MARKET RESEARCH AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Driving Adoption of Sustainable Water Solutions in the Ontario Food Processing Sector
In this report, BLOOM examines the major issues and opportunities facing the Ontario Food Processing Sector related to sustainable water use. The insights and recommendations in the report lay the foundation for action, to enable widespread adoption of sustainable water solutions that will improve the profitability and competitiveness of the sector.
>> Download the Report

The Water Opportunity for Ontario
In 2010, BLOOM and XPV Capital, in collaboration with several key organizations, prepared a report on the water opportunity for Ontario. It provided a compelling vision and a road map that could enable Ontario to become a leader in innovative technologies and sustainable water solutions. The recommendations in the report were used by the Ontario government to introduce The Water Opportunities and Conservation Act. The excitement and momentum created by the report significantly raised the profile on the value of water.

2009 OCETA SDTC Cleantech Growth and Go-to-Market Report
BLOOM and The Russell-Mitchell Group, in collaboration with Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and the Ontario government, conducted the first-ever study and report on Ontario's Clean Technology Industry in 2009. The major findings and recommendations in the report provided foundational data on industry size and revenue and value chains to attract investment capital; elevated the thinking by CEO’s of clean technology companies on the importance of investing in product commercialization strategies to grow their business; and supported more than $300 million of related Ontario government policy to support the clean technology industry.

Technology Assessment

SDTC Clean Technology Demonstrations – Environmental Impact Assessments
BLOOM is one of only a few organizations across Canada that have been pre-qualified by SDTC to conduct Environmental Impact Quantification assessments for technology companies that receive SDTC demonstration project funding. BLOOM has completed more than 40 client projects across Canada, in a diverse range of clean technologies and industry sectors.

Innovation Demonstration Fund
The Innovation Demonstration Fund (IDF) is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI). The objective is to support companies’ commercialization of innovative technologies in Ontario by mitigating the risk of projects with significant pilot-scale technical hurdles. BLOOM is the primary technical reviewer for funding applications submitted to IDF.

Ontario Green Schools Pilot Initiative
The Green Schools Pilot Initiative provided clean technology companies with an opportunity to demonstrate the viability of their technology with a well-known reference customer: Ontario’s schools. The initiative seeked to identify, demonstrate and test innovative clean products, technologies and services in the Ontario school system. BLOOM was awarded the contract from MRI to provide technical services in support of this initiative.

Ontario Green Focus on Innovation and Technology Strategy
The Ontario Government is leveraging its own buying power to create opportunities for clean technology companies to introduce innovative and sustainable solutions for procurement by the Ontario Public Service. BLOOM was awarded the contract from MRI to provide technical, as well as performance management and value measurement services, in support of the GreenFIT strategy.

Canadian Environmental Technology Verification Program
Environment Canada established the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) in 1997 to support the implementation of innovative environmental technologies in Canada in areas that help Environment Canada meet its environmental and regulatory priorities.

The principal objectives of the Canadian ETV Program are:

To provide a reliable assessment process for verifying the environmental performance claims associated with technologies and technological processes.
To provide a mechanism for third-party verification of environmental performance claims of technology to facilitate successful technology commercialization.
To build vendor credibility and buyer confidence by providing the marketplace with the assurance that environmental performance claims are valid, credible and supported by high quality, independent test data and information.

The Canadian ETV Program is being delivered by BLOOM under a license agreement with Environment Canada.

Visit the ETV website: www.etvcanada.ca

Technology Performance Benchmarking and Value Measures

Vehicle and Engine After-Market Products
This project was driven by the need of the on-road freight transportation sector to address the environmental performance claims of vehicle and engine after-market technologies as they relate to reduced fuel consumption and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria air contaminants. BLOOM used primary and secondary research to examine the current state of technologies and applicable verification programs in North America; developed a screening method to ensure that time and money is not wasted testing and verifying technologies that are not ready or suitable for the market; and examined the feasibility of a demonstration project to screen, test, and verify technologies in Canada.

