AIM
Reduce the impact the enterprise’s professional activities have on the environment, biodiversity, and climate (ecological footprint), and encourage clients and partners to do the same.
This target guides, based on a process of continuous improvement, the enterprise’s activities in the following areas:
SUPPLY AND RESOURCE USE
Prioritize eco-responsible consumption by purchasing goods and services that were obtained in an ecological and socially acceptable manner: local resources, local production, fair-trade and organic products made from materials that are recycled, used, or recovered.
Prioritize second-hand or upcycled products (reuse or valorization of materials for other functions)
Prioritize social-integration enterprises when buying materials or equipment.
Prioritize products that have a sustainable life cycle, from the origin of its materials and the energy necessary for its production to how it will be taken care of at the end of its useful life.
RESIDUAL MATERIALS
Manage residual materials by following principles of source reduction, reuse, and recycling (paper, ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries, sustainable tableware).
ENERGY
Apply measures for saving energy by prioritizing the purchase of low-energy equipment and encouraging changes in habits.
The building where the enterprise’s office is located is also in the process of obtaining the LEED certification.
TRANSPORT
Encourage sustainable mobility by prioritizing public and active transit as well as by minimizing travel (central location of the enterprise’s office in the city, optimization of travel to the field, exchanges by email, virtual meetings).
Reimburse public transit fees to encourage its use by employees.
Use carsharing services for longer travel or when more equipment needs to be transported.
Prioritize meetings (start-up, coordination, and results meetings) online to avoid unnecessary travel.
ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY
The enterprise takes the necessary measures to minimize its impacts on ecosystems or floristic/wildlife communities of interest. Washing of boots, field equipment, and clothing to avoid contamination through seeding of unwanted (introduced or invasive) species or spread of pathogens between habitats is encouraged. Clients and partners are also encouraged to protect the integrity of species and ecosystems of interest (in Quebec or elsewhere in the world) through eco-responsible practices.
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
Communicate the environmental policy efficiently to clients, partners, providers, and sub-contractors to ensure their support in applying this policy.
Support clients in their research and implementation of solutions so that their projects are compliant with current regulations and are harmoniously integrated in the environment and community.
Promote conservation of biodiversity and natural environments during conferences, university seminars, and in the media.