Écotech Québec to Welcome International Cleantech Clusters

LAHTI, Finland, Nov. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - Écotech Québec, Québec's Cleantech Cluster, today announced that the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA), the new worldwide network of cleantech clusters, will hold its first meeting in Montréal during the Ecocity World Summit in August 2011. The new association was officially launched today at the Cleantech Venture Day 2010 in Lahti, Finland.

"We are very pleased to have convinced GCCA that Québec is the ideal place to hold its very first international conference," noted Denis Leclerc, Écotech Québec's President and CEO. "We have focussed primarily on the fact that Québec is home of key cleantech companies and several international environmental organizations and that the province is firmly committed to "greening" the economy and fighting climate change. Finally, the presence of the Ecocity World Summit 2011 in Montréal created the perfect forum for GCCA's first international conference."

According to Luc Rabouin, Executive Director of the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre and Ecocity 2011 Co-Chair, "Since cleantech is one of the key factors that will enable us to build truly green cities, it was only natural for us to invite the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA) to meet as part of our event."

Écotech Québec will therefore host cleantech cluster representatives from around the world in August 2011. The conference will centre largely on sharing best practices to help clusters be more efficient and effective. The primary goal is to find ways for the various different clusters to pool their resources to accelerate the development of clean technologies.

About Ecocity World Summit
From August 22 to 26, 2011, Ecocity World Summit 2011 will gather more than 1,500 participants from 50 countries at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The first Ecocity World Summit to be held in a northern climate city, Ecocity 2011 is the 9^th in a series of international conferences held since 1990 on the theme of the sustainable city. The event is organized by the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre.

About Écotech Québec
The first organization of its type in Canada, Écotech Québec unites and mobilizes the cleantech industry around common goals and actions. In partnership with key stakeholders at the Québec, Canadian and international levels, Écotech Québec supports industry players by accelerating the design, development, adoption, commercialization and export of clean technologies. In this way, Écotech Québec is participating in the greening of the Québec economy with a view to sustainable development. 

Écotech Québec receives financial support from the private sector, the Government of Québec and the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

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