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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Canada's Podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, I'm Phil Bliss from Canada's Podcast.
[00:10] SPEAKER_01: Today we're going to look at a new report that just came out called the Transformation in Parviz.
[00:16] SPEAKER_01: How Canadian entrepreneurs are taking on the environmental challenge.
[00:22] SPEAKER_01: And this was sponsored by VDC.
[00:25] SPEAKER_01: Some of the findings are really, really interesting.
[00:29] SPEAKER_01: For instance, maybe something that we all know, extreme weather events,
[00:34] SPEAKER_01: made the climate change of negatively affected 11% of Canada's entrepreneurs in the past five years.
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: 43% expect climate change will negatively affect their business over the next decade.
[00:48] SPEAKER_01: And 82% of Canadian entrepreneurs have implemented concrete measures to reduce their environmental impact.
[00:56] SPEAKER_01: That's pretty innovative.
[00:58] SPEAKER_01: 84% of entrepreneurs in Canada consider their responsibility to take concrete action to protect the environment.
[01:06] SPEAKER_01: And half of them have that included in their mission statement.
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: And 63% of entrepreneurs have those who have invented environmentally friendly practices based on their personal convictions.
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: I think we should all be really proud of that.
[01:27] SPEAKER_01: So without going on too long, I'd love to introduce the CEO of BDC's Chief Economist.
[01:36] SPEAKER_01: And let's ask Pierre some questions and get some more insights.
[01:42] SPEAKER_01: Pierre, welcome to Canada's podcast.
[01:46] SPEAKER_01: So welcome, Pierre, to Canada's podcast. It's really, really good seeing you.
[01:51] SPEAKER_01: You know, I got the opportunity to read this report last night.
[01:57] SPEAKER_01: And you know, I was, you know, the numbers are so optimistic.
[02:03] SPEAKER_01: I was really, really impressed, you know, if you any kind of insights on the why Canadian entrepreneurs are so motivated to move to a greener economy.
[02:15] SPEAKER_02: I think other entrepreneurs are just like every Canadian.
[02:18] SPEAKER_02: They are concerned about the environment.
[02:20] SPEAKER_02: They are concerned about what we're going to leave to our children.
[02:25] SPEAKER_02: So that's, you know, there was a lot of research done on the environment, but not a lot with the angle of.
[02:32] SPEAKER_02: Business entrepreneurs in Canada. So that's the reason why we started this report.
[02:37] SPEAKER_02: And like you said, we were also.
[02:40] SPEAKER_02: You know, very surprised that the numbers look so good.
[02:44] SPEAKER_00: So, um.
[02:48] SPEAKER_00: We've done a year of sort of the pandemic.
[02:52] SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the year that you've been doing this.
[02:55] SPEAKER_01: You know,
[02:57] SPEAKER_01: it's just sort of been any changes through the past year with entrepreneurs in terms of, you know, going ahead with with projects, shelving it.
[03:09] SPEAKER_01: That kind of thing.
[03:12] SPEAKER_02: Well, it's interesting because we did the similar survey about a year ago.
[03:15] SPEAKER_02: And we didn't release it because we thought the timing at the beginning of the pandemic was not a good timing.
[03:20] SPEAKER_02: So we read on this study a few months ago.
[03:25] SPEAKER_02: And things haven't changed much.
[03:27] SPEAKER_02: The convention. People are, you know, they are convinced that they have to do something to reduce the impact of their.
[03:37] SPEAKER_02: Economic activities on the environment.
[03:39] SPEAKER_02: And this convention is not hasn't changed.
[03:41] SPEAKER_02: People are still the same during the pandemic.
[03:44] SPEAKER_02: Of course, the focus shift on something else.
[03:47] SPEAKER_02: But what we're seeing now is has is the pandemic is not over, but it's more clear that we're going to be an end to this.
[03:56] SPEAKER_02: So we see that the concern about the environment or the action is taking all coming back quickly.
[04:02] SPEAKER_02: And this is going to be a big part of the recovery with the.
[04:06] SPEAKER_01: Oh, good.
[04:07] SPEAKER_01: You know, being an entrepreneur myself, I'm always told about a return on investment, basically, you know.
[04:15] SPEAKER_01: Can you give me some kind of sense of, you know, if I'm going to, you know, basically work, work on green projects in for my company.
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: What kind of ROI that that might give me as an owner, if you like.
[04:34] SPEAKER_02: Well, a lot of these actions are also making the business more efficient.
[04:39] SPEAKER_02: So for example, if you reduce waste or if you use your waste, you recycle your waste and you sell it to another business.
[04:48] SPEAKER_02: So they can do something else with it.
[04:50] SPEAKER_02: A lot of it is to reduce your energy consumption.
[04:54] SPEAKER_02: So to have a more efficient system.
[04:57] SPEAKER_02: So your, the idea is when you invest, for example, to have a better energy system or eating system.
[05:05] SPEAKER_02: Well, you are saving money as at the same time.
[05:08] SPEAKER_02: So this is a double objective.
[05:11] SPEAKER_02: The objective is to reduce your impact on the environment, but at the same time is to make your business more efficient.
[05:17] SPEAKER_02: It's not always possible.
[05:19] SPEAKER_02: Sometimes and that's coming back from the survey from entrepreneurs.
[05:22] SPEAKER_02: You're saying one of the number one challenges to make these investment positive for the business.
[05:30] SPEAKER_02: But in many cases recycling, reducing the use of energy.
[05:37] SPEAKER_02: These projects, they can make your business more efficient, they can reduce your cost.
[05:42] SPEAKER_02: So you're doing two things at the same time.
