Approximately half of Quebec manufacturing companies take no measures to reduce their GHG emissions within their operations, according to the Business transition barometer published by Québec Net Positif on Monday. However, they would have every interest in doing so, both for the planet and for their business positioning.
The Boldwin microbrewery decided to source local beans, avoiding importing them, unlike many other manufacturers. It has also joined forces with four other brands to come together under the roof of the Collectif brassicole Ensemble. “Each brand keeps its identity, but we make economies of scale. Instead of having a truck make five stops, it makes just one. Instead of having six sales teams traveling, there is only one,” explains Alex Poirier, marketing coordinator for the collective, emphasizing the fact that less fuel is burned this way.
The cranberry producer and processor Fruit d’or, for its part, electrified processes at its Plessisville factory, installed heat pumps to recover heat and installed LED lighting in its warehouses.
A whole range of actions “known and desirable to reduce GHGs” are available to companies that wish to have a better carbon footprint, indicates Anne-Josée Laquerre, general director and co-initiator of the Québec Net Positif ideas laboratory.
“If companies buy equipment, do they take their energy consumption into account? Is this equipment that will be easily repairable? » she asks herself.
Around 200 Quebec business leaders in the manufacturing sector were surveyed last fall by the Léger firm, hired by M’s organization.me Laquerre. Unfortunately, these companies have only adopted on average 30% of the actions present in this environmental toolbox, compared to 32.4% for all Quebec companies. However, 79% of them “say they are motivated to do things differently” and 83% “agree with the fact that businesses have a central role to play in reducing GHGs”. What’s blocking?
According to Mme Laquerre, it can be difficult to make things happen when a company’s competitiveness depends on so many steps, suppliers, partners and customers. It will therefore be necessary to work as a team, she believes.
A return on investment
It must also be said that the adoption of greener technologies often represents significant investments. However, the game is worth the effort, believes Gladys Caron, Senior Vice-President, Strategies and External Communications at Investissement Québec (IQ), which is a partner of this report.
“We are working to raise awareness among businesses, particularly by highlighting the successes of other businesses,” says M.me Because we.
One of these successes is that of the Robert Group, which works in logistics, transport and distribution. The company notably installed a CO refrigeration system2 in its huge cold storage warehouse in Varennes. This system is more expensive to install than a less innovative system, says Marc-Antoine Bucci, senior director of operations, but it reduces GHG emissions and it consumes less electricity, which will represent savings in the long run. term. His team also installed walls “thicker than market standards” allowing 60% greater insulation, according to Mr. Bucci.
“With today’s environmental awareness, our ecological choices have a lot of impact on employees’ sense of belonging and pride,” also notes Mr. Bucci.
Mme Caron believes that adopting sustainable practices makes it possible to win contracts with clients who have certain requirements, particularly in Europe. “The more we advance, the more there will be regulatory constraints for companies, almost everywhere in the world, in terms of reducing GHGs,” she emphasizes.
Investissement Québec’s Compétivert program has for several years been helping businesses that do not know which environmental actions to start with or that need financing to carry out a project. Approximately $1.3 billion has been awarded to businesses through this program over the past three years, for projects with a total value of $4.8 billion.