Manufacturing Realities: Towards a Low-Carbon Economy
QNP publishes the summary report of the first year of the SMEs in Transition action-research initiative.
MONTREAL, January 31, 2024 – QNP, an independent non-profit think tank, today publishes the report on the first year of the SMEs in Transition initiative, a collaborative action-research project serving the small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Quebec and the business ecosystem that supports them.
This project was carried out with the support of the Government of Canada and Laurentian Bank. The initiative aims to better understand how to accelerate the implementation of climate action within Quebec’s manufacturing SMEs, which operate at the heart of complex value chains that are set to undergo significant transformation with the ongoing decarbonization of the global economy. This first report presents key elements to be implemented to help SMEs successfully engage in this important transformation, which brings both risks and business opportunities.
“The collaborative action-research format for transitioning SMEs allows for on-the-ground engagement with collaborators committed to increasing exchanges among various stakeholders of the business ecosystem in order to generate new knowledge, with a common goal of triggering the transition to action and the implementation of climate actions for manufacturing SMEs,” emphasizes Katrin Hauschild, Deputy General Director and leader of SMEs in Transition, QNP.
Key findings of the research report
- Implementing climate action is not a priority for Quebec’s manufacturing SMEs.The context of economic and operational uncertainty in which manufacturing companies operate leaves little room for integrating climate action into business strategy and operations.
- Si elles disposaient de fonds pour réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES),
les PME manufacturières rencontrées envisageraient principalement :- Hiring staff
- Replacing fossil fuel equipment
- Workforce training
- Hiring experts to develop action plans
- The adoption of electric vehicles
- Les tendances directionnelles qui se dessinent pour des trajectoires de transition plausibles
pour les entreprises manufacturières incluent :- Energy productivity
- Circular economy
- Industrial symbiosis
- Industry 5.0
- The community of practice (CoP) is a collaborative format with strong potential for strengthening knowledge within manufacturing SMEs.The appeal of CoPs lies mainly in the fact that they are a very concrete and flexible learning method that allows trust to be established within a network of peers, including the sharing of best practices.
- The concept of foresight is still relatively unknown in the business community, and current approaches are ill-suited to the reality of SMEs.
- Les cinq principales actions climatiques répertoriées au cours des sept premiers mois d’activités de veille concordent avec les données quantitatives tirées du Baromètre de la transition des entreprises – secteur manufacturier1. Les principales actions mises en œuvre sont :
- Waste reduction and composting
- Optimization of operations and reduction of resources
- Improvement and adaptation of product and service offerings with the aim of reducing GHG emissions
- Circular economy and recycling
- Responsible procurement
- Les trois principales occasions d’amélioration soulevées au niveau de la mobilisation régionale sont :
- Simplified access to the support ecosystem and greater coordination and fluidity within it
- Access to regional data to better guide SMEs, track progress, and foster collaboration to reduce significant sources of emissions
- More boldness and leadership from local governments, including clearer and more predictable laws and regulations to guide and encourage businesses to take action.
- The three main sources of motivation for taking action to reduce carbon footprints, as stated by executives and managers in field interviews:
- Values of leaders and the company
- Individual awareness
- Business opportunities to seize
To take things further, the manufacturing SMEs who testified as part of the action-research project are calling for clear directions from the government, financial incentives and support to help them identify the most profitable and relevant actions to take in the short term.
“It is vital for the entire Quebec economy that its nearly 250,000 SMEs, which employ over 2 million workers, are aware of the risks and business opportunities presented by the significant economic transition underway and engage with it successfully. We are starting the second year of collaborative action-research with great interest. Each new meeting is an opportunity to learn together, create connections, and take another step towards the transition,” concludes Anne-Josée Laquerre, Executive Director and co-initiator, QNP.
The initiative, which will continue until January 2025, is one of 16 research projects funded under the Environmental Damages Fund’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund, administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, to support the mandate and objectives of the Carbon Neutrality Advisory Group. A call for proposals was launched in spring 2022 with research themes identified by the CAG based on targeted areas of investigation. These projects aim to fill knowledge gaps and enable the CAG to continue its essential mission of helping Canada achieve GHG neutrality by 2050.
SMEs in Transition is carried out with the support of regional partners, practitioners, experts, and academic researchers. We would like to thank our partners ADDERE Service-conseil (Estrie), Conseil régional de l’environnement de la Montérégie, Excellence industrielle Saint-Laurent (Montreal), Futur Simple, Projet Collectif, Ciblexpert, Chemins de transition, and PHAR, as well as the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) for its support and our distribution partner, the Centre for Sustainable Development.
To download the report:click here
For more information :
Quebec Business Transition Barometer – manufacturing sector : click here
To produce aSector or Regional Barometer: please contact us.
This press release was published on the Press Wire.
About Québec Net Positif
QNP is an independent non-profit think tank whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and “net positive” economy. Its mission is to raise awareness, mobilize, and equip businesses to help them go beyond risk mitigation, seize business opportunities, and activate their full potential to create positive impacts on society and the environment.