[05:45] SPEAKER_01: You have the examples of Canadian companies that are sort of deep into this and finding it beneficial for them.
[05:56] SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of example.
[05:57] SPEAKER_02: For example, I met in the passive company where they were recycling every way they have.
[06:04] SPEAKER_02: They were building the way they were in construction building.
[06:08] SPEAKER_02: So they recycle wood and they use it to eat their business.
[06:13] SPEAKER_02: They recycle even the metals and they set it to other companies who are using recycling metals.
[06:20] SPEAKER_02: So this is a way to they had zero waste, which I thought was very impressive.
[06:28] SPEAKER_02: But they use this opportunity to not only to reduce their footprint on the environment, but also to get some revenue out of it.
[06:38] SPEAKER_02: An example that we had in our report is that they make beer.
[06:43] SPEAKER_02: And I was actually impressed by the fact that there's a waste when you fabricated beer.
[06:49] SPEAKER_02: And they resell these waste for different, for example, in the agriculture business and all the businesses.
[06:59] SPEAKER_02: So it's it's what is important is to be creative and also to make the effort to really want to to reduce your waste.
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm a company of about dozen people, 20 people, whatever.
[07:20] SPEAKER_00: What are the basic steps for me?
[07:24] SPEAKER_01: Where would I start?
[07:27] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, in a sense, it's a big question.
[07:31] SPEAKER_01: Where would I start?
[07:32] SPEAKER_01: Where would I finish?
[07:34] SPEAKER_01: How do I find the money?
[07:36] SPEAKER_01: Can you give me a summary of that from your perspective?
[07:43] SPEAKER_02: Well, the first step is to make an assessment of your situation.
[07:48] SPEAKER_02: Because as you know, your situation is different from any other businesses, depending of your business model, your sector of activities and everything.
[07:57] SPEAKER_02: So in the report that we released this week, we have this assessment.
[08:01] SPEAKER_02: So it's very easy. It's on one page and it's free. It's on our website at bdc.ca.
[08:08] SPEAKER_02: And you can find exactly where we where you are.
[08:11] SPEAKER_02: So we'll give you three different categories, beginners in transition or leaders.
[08:18] SPEAKER_02: And you can see basically where you are.
[08:20] SPEAKER_02: And we give you also some tips about the action you can take to go to the next level.
[08:28] SPEAKER_02: So I give you a very practical example, for example, because sometimes when we are in a service business, we say, well, there's not much we can do.
[08:37] SPEAKER_02: But for example, you can eliminate paper from your business.
[08:42] SPEAKER_02: Just that you will be surprised how much money you save every year.
[08:46] SPEAKER_02: And you will reduce your impact on the environment at the same time.
[08:52] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[08:54] SPEAKER_00: You know, these some of these projects are especially in the manufacturing side and you know, financing becomes an issue.
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: I mean, you may want to improve things and, you know, but it may be a two, three or a process and, and, and, you know, require, require financing.
[09:18] SPEAKER_01: Any any thoughts on that because, you know, we've got listeners, I'm sure viewers that that are that are running factories and things like that.
[09:28] SPEAKER_01: It's a big deal for them.
[09:30] SPEAKER_02: Yes, the best way is to find action that you can take that will have a positive impact on the environment, but also it makes sense financially.
[09:38] SPEAKER_02: You know, if you are to absorb the total cost of doing something, maybe it's not the right time to do it.
[09:45] SPEAKER_02: Maybe technology will improve and it will give you an opportunity to save costs as well.
[09:51] SPEAKER_02: So projects that are successful is one, the reach those two goals, reducing the impact on their environment, but at the same time, give the opportunity to have a return on the investment for businesses.
[10:04] SPEAKER_02: So we see a lot of these projects, especially on saving energy.
[10:10] SPEAKER_02: A lot of businesses in Canada are using old system system that could be much more efficient today.
[10:17] SPEAKER_02: So it's worth to make the investment you are you're doing the right thing for the environment, but at the same time, you have a more efficient heating system or cooling system that will really make a difference for your business.
[10:31] SPEAKER_02: It's so it's to find those actions that meet both goals, reducing your impact on the environment, but at the same time helping your company to be more efficient.
[10:43] SPEAKER_02: So we can finance these projects because it's going to have a positive return on your business.
[10:48] SPEAKER_01: Okay, here, you know, just before we conclude, just give everyone a sense of where they can get the report because it is absolutely worth accessing and downloading and going through it.
[11:03] SPEAKER_01: It's very thoughtful.
[11:04] SPEAKER_02: Well, it's a report on the environment, so there's no paper copy. So everybody, everybody can have access the report online on our on our website at bdc.ca and you go in the research and report section and you will find this report that we just released this week.
[11:25] SPEAKER_02: But we also going you're going to find also a number of report to help entrepreneurs to better manage their business. For example, we have a productivity tool to measure your productivity and compare yourself with other businesses.
[11:40] SPEAKER_02: We also have, you know, a technology assessment tool to see if you can improve the way you are investing in technology. So it's very useful. It's meant to for entrepreneurs in Canada and it's in both languages.
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: Thank you for taking 20 minutes, 30 minutes out of your day. I really appreciate it. It's I think I was certainly recommend everyone gone and download the report.
[12:07] SPEAKER_01: You know, I think in terms of green, not digs the various level tiers of governments. The most effective way is for us to take grab a hold of it and make it happen ourselves.
[12:22] SPEAKER_01: So thanks, Pierre, for coming on to Canada's podcast. Really appreciate it.
[12:26] SPEAKER_02: You're very welcome.
