In the U.S., the green technologies market is one of the most promising for the future, particularly in the Northeast. According to a study conducted this past spring by ECG Consulting Group for the ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation, the findings of which are available here, many  environmental and green technology market segments are growing at a rate of more than 10% per year.

This market is growing because of more stringent environmental regulations designed to combat climate change, America’s goal to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and a growing trend for U.S. companies to become more environmentally conscious.

An article published in Les Affaires on May 29 identified four particularly interesting trends for Québec companies doing business in the U.S., namely:

Improvement in engine efficiency and a reduction in the weight of transportation vehicles to cut down on gas consumption and GHG emissions (business opportunity for the aluminum and lightweight materials industries);
Reduction in GHG emissions in fossil-fuel-fired plants (business opportunity for companies specializing in carbon capture technology) ;
Increase in green energy as a proportion of the total domestic energy production in the U.S.  (business opportunity for rehabilitation of hydroelectric power plants or wind turbine production);
Modernization of the power system, which will require investments of some C$30 billion by 2017.

The ECG Consulting Group study concludes that the best business development opportunities for Quebec companies in the North eastern U.S. green energy market lie in the very large air, water and soil quality segments. The renewable energy and energy efficiency segments also offer excellent opportunities but market access is complicated by stiff local competition. Waste management comes in last because customer needs in the North eastern U.S. waste management market appear to differ significantly from most of the products and services that Quebec companies currently offer.

The public markets agreement reached between Canada and the U.S. in February has relaxed the “Buy American” clauses, thereby giving Quebec companies greater access to the public markets at the sub-federal level. Although the private sector also offers good opportunities, it is extremely competitive and tough to penetrate, meaning Quebec companies must prepare a detailed strategy based on a thorough analysis of the market before giving it a try.

Here are some of the study’s main recommendations (page 3 of the Executive Summary):

“Offer products and services that satisfy customer needs and have unique sources of competitive advantage with competitive pricing; this will overcome any “perception” of bias against foreign corporations;
Provide customer value propositions for these products & services that are clear, concise and compelling and articulated in a professional presentation;
Implement marketing strategies that are closely tied to the sales and service requirements of the market segment being targeted;
Enter into strategic alliances, joint ventures and joint business development relationships with U.S. companies in order to access certain business opportunities because of funding restrictions or biases against awarding contracts to foreign corporations; for example, most state-initiated programs, grants and incentives are aimed at supporting local businesses and are not available to foreign companies, unless they form a partnership with local businesses and/or have local offices and hire local state residents to meet 50% of their staffing needs;
Enter into licensing agreements, which are often necessary to expand access to markets that are currently underserved.”

Bruno Séguin