The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, is today proud to announce which companies will be part of the first cohort of the Sustainable Development Programme, a partner initiative of the Women4Climate mentoring programme of the international organisation C40. Over the next twelve months, 15 companies, 13 of which are run by women, will be supported by qualified consultants in the transformation of sustainable business practices. To kick off, the mayor was accompanied by representatives of the Government of Quebec, the Council of Sustainable Industries, the firm Ellio, and partner companies C2, Cascades, Énergir and L'Oréal Canada.
Solutions for sustainable economic development
In its Economic Development Strategy 2018-2022, Montreal is committed to seizing new opportunities to accelerate the city’s economic development in a sustainable, inclusive and innovative way. The Sustainable Development Programme bears witness to this: it will offer 15 SMEs and social economy enterprises a support programme to seek out and implement sustainable and inspiring business models. This initiative is a practical measure to accelerate the transformation of business practices and enable the achievement of the objectives of the Sustainable Montreal Plan 2016-2020.
“We are very proud to launch the Sustainable Development Programme, a partner initiative of the Women4Climate mentoring programme, which will help bring about the next generation of climate leaders, most of them being women entrepreneurs. The commitment made during my assignment in Mexico is becoming a reality: Montreal is following in the footsteps of other international cities such as Paris, Mexico City, Quito, Durban and London and is reaffirming its leadership in sustainable development. Together with its partners, the city intends to innovate and demonstrate creativity and daring to remain a model through its practices, plans, policies and programmes”, said Mayor Valérie Plante.
The first cohort of the Sustainable Development Programme
The companies that make up the first cohort are: 360Medlink, Archex, BlueBridge, Cartouches Certifiées, Communautique, Evoq, Greensolv, Design by Judith Portier, Épicerie Loco, LovePac, Mingus Software, Piknic Électronik, Pro-Prêt, Sollertia and Workland.
A rich partnership with the business community
Over the next twelve months, SMEs will determine the sustainability challenge they will focus on. They will be supported by valuable business partners who engage with the city in a shared vision and desire for action.
“I thank our partners, C2, Cascades, Énergir and L'Oréal Canada, for their commitment to this high-level programme that will enable local SMEs to find business solutions to their sustainable development challenge. Together, we can accelerate their growth. I invite the whole of Montreal’s sustainable development ecosystem, particularly the university network, to rally behind this new project to find innovative solutions to the challenges that will be posed”, concluded the Mayor.
The Sustainable Development Programme also partners with Mosaic HEC, Concertation Montréal, the ‘Réseau des femmes en environnement’ environmental women's network and the Quebec action fund for sustainable development.
About the Montreal Sustainable Development Programme
The Montreal Sustainable Development Programme, an initiative of the City of Montreal, the Council of Sustainable Industries and the firm Ellio, in partnership with the Government of Quebec, is providing 15 SMEs and social economy enterprises with training and support over one year to identify innovative solutions to sustainable development challenges, including climate change. This project will promote the implementation of sustainable and inspiring business models. The Programme is a partner of the Women4Climate international project whose main objective is to increase women’s involvement in climate change issues affecting C40 cities.
To find out more about the Montréal Women4Climate programme click here.