Making the Top 20 list is no easy feat. According to BC Business Magazine’s methodology, the nominees were sourced from a province-wide, comprehensive survey that was then assessed by a volunteer panel of innovation experts. From that selection, the magazine’s editorial staff made the final cut based on a stringent set of criteria.

It has been said that innovation will be one of the most important drivers of a greener economy and successful companies are often those that are addressing human needs such as improved health and environmental quality. With increasing consumer awareness and demand for more environmentally-friendly products and services, this year’s winners showcase how green businesses are often more resilient to market fluctuations and have shown strong growth despite economic hardships.

This reality was also highlighted in a report released by GLOBE Advisors in March 2012 entitled The West Coast Clean Economy: Opportunities for Investment & Accelerated Job Creation, which illustrates that progressive public policy frameworks in British Columbia and the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington, have been driving clean technology innovation and investment in the region’s green economy over the last decade.

Edging out a competitive pool of over 56 other nominees, BC’s seven ‘green’ innovators for 2012 exemplify an entrepreneurial business mantra that has allowed them to overcome many of the practical business challenges that have plagued others. Not only are they innovators, but they are also leaders in their fields for driving the greater economy towards a greener future. The sectors represented by the winning companies include clean energy,energy efficiency, green building, and environmental protection.

The seven green companies profiled by BC Business this year are:

Saltworks Technologies Inc. A company with a revolutionary patented desalination and brine treatment process that desalinates seawater or brackish water to produce freshwater. The applications for their technologies are significant; especially in areas of the world where freshwater is a scarce resource.

Awesense Wireless Inc.  Provider of products and solutions that help utilities reduce inefficiencies and losses in the electrical grid. Their solutions aim to reduce costs for the utility and the end-consumer, as well as optimizing the usage of energy resources.

Cascadia Windows Ltd. A manufacturer of fiberglass frames for their window and door products, they have also developed the ‘Cascadia Clipper’ – a fiberglass thermal space heater. Their products allow consumers to not only earn credits towards a LEED designation, but also save on energy costs.

Endurance Wind Power Inc.  An advanced wind turbine manufacturer with a specialized design for distributed wind power applications. Its products can already be found across North America and the United Kingdom with a momentum to expand into other global markets.

Debrand Services Inc. With many of their clients vouching that their services are ‘the only acceptable way to do business,’ Debrand provides solutions to divert a selection of waste material away from landfills. The diverted material is then processed and made reusable in a wide variety of applications.

Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd.  The company has developed an aluminum alloy anode that sets a new industry standard for protecting watercraft and docks from underwater corrosion. Traditional sacrificial anodes made of zinc release minute amounts of cadmium, a carcinogenic compound, into the surrounding water and with millions of boats docked in marinas around the world, those minute amounts quickly compound.

EnWave Corp.The Company’s breakthrough innovation is a radiant energy vacuum (REV) dehydration technology, which will be a game-changer for pharmaceutical and food applications. For the past 50 years, freeze-drying has been the standard technology for large-scale dehydration, but REV technology promises a faster, greener and more economical alternative through significant energy efficiency.

The West Coast Clean Economy Report is a forward-looking assessment of what is and what could be as the West Coast region progresses toward a cleaner, lower-carbon economic future. The report provides practical guidance on how to capitalize on the West Coast region’s single most powerful competitive advantage – a cleaner and more sustainable economy.

Congratulations to Awesense Wireless Inc., #5 in 2012′s Most Innovative Companies in B.C.

Helping a company recover financial losses is an attractive business plan, and when those losses are in the billions, you’re going to pique some serious interest. Awesense Wireless Inc. developed mobile sensors and a monitoring system that help Canadian utility companies isolate and correct losses in the electrical distribution grid. While Awesense currently serves only the Canadian market, it estimates that avoidable losses amount to more than $10 billion annually for utilities throughout North America.

Awesense isn’t the only company to offer such services, but it claims its wireless system pinpoints areas of power loss within a matter of days, compared to weeks or months for traditional methods. Awesense CEO Mischa Steiner-Jovic explains that the company’s mobile sensors are its defining advantage, adding that the technology guarantees no power disruption to the customer and a wireless sensor eliminates the need for bucket trucks.

In September 2011 Awesense won the $40,000 BC Hydro Sustainability prize in the B.C. Innovation Council’s New Ventures Competition, capturing the judges’ attention for its quick-to-market product and novel monitoring software. Bob de Wit, executive director of New Ventures B.C. and CEO and director of GreenAngel Energy Corp., describes Awesense’s mobile monitoring system as “disruptive,” saying, “it’s quick and easy to deploy and not a capital expense.”

BC BUSINESS magazine, Kristen Hilderman  |  March 29, 2012  http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/innovation/awesense-wireless-inc

Rocket Builders today released its tenth annual “Ready to Rocket” lists of British Columbia technology companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the 2012 technology sector trends that will lead them to faster growth than their peers. Rocket Builders also released results from its 2011 lists, with 5 companies being acquired and 5 companies graduating from future consideration having achieved between $20 million and $30 million in revenue.

The annual “Ready to Rocket” lists provide accurate predictions of private companies that will likely experience significant growth, venture capital investment or acquisition by a major player in the coming year. The lists cover 3 different technology sectors:

• Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
• Cleantech (CT)
• Life Science (LS)

The “Ready to Rocket” lists are the only predictive lists of its kind in North America, requiring many months of sector and company analysis.

“Each year, our team of analysts get lots of inquiries on how we are able to predict so accurately which companies will grow revenue. This year we put an interesting presentation together for investors which explained parallels to our approach and the approach demonstrated in the popular film Moneyball,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “In the film, Beane broke with conventional thinking and put an emphasis on ‘on-base percentage’ to pick players. Similarly, the Ready to Rocket selection committee puts an emphasis on ‘customer acquisition’ metrics and potential.”

The 2011 Ready to Rocket list for ICT performed extremely well. The median growth rate on that list was 100% growth, with the majority of the 25 companies more than doubling revenue. Based on the success of the ICT sector in British Columbia, the 2012 Ready to Rocket list for ICT was expanded to showcase 30 companies. The list can be found here: http://www.readytorocket.com/2012/02/2012-emerging-rockets-cleantech-list.html

To read more about the news release from the Office of the Premier click here.

View the segment at www.chbcnews.ca

Unfortunately it looks as though the video has already been taken down from chbcnews.ca.  We’ll update this post if we’re able to relocate the clip.

Earlier this year, Awesense Wireless was recognized as a Top 10 company and progressed to the finals of this year’s BCIC-New Ventures Competition.

Awesense was declared the winner of the Competition’s $40,000 BC Hydro Sustainability prize for its mobile wireless smart sensors system that help identify key areas of electrical loss.

The announcement was made at the BCIC-New Ventures Competition’s 11th Annual Awards Ceremony which took place at SFU’s Segal Graduate School of Business in Vancouver on Thursday, September 22. In total, almost $400,000 in prizes was awarded. A video about the 2011 BCIC-New Ventures Competition Awards can be viewed here.

Jim Scouras, Manager Commercial Acquisitions, Energy Planning and Procurement, BC Hydro presented the award, along with Bob de Wit, CEO GreenAngel Energy, and Dean Prelazzi, VP Business Development & Market Validation Stages, BCIC