Climate solutions: Accelerating cleantech

Back to Sustainability for business in Canada

At HSBC, we recognize the need to find new solutions and increase the pace of change if the world is to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. That is why the HSBC Group launched a global, five-year USD100 million Climate Solutions Partnership. One of the key aims of the philanthropic program is to scale up climate innovation. To realize this aim in Canada, we are supporting four local programs that are helping more than eighty cleantech ventures accelerate their path to commercialization and support the transition to a low carbon economy. Explore the programs below.

To find out more about HSBC Canada’s approach to environment and the community, visit our website.

MaRS Discovery District’s Mission from MaRS Program

The Mission from MaRS program supports thirty of the most promising climate tech ventures in Canada through its next phase, "Net-Zero Missions", which will be a series of discrete, problem-focused missions, aimed at busting barriers and implementing solutions at scale. Each of these missions will have a coalition of investors, regulators, potential customers and corporate partners to address barriers to success and identify adoption opportunities. The missions are focused on public procurement, sustainable mining, carbon management and real estate. The Procurement mission soft launched at COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt and plans for the remaining missions will follow in 2023 and 2024. This program is entering its third year with HSBC Canada’s ongoing support.

In partnership with MaRS, HSBC Canada also supported a Climate Venture Diversity Award, which granted $75,000 to an emerging leader in the application of advanced chemistry and nanotechnology for lithium extraction.

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The University of British Columbia’s Creative Destruction Lab Vancouver - Climate Stream Program

The Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) Climate stream at CDL-Vancouver provides objectives-based mentorship to approximately twenty deep-science and technology climate ventures per year to help them scale. The program is receiving funding from HSBC for its second year and focuses on the following sectors: cleantech, traditional renewables, climate solutions across various industries such as infrastructure and transportation, and emerging areas such as circular economy.

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The University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business Scale Up Program

The inaugural Scale Up program supports eight high growth cleantech ventures from the energy and agriculture sectors in Canada by building skills and providing mentorship to senior leaders so they can scale their revenue, capital and team to expand to global markets.

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Défi québécois d’investissement en technologies propres

The Quebec Cleantech Investment Challenge

This challenge provides investor readiness training for fifteen early-stage climate ventures and twenty investors from Quebec and across Canada. A minimum of $100,000 in funding will be awarded to one climate venture winner.

The challenge is led by four partners – Social Innovation Canada, Foresight Canada, Cycle Momentum, and Spring Activator. They will deliver training through sessions with mentors, experts and peer-to-peer learning, and a live pitch event.

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HSBC Canada is also funding a program focused on supporting organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

HSBC supports business climate action through partnership with Green Economy Canada and the Pembina Institute

Through this partnership with Green Economy Canada and the Pembina Institute, twenty organizations will receive financial support to join Green Economy Canada's new National Hub and get started on their sustainability journey. Another twenty organizations will receive financial support to join or continue their work in other local Green Economy Hubs in Green Economy Canada's network. These programs help Canadian businesses and non-profits measure their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, set reduction targets, develop action plans, and publicly report on their results. HSBC is also providing funding for 10 microgrants for business sustainability projects, enabling the dissemination of policy research, and supporting capacity building events and workshops across the country to accelerate emissions reduction efforts.

Green Economy Canada is a national non-profit dedicated to accelerating Canada's transition to a vibrant and inclusive net-zero future. You can learn more about them here.

The Pembina Institute is working to solve today’s greatest energy challenges — reducing the harmful impacts of fossil fuels while supporting the transition to an energy system that is clean, safe and sustains a high quality of life. You can learn more about them here.

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