possible. She also described how she has never been more positive about our prospects for solving the challenges of climate change. While there is currently much noise surrounding climate issues, there is an excellent potential for the climate solutions that are being developed here in Calgary. She said that while there is no silver bullet, there is an abundance of "silver buckshot." Echoing the words of Mayor Naheed Nenshi when he last visited our club, she reminded us that the province wasn't built solely on its resources, but on its people. She maintains that Calgarians' still-potent "can-do" attitude will place us at the forefront of the clean economy. Ms. Lawrence described how SDTC is Canada's largest funder of start-up companies, supporting approximately 40 companies each year. Set up as a foundation with a private-sector board, SDTC is not a typical government entity. SDTC recognizes that windows of opportunity are short, and that companies must be ready to scale and find customers in the new economy rapidly. She provided three examples of companies that are changing Calgary's economic landscape. |
Attabotics Inc. is a Calgary-based logistics company that is reinventing distribution chains by bringing advanced robotics to goods fulfillment. The keys to its success are providing customers with the ability to reduce their storage requirements by up to 85 percent and reducing the numbers of manual steps in their fulfillment processes.
Terramera Inc. is a Vancouver-based agri-food company that develops natural agricultural pest-control products. Terramera provides economic and environmental benefits to farm markets and offers new tools for organic and conventional farmers. Its current areas of focus include finding ways to sequester carbon dioxide in soil naturally.
GHGSat Inc. is a Montreal-based company that provides emissions monitoring services anywhere in the world using satellite and aircraft-based systems. This company is currently active in Alberta and maintains an office in Calgary.
These are just three companies currently receiving support from SDTC. Ms. Lawrence concluded her presentation by reminding us that there is still much work to do. She told us of the need for continuing conversations about growing the green economy after the current debates around pipelines are complete.
Following a brief question and answer session, Jim Shaner thanked our speaker for her inspiring presentation.