Technology Demonstration and Verification

City of Toronto Street Sweepers
Initiated by the City of Hamilton and City of Toronto, BLOOM was engaged as an independent agency to execute a street sweeper project in accordance with the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. BLOOM engaged the appropriate stakeholders to determine the issues and opportunities, and then developed verification protocols based upon the stakeholder input. The resulting verification protocols provide information to the vendors and/or representatives of street sweeper manufacturers wishing to test their technology to the standards expected by their municipal clients.

CAPACITY-BUILDING AND TRAINING

Market Insight Sessions in Ontario Agri-Food Sector
In early 2011, BLOOM delivered two innovative Market Insight Working Sessions in two regional food clusters in Southern Ontario. They brought together leading food and beverage companies, food associations, potential solution providers, municipalities and utilities to develop a clear understanding of the major business issues facing the industry around energy, water and waste, and to identify opportunities for new business relationships and solutions.

BLOOM 2011 Brownfield Series
BLOOM designed and delivered an award-winning series of practical working sessions in select major urban centres across Canada in the spring of 2011. The series was used to bring together stakeholders to identify local issues, to discuss barriers to Brownfield redevelopment, and to identify creative ideas, approaches and solutions. Participating stakeholders included municipalities, property owners, developers and builders, realtors, technology and service providers, investors and financiers, and insurance and legal firms. The series was delivered in collaboration with local municipal government partners and sponsorship support from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Green Municipal Fund. BLOOM is honoured to be the recipient of the 2011 CUI Brownie Award for Excellence in Communications, Marketing, and Public Engagement for the BLOOM 2011 Brownfield Series. >> Read More...

Cleaner and Greener Manufacturing Program
In the fall and winter of 2011, BLOOM worked collaboratively with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) to design and deliver unique training sessions and workshops to industrial companies to demonstrate the business value of toxics reduction and pollution prevention planning. Two training initiatives were designed: one targeted to senior executives and one to plant management and facility staff. At the request of the Ontario Mining Association, BLOOM and CME developed and delivered a subsequent two-day facility staff workshop in Timmins, Ontario that focused on the mining sector.

Visit the Cleaner and Greener Manufacturing Web Portal: www.cme-mec.ca/clean

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Raising the Bar for Sustainability Performance in Food and Beverage Sector
While a greater number of companies are striving to make their operations more sustainable, many small to medium-sized food and beverage companies lack the resources to integrate sustainability into their strategic business planning and daily operations. BLOOM, in partnership with the Guelph Food Technology Centre, is currently working on a multi-year, multi-phase project to address this gap. Work completed to date includes a situation analysis to determine the current state of sustainability among food and beverage processors, and the development of a "how-to" framework to support companies with implementing an integrated sustainability strategy.

Visit the Raising the Bar website: www.raisethesustainabilitybar.ca

Redevelopment Framework for Ontario Service Stations
Former gasoline or service stations and other petroleum hydrocarbon sites are a specific type of Brownfield site commonly found throughout Canada. Many of these sites remain underutilized and vacant with low potential for redevelopment. BLOOM, in collaboration with the Province of Ontario, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute and other government and industry stakeholders, developed a redevelopment framework that provides a standardized and streamlined approach to redevelop these sites. BLOOM has received awards from both the Canadian Urban Institute and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the framework.

The Framework is available online: www.aboutremediation.com

PROGRAM DESIGN AND DELIVERY

On-site Technical Assistance for Manufacturers
BLOOM delivers On-site Technical Assistance to assist small and medium sized manufacturers across Ontario with improving their competitiveness and reducing their environmental footprint, through the identification and implementation of sustainable business practices. The multi-media approach to pollution prevention and energy efficiency enables businesses to address environmental aspects holistically, which results in integrated process solutions with multiple sustainable outcomes.

More information: http://techassist.bloomcentre.com

Ontario Tire Stewardship
BLOOM was engaged to support Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) with the design of an R&D support program to their members. Secondary market research was initially completed to determine the current state of sector R&D, in conjunction with primary research of OTS members’ relevant concerns and interests. BLOOM then developed an evaluation and funding framework for the new OTS R&D funding program that supports the development of new tire processing technologies and products. Now an active program, BLOOM has been retained by OTS to provide administrative and management support.