The Environment and Cleantech Business Barometer June

To better understand the ongoing challenges facing Ontario environment and cleantech companies, ONEIA piloted an online survey in the spring. We sent this initial test to a sample of our members and a portion of our much larger environmental business contact list. This survey asked companies to share their opinions on the outlook for hiring, investment, customer prospects and other important issues. More than 80 companies took part in this initial sounding of their outlook and opinions. These views are an important “first look” into the trends affecting environment and cleantech companies and will be the basis for future work by ONEIA and its allies in the sector. Overview of the survey 2

70% of responding firms had 25 or fewer employees, reflecting the overall make-up of the sector 3

71% of companies that responded are generally optimistic about their prospects … 4

… with hiring slowly beginning to pick up Answer OptionsNone Part-Time Full-Time Contract “How many positions do you anticipate hiring in 2011?” 5

… but factors limit growth potential 6

Conclusions: Firms responding to the survey are optimistic about their prospects, but concerned about factors beyond their control that may limit their ability to grow Hiring is beginning to pick up, but most firms are cautious More research is necessary to explore whether these perceptions are widespread across the industry and what may be behind them 7