Investissement Québec boss says companies want to go green, may need help

Newly-appointed President and Director-General of Investissement Quebec Guy Leblanc speaks to the media at a news conference Thursday, April 18, 2019 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Even though many entrepreneurs don't know where to start, there is a strong interest among Quebec companies in finding ways to improve their environmental practices, said Investissement Québec president and CEO Guy LeBlanc, in an interview to review the Competivert program.

For the first two years of the program, the Quebec government's financial arm has granted financial assistance worth $703 million to support 209 projects. This assistance can take the form of project financing but also coaching in the form of a diagnosis to establish the most promising environmental actions for a company. The total value of the projects would reach $2.7 billion, taking into account the investments of other partners.

LeBlanc said he is reassured to see that the interest of Quebec companies has continued after the initial enthusiasm of the first year of Compétivert. In its first year, Compétivert exceeded its initial target of $375 million over three years. The target was increased to $1 billion again by the end of March 2024.

"I was worried about the second year," Investissement Québec's head. "I was very happy to see that, for the second year, we are at the same pace and that we are on track to reach our objective of $1 billion over three years."

"The electrification of transportation represents roughly 30 per cent of the amounts granted by Investissement Québec," reported LeBlanc. Renewable energy, another 20 per cent, and circular economy projects 10 per cent.

"In the manufacturing sector, there is a great deal of interest in decarbonizing operations," said LeBlanc.

He is reflecting on a Léger survey conducted in collaboration with the organization Québec Net Positif.

In fact, 87 per cent of manufacturing companies believe it is urgent to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet only 12 have not taken any action on climate change in their operations.

"The good news is that there are many people who are aware of this," said LeBlanc. "The bad news is that not many are taking action. This confirms that our role of support and diagnosis is extremely important."

CATCHING UP TO DO

Energy efficiency is a project that all the players in society will have to tackle, and Quebec companies will be called upon to put their shoulder to the grindstone.

A less publicized subject, Quebec companies are also lagging far behind on the circular economy front, said Nicolas Turgeon, director of Industrial Environmental Performance at Investissement Québec -- CRIQ.

Only 3.5 per cent of the Quebec economy is circular, according to the latest report by Recyc-Québec. This figure is 7.2 per cent for the global economy and even reaches 24.5 per cent for the Netherlands.

"This means that 96 per cent of our economy is still in linear mode, which means that we produce, consume, and then dispose of it," said Turgeon. "In fact, there are many companies that have understood that it doesn't make sense and that it's in our economic interest to go circular."

"There are undeniable advantages to going green," says LeBlanc. Stricter requirements from governments, institutional investors and financial institutions will force companies to adjust if they want to export their products or obtain financing, for example.

In a labour scarcity context, a good environmental record is important, he stresses.

"Will you go to work for a company that has a bad environmental reputation? In this day and age, it's not a good idea," said said LeBlanc.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 27, 2023.