The first comprehensive portrait of the use of advanced technologies in Quebec, released Thursday by the ISQ, shows that the use of green technologies remains marginal across Canada and in Quebec in particular.

Data compiled by the Institut de la Tourisme du Québec (ISQ) from Statistics Canada's 2014 Advanced Technologies Survey shows that fewer than 10% of Canadian companies with ten or more employees use at least state-of-the-art green technology. Ontario companies are doing slightly better (12%), while Quebec companies are lagging behind (6%).

In Quebec, the most commonly used green technologies concern waste management or atmospheric emissions. Companies in the oil, coal and paper manufacturing sectors are characterized by utilization rates of over 20%.

Money question

“ The most common barrier to companies adopting green technologies is financial »shows ISQ reportbe it the low return on investment or the long recovery period of the money spent.

A study The study, released last July by the MIT Energy Initiative, somewhat confirmed companies' financial fears by showing that venture capital firms that invested $25 billion in clean technology companies between 2006 and 2011 lost half of their money have.

Interestingly, employee resistance, cited as a major barrier to implementing other types of advanced technologies, does not pose a major challenge to the adoption of green technologies.

Good performance

However, the study published by the ISQ shows that, contrary to what one might think, Quebec is doing well in the use of advanced technologies.

The report divides various cutting-edge technologies into four categories: logistics, design and manufacturing, business intelligence and green technologies.

Although Quebec lags behind in the final category, it slightly outperforms Canada in the other three categories and performs better than Ontario in two categories.

“ For once, things are going quite well in Quebec. There is no significant difference from Ontario and the rest of Canada. Advanced technologies are being deployed to a similar extent and Quebec is not lagging behind others »observes Marianne Bernier, economist at ISQ and author of the report.

Reference document

Using data from Statistics Canada, the ISQ managed to publish the most comprehensive report to date on the use of advanced technologies in Quebec.

Statistics Canada conducted a survey on this topic in 2007, but only among companies in the manufacturing sector. “ This is the first time we have access to data on so many industrial sectors in Quebec »explains Ms. Bernier.

The deployment of advanced technologies is expected to accelerate in the coming years and the information bulletin released by the ISQ on Thursday is expected to provide reassurance. “ Although there are many barriers to adopting cutting-edge technologies, be it the lack of employee training or the difficulty of integrating these new technologies into existing systems, standards and processes, several companies that adopt cutting-edge technologies say yes. encountered no obstacles »we write.

Some technologies under the microscope

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