Meet the finalists for the BC Cleantech Awards

Finalists for Foresight Canada’s annual BC Cleantech Awards have been announced, featuring some big household names — and some newer companies.

Now in its sixth year, the awards program is intended to celebrate excellence in the province’s cleantech ecosystem, showcasing businesses and organizations that are driving both economic growth and impactful innovation. 

In January, Foresight opened nominations for the awards program, with five categories to choose from — a change from last year’s 10. The nominees were then chosen by a panel of independent judges and evaluated based on their contributions to moving to a net-zero future.

“B.C.’s cleantech sector showcases the transformative power of innovation, driving growth in productivity and sustainability by achieving more with fewer critical resources,” said Jeanette Jackson, Foresight’s CEO. “B.C.’s achievements have spearheaded Canada’s green transition and set a powerful example for other provinces to follow. This March, Foresight is proud to celebrate the trailblazing visionaries and leaders reshaping industries and paving the way for a sustainable, prosperous future at the BC Cleantech Awards.”

Meet this year’s finalists

Twenty-five finalists — five in each category — will be holding their breath until winners are announced at a public ceremony in Vancouver on March 26.

Venture of the Year - Startup: This award is given to an emerging cleantech venture actively growing and already creating impact in their field. Under consideration this year are: Green Manganese, Lite-1, SkyAcres Agrotechnologies, TreeTrack, and Veritree

Venture of the Year - Scaleup: The scaleup award goes to a venture positioned to take a leadership role on the global innovation stage. Arbios Biotech, Lucent Bio, Mangrove Lithium, Moment Energy, and pH7 Technologies will all be waiting to see who takes home top spot.

Adopter of the Year: This award recognizes a leading organization, company, or group adopting or championing sustainable practices in their industry. It then follows that the list of nominees includes larger organizations — the City of Vancouver, the City of Vernon, Lil’wat Forestry Ventures, Wheaton Precious Metals, and Vancouver International Airport.

Cleantech Supporter of the Year: These organizations are championing the growth and development of cleantech in B.C. through their support of climate-focused entrepreneurs, programs, ecosystem development, thought leadership, and community building. In the running this year are BC Hydro; City of Quesnel; Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development & Innovation; Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC; and Zero Emissions Innovation Centre.

Funder of the Year: This award belongs to a funder, investor, government program, or VC championing a net zero economy by investing in cleantech ventures. Active Impact Investments, BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE), Evok Innovations, National Research Council Canada (NRC), and Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) have been nominated.

Two of the nominees were also winners in last year’s awards program — the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy was 2024’s Funder of the Year and BC Hydro took home Corporate Pioneer of the Year, a category that has since been eliminated.

For those looking to celebrate this year’s nominees and winners in person, registration for the awards ceremony on March 26 is now open.

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