Presentation to Economic Development Advisory Committee April 15, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Progress Report David J. Cash, Cash & Associates Inc Glenn Marshall, Greening Marketing Inc.

Presentation to Economic Development Advisory Committee – April 15, 2015

 Background

• Project Work Plan
• Comparative Advantage

 Findings and Potential Opportunities

 Water Reuse  Resource Recovery & Reuse  Centre for Watershed Management (CWM)  Business Incubator

 Workshop Outcomes  Marketing Plan/Concepts

• “Community….as it should be”

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 Economic Development Strategy in 2011

 10 yr. road map to guide ED activity

 Key themes:

 Quality of places & spaces  Partnerships & collaboration  Effective rural stewardship

 High levels goals:

 Build attractive, liveable & sustainable community  Lead collaboration to advance ED priorities  Support business investment in urban & rural areas

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 “Cleantech” is a term often used to describe the

Environment Sector and/or its components.

 Many definitions exist:

 “Cleantech is any product or services that improves

• perational performance, productivity, or efficiency while

reducing costs, inputs, energy consumption, waste, or environmental pollution.” --- Wikipedia

 EG Cleantech strategy focussed on “Water

Sector”

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 The purpose of this Strategy is to:

 identify economic development opportunities associated

with the York Region water/waste water infrastructure investment and the environmental policies concerning the health of Lake Simcoe, and

 assess the potential to accelerate new business activity

within EG, through an incubator or similar initiative.

 Project Partners:

 South Lake Community Futures Development Corp. (CFDC)  Regional Municipality of York  Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA)

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 The work plan has 4 phases:

• Phase

se 1 Backgroun ground d and d Researc earch h – review existing information gathered by the Town, including interviews with the various water organizations; inventory of what other municipalities are doing and identify potential opportunities;

• Phase

se 2 2 – Industr ustry/G y/Gove

• vern

rnmen ment/Roun t/Roundtable dtable – the focus of the half day event is to validate/discuss

• pportunities identified among Subject Matter

Experts, and identify potential partners for collaboration;

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• Phase

se 3 – Marketing eting Plan/tool n/tools s and d Busi siness ness Park/ k/Incubator Incubator Concept ncepts - development of a marketing strategy/tools that builds on the

• pportunities coming out of Phases 1&2. In

addition, analysis will be done on the potential for an incubator or business accelerator.

• Phase

se 4 Summar mary y Report

• rt and Recomm
• mmenda

endatio tions ns – provide recommendations in relationship to

• pportunities identified; a marketing plan/tools and

with respect to a business incubator or accelerator.

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 Successful Economic Development for a

community is rooted in exploiting its unique economic “Comparative Advantages”

 Comparative Advantages can exist as “natural

resource” and/or can be created

 Successful marketing programs focus on

promoting the comparative advantage.

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 EG’s 10 year Economic Development Strategy

is more about creating comparative advantages going forward.

• Buil

ildin ing g an urban/rur ban/rural al comm mmuni unity ty that at is “attrac tractiv tive, e, liveabl veable and sustainabl tainable.

 The 10 year Strategy document does not

identify significant existing comparative advantages for attracting business activity in the Cleantech Industry.

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 Comparative advantages will need to be

created/developed in this sector for EG to be successful in leveraging economic development.

 The recent extension of Highway 404 opens

up many acres of new employment lands, that will need to be serviced to create a comparative advantage to attract new industry and jobs.

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 Perhaps one of most

important and unique comparative advantages for EG in the future will be the construction of the link between Highways 400 & 404.

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 The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development

reports that:

• Ontario Water industry = 900 firms &

22,000 employees

• Innovative water technologies (e.g.

membranes, ultraviolet)

• 750+ water/wastewater plants
• About 100 technology incubators
• 100+ water related research institutes, with

8,000+ post-secondary graduates in water- related fields.

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 What is Ontario’s ED Strategy for Water?

