Actors

A total of 1980 distinct actors were identified in Flanders’ cleantech sector.

Actors were divided into 4 categories:
Pioneers: Organizations that apply cleantech in their production process
Enablers: Organizations that enable the cleantech ecosystem
Implementors: Organizations that help other companies apply cleantech
Tech Providers: Organizations that produce and sell the cleantech that allows customers to contribute to environmental goals.

Analyzing the size (using staff count) of companies and comparing the relative size distribution, a percentual increase of extra small (XS; 1-10 employees) actors is observed between 2011 and 2020. This observations indicates a continued thriving scene for cleantech start-ups, and strong, competitive market growth.

This is further evidenced by tracking the changes in juridical status of the bankruptcies. Monthly bankruptcies filed throughout 2020 were lower than in 2019. Whilst the moratorium on bankruptcy, in effect between 18^th March and 17^th June 2020, certainly influenced this; it is notable that the relatively low number of filings continues well into 2021.