The Cleantech Group LLC and WWF have partnered to produce a Global Cleantech Innovation Index. The report defines cleantech as embracing a wide range of innovative products and services that contribute both financial returns and positive environmental impacts and outcomes and notes that the term is sometimes used interchangeably with greentech, sustainable technologies, and environmental technologies.

The research places Denmark as having the best business environment for cleantech, followed in order by Israel, Sweden, Finland, USA, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Ireland, and UK as the top ten. At least Canada makes the top ten, but the commentary on Canada is not so encouraging:

Canada scores in the top 10 for both general innovation drivers and commercialised cleantech innovation, but falls below average on cleantech specific drivers. The country has very strong general innovation inputs but lacks strong government policies as well as public R&D funding in support of cleantech innovation. The country has seen strong VC investment, along with a good number of private equity and M&A deals, coupled with good density of public cleantech companies. On the downside, the country’s commercialised cleantech score is held back by below average renewable energy consumption. Canada scores below its immediate neighbour the US.

That is a pretty fair assessment, in GallonDaily’s opinion.

For more details of how Canada and 37 other countries around the world are doing on cleantech, as well as both commentary, examples, and details of the indicators used in the Index visit http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?uNewsID=203662 and download the full report.