Survey of Environmental Goods and Services (SEGS)

Detailed information for 2024

The purpose of the survey is to produce estimates of the production of environmental goods and services by industry. This survey collects data on sales of environmental and clean technology goods and services.

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

The purpose of the survey is to produce estimates of the production of environmental goods and services by industry. This survey collects data on sales of environmental and clean technology goods and services.

This information can be used by businesses for market analysis, by trade associations to study the performance of the environment industry, by governments to develop policies and by researchers.

Subjects

• Environment
• Environmental protection

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for the survey is NAICS based however, the questions pertain to a suite of products and services which are part of the Canadian clean technology taxonomy. More on these products and services can be found in the associated technical reference guide (16-511-X).

The target population includes business establishments operating in Canada, excluding head offices, in select; Support activities for agriculture and forestry industries (NAICS 115), Utilities industries (NAICS 221), Construction industries (NAICS 236, 237, 238), Manufacturing industries (NAICS 321, 324, 325, 326, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 339), Wholesale trade industries (NAICS 412, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419), Software publishers industry (NAICS 513), the Data processing, hosting, and related services industry (NAICS 518), the Professional, scientific, and technical services industry (NAICS 541), the Management, scientific and technical consulting services industry (NAICS 5416), the Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services industries (NAICS 561, 562), and the Repair and maintenance industry (NAICS 811).

For the purpose of this survey, the smallest units of the industries of interest are excluded from the population. In each combination of 3-digits NAICS, establishments that make up the bottom 10% of the revenue by region were excluded.

The observed population comes from the Generic Survey Universe File (GSUF) created by Statistics Canada's Statistical Registers and Geography Division in January 2025. It contains all establishments in Canada existing in January 2025. From this file, establishments respecting the criteria above are retained.

Instrument design

The questionnaire was developed by the Environment Accounts and Statistics Division (EASD), with input from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Natural Resources Canada, the survey's primary stakeholders. Compared to its predecessor, the Environment Industry Survey, the content has been pared-down to reflect a more focused array of environmental and clean technology products and services. The questions cover the following categories of goods and services:

- Clean energy production
- Management of non-hazardous waste
- Management of industrial air pollution or flue gas
- Monitoring and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution
- Industrial wastewater treatment and municipal sewage treatment
- Water management, recycling and treatment of drinking water technologies
- Remediation of ground water, surface water and leachate
- Remediation of soil, sediment and sludge
- Smart grid and energy storage
- Bioenergy and biomaterial production
- Precision agriculture technologies
- Energy efficiency technologies
- Transportation technologies
- Site remediation services and environmental emergency response services
- Energy efficiency and industrial design services
- Monitoring and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution services
- Clean energy services
- Water management and efficiency services
- Sustainable resource services
- Transportation services
- Smart grid services
- Environmental employment
- Revenues generated through exports
- Investments
-Direct sales to government and utilities

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The Generic Survey Universe File (GSUF) is used as the survey frame.

A stratified sample of establishments classified to the 3-digit level of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2022 and to geographical regions was selected. Respondents from reference year 2023 who reported total environmental revenues and a list of establishments provided by subject matters were selected with certainty.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2025-04-22 to 2025-10-15

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys.

Data are collected using an electronic questionnaire.

A secure access code is mailed or emailed to respondents directing them to the electronic questionnaire.

Telephone follow-up is used to obtain data from establishments who return incomplete questionnaires or who fail to respond.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .