Key Takeaways:
From GEC’s and BDC’s National Roundtable
Weathering What’s Next:
Building Climate-Resilient SMEs in Canada
How Chambers of Commerce and Industry Associations can help their SME members navigate energy and climate challenges
Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a rapidly shifting business environment. While trade dynamics, supply chain issues, inflation, and talent retention remain top-of-mind, energy volatility and physical climate risks are increasingly shaping the context in which businesses operate.
To explore how business member associations (BMAs)—such as chambers of commerce and industry associations —can support their SME members through these complexities, Green Economy Canada partnered with BDC to convene a national Roundtable in the run up to Small Business Week 2026.
The roundtable brought together leaders from local, provincial, and sector-specific organizations spanning agriculture, food manufacturing, regional commerce, and rural development. Here are the key insights and takeaways from the discussion.
Key Takeaways from the Green Economy Canada & BDC National Roundtable
Energy & Climate Issues are Merging with Core Business Priorities
Energy and climate action is no longer a standalone sustainability goal; it is directly tied to operational resilience, cost control, and competitiveness.
- Energy price volatility & operational costs: Fluctuations in fuel prices and electricity costs heavily impact bottom lines. Decoupling margins from energy price volatility through efficiency and clean tech adoption is a growing strategic advantage for businesses.
- Severe weather & physical risk: BDC research (Fires, Floods, and Heatwaves) indicates that 31% of Canadian SMEs have already been adversely affected by extreme weather events, and 48% expect to be impacted in the near future. Severe weather causes asset damage, utility disruptions, supply chain bottlenecks, and spiking insurance premiums.
- Supply chain & customer requirements: Major buyers in Canada (including firms such as Sobeys and Rogers) and internationally are setting Scope 1, 2, and 3 science-based targets and requiring suppliers to report on carbon footprints. SMEs proactive in measuring their emissions and taking action are better positioned to retain major accounts, secure new contracts and be more resilient against global instability.
- Workforce expectations: Environmental credentials are key for attracting and retaining talent, particularly among Gen Z and Millennial workers who now make up over half the workforce.
Roundtable Poll Insights
Every Business Member Association sees climate action as a business priority to some degree, with more than 40% seeing it becoming a priority or already a significant priority.
Poll Question:
Considering your membership as a whole, where does climate and energy usage rank as a business priority?
Poll results represent percentage of roundtable participants.
Business Member Associations identify a number of energy and climate-related risks that could impact their membership. Energy costs and reliability, supply chain disruption and extreme weather/physical risk rank as particularly important.
Poll Question:
Which of the following risks are most pressing to your members.
Poll results represent percentage of roundtable participants.
Key Barriers & Opportunities for SME Climate Action
While survey data shows strong interest among business owners in reducing energy use and building resilience, SMEs face distinct hurdles when translating intention into action:
- Capacity & time constraints: Small business owners are generalists juggling daily operations. Unless an issue presents an immediate, clear threat, it is difficult to prioritize long-term planning.
- The “knowledge & execution gap”: Businesses often don’t know where to start or how to evaluate more complex opportunities (e.g., assessing ROI on commercial solar installations or building retrofits).
- High upfront costs & ROI thresholds: Adopting new technologies or fuel-switching (e.g., converting gas boilers to electric) requires significant upfront capital, where simple paybacks may not meet traditional internal return thresholds without grant or loan support
Roundtable Poll Insights
Business Member Associations identify an array of table stakes risks that could impact their membership. Energy costs and reliability, supply chain disruption and extreme weather/physical risk rank as particularly important.
Poll Question:
Which of the following risks are most pressing to your members?
Poll result numbers represent percentage of roundtable participants.
How Business Associations Support Members… Without Being Climate Experts
BMAs don’t need to be technical climate experts to drive impact. Instead, they act as trusted connectors, advocates, and educators within their member business ecosystems. Successful engagement models that overcome the barriers to action were highlighted during the roundtable, including:
- Framing climate action as competitiveness: Successful programs talk about productivity, cost reduction, ROI, and risk management rather than heavy environmental jargon.
- Empowering SMEs: by closing the climate knowledge gap and providing strategic guidance on the core sustainability table stakes critical to their success.
- Leveraging trust: BMAs have a high level of trust with their members, based on years of experience in their area of expertise. This trust can be leveraged to provide strategic business advice, highlight risks and opportunities and share the value of peer networks to advance sustainability goals.
- Member cohorts in a funded action program: The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s Green Advantage Strategic Sustainability Initiative provided participating SMEs with hands-on technical guidance to assess emissions and direct grant funding to implement high-impact action plans.
- Practical, localized workshops: In New Brunswick, local chambers partnered with the Academy for Sustainable Innovation (ASI) and GEC to offer bite-sized online learning paired with tailored in-person workshops, connecting regional climate threats to practical business strategy.
Supports & Free Resources Available for Canadian SMEs
Organizations do not have to build solutions alone. A robust ecosystem of tools, funding, and support exists to help chambers and SMEs get started:
Moving Forward
Building climate-resilient SMEs in Canada requires meeting business owners where they are. By leading with practical business benefits, simplifying technical complexity, and connecting entrepreneurs to funding and advisory support, business member associations play a pivotal role in strengthening local economies for the future.
To learn more about how your business or member association can get involved in sustainability initiatives, please contact us at info@greeneconomy.ca or fill out our form.