• 1. Increasing Investment and Global Access
• 2. Driving the Adoption of Innovative Technologies

 “Innovation, demonstration and commercialization hub for water technologies”

• 3. Creating Competitive Advantage

 “Increase the number of major infrastructure projects in Ontario utilizing innovative technologies and financing methods”

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 In particular, Ontario’s Strategy has identified

a number of opportunities (excerpt):

• “Energy and nutrient recovery – making wastewater

facilities energy-positive profit centres,

• Agriculture – irrigation management, groundwater

protection,

• Industrial – food and beverage, closed loop

systems, waste management and water use reduction, and

• Innovative storm water practices and systems –

innovative source control and increasing the resiliency of storm water systems.”

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 Attracting Cleantech business activity has

become “Motherhood and Apple Pie”

 Many municipalities focus on water. Have

identified a niche and links back to their comparative advantages:

• Burlington – water industry/supply chain
• Peterborough – recreational/rural water & agriculture
• Brockton (Walkerton) – drinking water
• Kawartha Lakes – waste water treatment

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Southern thern Ontario ario Wa Water er Consort sortiuy iuym (SOWC) WC)

 The SOWC is focussed on the research,

development, demonstration and testing of water and waste water technologies.

 A consortium of: 8 (soon to be 9) universities;

Cities of London + Kitchener-Waterloo + Guelph and 70 local companies.

 Focus on “watershed management,

wastewater treatment, ecotoxicology, drinking water treatment, and sensor development”.

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What does the Water landscape look like?

 There is a large number of water related

research & development organizations in Ontario, with various ED strategies.

 “This is a very crowded space”

 Collaborative strategies characterize all efforts

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 The Cleantech Sector/water industry are part of

a larger grouping of “knowledge-based industries”

• Most important input is the knowledge and skills of

its labour force.

 The water industry is more likely to locate and

• perate (be sustained) from locations where

they have ready access to “Water Brains”, and not necessarily from where their water products & services are used.

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 Water purification and waste water treatment

are well covered by various Government Centers and Post-Secondary institutions.

 Locations for pilot testing and demonstration

are consistent themes in Ontario’s water sector (business incubators)

 Locational comparative advantages have been

“created” by researchers and communities, through partnerships & collaboration.

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 Government funding, procurement and

emerging water related policies are playing a critical part in the development of this industry and on the formulation of economic development opportunities.

 Any new entrants to this space must have a

“razor focus” on unique opportunities or gaps and be tied to a local comparative advantage.

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UYSS/Water Reclamation Centre (WRC)

 Preferred site on the Second

Concession, just south of the proposed alignment for the Hwy 400-404 link.

 Flows estimated to reach 40

MLD by 2031, however, will likely be ½ capacity when first commissioned.

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UYSS/Water S/Water Reclamation mation Centre tre (WR WRC)

 Conventional wastewater treatment plant to be

supplemented with microfiltration, plus Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Ultra-violet.

 End of process “ultra pure water” will have to

be treated before being discharged into river.

 Research/testing/education on use of the

nutrient rich water for irrigation/plant growth purposes (e.g. turf).

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Wa Water er Re Reclamati amation

• n Cen

entre tre (WR WRC)

 Reclaimed water could be “taken off” the WRC

process with different levels of nutrients within the water

 Possibly transfer this water from WRC via a

“purple pipe” to nearby irrigation users - golf course/sod farms

 Ontario doesn’t have regulations concerning

the reclamation/reuse of this type of water. Ministry still considers this as “waste”

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 The following opportunities have emerged for

further consideration:

1. 1.

Waste Water Reuse (fr from WRC): ):

a) Use of the nutrient rich water on site for research and development associated with agriculture and

• irrigation. This could take the form of an association

with Ontario post-secondary institution(s) and/or Centres of Excellence, linking into the existing array

• f water/waste water organizations.

b) Use of the nutrient rich water transferred by pipe to nearby users, such as sod/turf growers; golf courses

• r similar recreational properties and agricultural

growers – e.g. the greenhouse industry.

