With over 290 cleantech companies—one-third of the firms in Canada’s rapidly growing cleantech sector—Jeanette Jackson believes British Columbia is on the verge of becoming a global leader in the climate innovation industry. 

“Traditionally cleantech has been funded by the government…but we’re at a point now where cleantech is not only a good business from a sustainability perspective, it makes good economic sense and drives competitiveness,” Jackson, the CEO of the Burnaby-based Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, told The Logic. To achieve this, Jackson wants to help change the way B.C.’s cleantech industry works. She wants to see more collaboration, more private investment and more research and development—and she’s looking to Europe for inspiration.