The Port of Québec aspires to become the ideal son-in-law of the national capital. By 2035, this unloved part of the community promises to turn into a prince charming, close to people and concerned about the environment. Greenwashing or real wind of change? Analysis with two experts who perceive green lights and some downsides in the Port’s efforts.
On Friday morning, the Port Authority presented its “Vision 2035”, a statement of principles to guide the Port on the path of the future. Its CEO, Mario Girard, presented the transformation to come on a stage without a lectern, flanked by plastic plants and slides showing landscapes of blue water, greenery and smiling families.
Behind the somewhat coarse strings of this public relations effort was a rather well-crafted vision, according to two experts in social acceptability consulted by The duty.
The Port translates its vision into four pillars. First, demonstrate an exemplary commitment to the community, by consulting the population more, by funding citizen initiatives and by offering more and better access to the St. Lawrence. The CEO even wants to reach out to millennials and Gen Z by inviting both to sit at a standing committee table.
The port authority then promises to green its balance sheet by electrifying its docks, protecting biodiversity and reducing air pollution. It undertakes to set up a decarbonization plan and to publish its progress each year in a dashboard that everyone can consult.
The Port also wants to become a center of international influence for Quebec maritime know-how and an “employer of choice” for its workforce.
“A port is more than an economic development tool,” insisted Mario Girard. Let’s never forget that a port is above all a collective asset. »
A coat of arms to gild
The community has not always seen it that way. Recent history teaches that the community has rather perceived the port as a generator of pollution and poor air quality in the lower town of Quebec. A citizen mobilization even contributed to sinking Laurentia, the deep-water wharf that was to put the capital on the maritime world map.
“It has become imperative, for public policies as well as projects that have an impact on their environment, to have the consent of the community,” analyzes Corinne Gendron, holder of the Chair of Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). There are more and more projects that never see the light of day due to popular opposition. »
“Society’s expectations are getting higher and higher,” notes Yves Plourde, professor in the management department at HEC Montréal. The value that a company brings must no longer only be economic, but also, and above all, collective. »
The Port of Quebec seems to have taken note of this. In her presentation, she listed her priorities: the community, the environment and, at the back of the pack, the economy. “This wording and its organization are not the result of chance, added Mario Girard. The world is changing and the Port is changing too. Citizen interests become a license to authorize projects – and that’s good. »
The port authority, by presenting the values that should drive its future, is doing a laudable exercise in transparency, in the opinion of Yves Plourde. “The positive side of that is that the organization publicly states its commitments and that already opens the door to accountability. The community and the media now know on what basis to judge its action. »
Corinne Gendron agrees. “It doesn’t matter if a company just spouts nice phrases to look good in the public eye. Once senior management speaks out, it’s part of their image, it’s in the questions they’re asked and it counts in their annual report. »
“Afterwards, continues the UQAM professor, if an organization says in 2023: ”we are going to do wonderful things for the environment” without following up on it five years later, sooner or later there will be a surrender of account. »
However, the two specialists deplore the fact that no figures or timetable accompany the vision presented by the Port. “The actions have to follow, stresses Yves Plourde. Otherwise, it’s just talk and it’s greenwashing. »
A few flats
A condition for assessing the seriousness of a company that claims to be concerned about the environment, notes the HEC Montreal professor, is its transparency. “If the public has no access to the data, it makes no sense. On this aspect, he believes that the desire of the Port of Quebec to allow everyone to consult the results of its decarbonization effort and to measure it according to recognized international standards deserves “one star”.
However, he concludes on a downside. The Port, he notes, is first and foremost an infrastructure used by others. If it becomes exemplary at the corporate level without imposing its own standards on shipowners and users, its effort will become a dud.
A company that is committed to carbon neutrality must take care of its level 3 emissions, that is to say the indirect emissions generated by its presence. “The port has specifications that govern its use,” adds Corinne Gendron, from UQAM. It’s not: ”come and do what you want.” If these specifications do not impose any obligation in relation to the commitments made by the port… It misses its own target. »