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c) Utilization of the “Ultra Pure Water” for industrial processes and products – such as precision cutting

• f materials or making products that require pure

water (e.g. semi-conductors, cement, ice).

d) Green Earth Village is currently a development concept put forward by the landowners where the WRC is to be located. This 550 acre site could become a showcase full scale development community for the reuse of WRC water and application of LID related technologies/designs. “Smart Water” usage and District Energy are also potential elements.

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2. 2.

Resourc urce Recovery ry and Reuse (At t WRC)

Use of nutrient rich water (on site) for nutrient recovery and reuse. Focus could be on phosphorus (P) and nitrogen, which could be used to produce other products (such as, fertilizer). Companies have commercial-ready technologies and some municipalities have included this activity in their waste water treatment facilities –Chicago & Edmonton. Focus on commercial scale Phosphorus recovery and reuse appears to be an area that has not yet been implemented in a municipal waste water facility Ontario.

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3. 3.

Lake Simc mcoe Watershed shed Manage geme ment nt Centre e (WMC) C)

Municipal waste water only represents a component of how nutrients enter a watershed. A more comprehensive focus on the “business” of improving storm water management represents an emerging

• pportunity.

The LSRCA is looking for partners to support the creation of a full scale testing + certification + training Centre to support Low Impact Development (LID). The Centre would have similarities to the Centre for Watershed Protection in the US.

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4. 4.

Busines ness s Incuba bator/A tor/Acce cele lera rator tor

The WRC and/or WMC concepts can be coupled with a business incubator/accelerator component, where new start up businesses would be supported and mentored to grow (e.g. Communitech in Waterloo)

 “Venture LAB” is a Regional Innovation Centre located

in Markham – has a focus on Cleantech and is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.

 Venture LAB has expressed interest in supporting a

business incubator/accelerator as part of this project – similar to role with “Create IT Now”, Southlake in Newmarket.

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 Typical types of support include physical space that

is subsidized; free business advice/mentoring; access to operations; research linkages to post- secondary.

 Incubator trends and best practices  Host location options and partnerships:

 York Region in association with the UYSS/WRC  LSRCA and Ontario Water Centre  An EG land owner/developer (demo LID)  Site owned by the Town of EG

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 “Workshop on Water” held on March 31 with

31 attendees; 7 presentations from subject matter experts.

 Confirmation that waste water reuse;

resource recovery/reuse and a Watershed Management Centre are “gaps” in Cleantech landscape and are possible EG opportunities.

• Phosphorus recovery for fertilizer is great example,

but outside current vision for UYSS/WRC.

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 Reuse of WRC waste water for agriculture has

potential (could create a Agri-Hub), but more research is needed. Links to Post-Secondary Institution.

 Support for creation of Watershed

Management Center (WMC) for Lake Simcoe. Links to Post-Secondary Institution.

 Could create “critical mass” by combining the

following in one location:

• WRC

C + WMC C + Research earch +Busi usiness ness Incubator ubator

• Purple

rple Pipe pe Agri-Hu Hub b Greenh eenhouses/Far

• uses/Farms

ms

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 Long term focus for Cleantech is to market EG as the leading

community for innovative watershed management and waste water reuse/resource recovery.

 Conventional thinking today about waste water needs to change  Centres will take time to firm up and partnerships to be developed

 Immediate focus is marketing EG as the leading community for

sustainability – its attention to the triple bottom line.

 Focus on building the EG brand  “Community... as it should be”  Integrated media plan - various media  Cooperative marketing with partners, local builders and developers

 Utilize innovative “Brand Reporting” technique – authentic

journalistic style to telling the story of East Gwillimbury

 “Planning... as it should be”

 Measureable results – advent and use of new media/social media

tools brings built in measurement

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 EG Cleantech Strategy needs to focus on

unique “water” opportunities:

• waste water reuse
• resource recovery & reuse.
• watershed management centre and LID certification

 Collaboration and partnerships needed for

success and to create comparative advantage

 Need to market community now, then to

water projects when they come “on line”

 Utilize coop advertising and brand reporting

for innovation and cost effectiveness

 Final report and recommendations by Apr 30.

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