BCBusiness

53 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 2 5 53 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 2 5 S SARAH GOODMAN CALLS climate change "the existential crisis of our generation"—sus- tainability has become a funda- mental part of the conversation in every business and in every industry. The CEO of the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) stresses that find- ing solutions in our province isn't an issue of supply and demand: we have companies that require new technology, and we have smart people with the answers. What's lacking is community. "You have innovators out there creating solutions, but they often don't have a cus- tomer base," says Goodman, who grew up in North Van- couver. She adds that the opposite is also true: large organizations seek answers but aren't connected to the right problem-solvers. CICE works to provide that missing link. "It's about creating economic opportunity... it's about keep- ing our smartest folks at home," she says. By hosting events, sharing resources and invest- ing in B.C. cleantech, her com- pany exists in a valuable hybrid space between the public and private sector. For example, there's Con- verge, an event that brought together 300 people (includ- ing big industry players like SARAH GOODMAN P R E S I D E N T A N D C E O, B .C . C E N T R E F O R I N N O VAT I O N A N D C L E A N E N E R GY (C I C E ) Shell and Canfor, government agencies, investors, scientists, startups and more) to connect and collaborate. "Communities build companies," says Good- man, noting that networking opportunities like this often result in innovators partnering together. The CEO is also behind the company's $3-million Call for Women in Climate Tech. "Right now, only 2 percent of all venture capital goes to wom- en-led companies globally," says Goodman. "If half the popula- tion is sitting on the sidelines, we're not going to seize that economic opportunity." Prior to her work at CICE, Goodman was a partner at the Boston Consulting Group, where she advised on advanc- ing climate solutions and green industrial policy. She also served as senior advisor to prime minister Justin Trudeau on climate action and sustain- able economy. She says what she loves most about her job now is how tangible it is: CICE's financial support has directly contributed to innovators like Salish Environmental, a company that's using carbon dioxide from construction and forestry waste to create year- round food production solu- tions for the Sunshine Coast. Or, there's Edison Motors, a Merrit-based company that's designing the world's first elec- tric tri-blade highway snow plow. Goodman was instrumen- tal in the country's first funding opportunity for wildfire tech ("For good and bad reasons, Canada should be a leader in wildfire tech... we should be building and providing those solutions to the whole world," she says) and her company has "Right now, only 2 percent of all venture capital goes to women-led companies globally." had an impact on too many local businesses to list: as of fall 2024, CICE reported $39.1 million in investment value. The work is important, and to Goodman, it's important that it's in B.C.: "I want to support the place where I grew up, the place that I live—and create jobs that have a global impact."–A.H.

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