SMEs in Transition: new collaborative action-research
QNP launches SMEs in transition to reveal and co-create innovative approaches to help SMEs undertake the transition to a low-carbon economy.
MONTREAL, May 17, 2023 – QNP, an independent non-profit think tank, unveils today‘SMEs in Transition’, a brand new collaborative action-research initiative in support of manufacturing SMEs in Quebec and the business ecosystem that supports them.
This initiative, conducted in collaboration with regional collaborators, practitioners, experts and academic researchers, will continue through January 2025 and aims to evaluate the relevance and impact of various engagement approaches to:
- Strengthen the willingness and capacity of manufacturing SMEsto implement climate action;
- Activate abusiness ecosystem conducive to accelerating the transition to a low-carbon and “net positive” economy.
As the transition to a low-carbon economy accelerates, manufacturing companies feel challenged but are slow to take action. 87% of manufacturing companies in Quebec believe it is urgent to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 81% agree that companies have a central role to play in reducing GHGs. Yet, 49% indicate that they are not implementing any climate action within their operations, according to the results of the Quebec Business Transition Barometer – manufacturing sector, published by QNP on April 27, 2023.
“Achieving carbon neutrality in Quebec and Canada by 2050 and the Quebec government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets of 37.5% by 2030, from their 1990 levels, will result in a profound transformation of the economic fabric across all regions of Quebec,” emphasizes Anne-Josée Laquerre, Executive Director and co-initiator of QNP. “It is vital for the entire Quebec economy that its approximately 250,000 SMEs, which account for more than 2 million workers, are aware of the risks and business opportunities of this transition and successfully engage in it.”
According to the Business Transition Barometer – Manufacturing Sector, manufacturing businesses actually perceive more benefits and opportunities related to climate action and the transition to a low-carbon economy than Quebec businesses overall (30% vs. 21%). They identify the main business opportunities as being the creation and offering of products, solutions and services that meet new needs and market expectations (60% vs. 42%), followed by strengthening the company’s brand image and reputation (40% vs. 34%) and being positioned as a supplier of choice, preserving and consolidating business relationships with customers and major clients (40% vs. 26%).
3 pillars for collaborative action research
Funded by the Government of Canada, with the support of the Laurentian Bank, the “SMEs in Transition” initiative will allow participating SMEs and their ecosystems to establish new contacts, beyond their usual networks, to reveal and co-create innovative approaches to navigate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The initiative is structured in three pillars:
- Regional and sectoral mobilization: Identify the appropriate means and key moments to promote the measurement of GHG emissions, establish reduction targets and trigger climate action, with our mobilization partners: ADDERE Service-conseil (Eastern Townships), Conseil régional de l’environnement de la Montérégie and Excellence industrielle Saint-Laurent (Montréal).
- Communities of practice: Identify mechanisms to optimize the added value for leaders and participants in joining collective learning spaces on climate action and the transition, with our expert collaborators: Brav. and Projet Collectif.
- Transition pathways, foresight, monitoring and business intelligence:To bring together leaders of manufacturing SMEs – and the ecosystem of those who accompany them – to create a place for exchange and reflection with the aim of increasing collective awareness of the needs and possibilities for change in their sector, develop a transformative vision that will help identify business opportunities and favourably orient short-term decisions towards a likely transition pathway, and be on the lookout for best practices in Quebec and beyond, with our expert collaborators: Ciblexpert, Chemins de transitionand PHAR
The project is also supported by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and the Center for sustainable development (Maison du développement durable).
“In addition to our mapping of the low-carbon economy and the data from our Business Transition Barometers, the monitoring and business intelligence as well as the new knowledge that will emerge from ‘SMEs in Transition’ will guide us collectively on the best ways to strengthen and activate a business ecosystem increasingly conducive to the transition of all SMEs,”emphasizes Anne-Josée Laquerre, General Director and co-initiator of QNP.
Supported by the Government of Canada
“SMEs in Transition” is one of sixteen new research projects announced by the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB) at Americana 2023, with total funding of nearly $10 million, supported by the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund, through the Climate Action and Awareness Fund. These projects will address knowledge gaps and enable NZAB to continue its critical mission to help Canada achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality by 2050.
Quotes from “SMEs in Transition” collaborators
“At Laurentian Bank, we place our clients at the forefront and are consistently committed to helping them ‘see beyond the numbers.’ We integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects within our operations and initiate a constructive dialogue on ESG issues with our clients. We are proud to support this new collaborative action-research initiative launched by QNP and to join a group of leaders committed to helping SMEs in Quebec succeed in their transition, implement climate actions, and prepare to thrive in a low-carbon, more equitable, and sustainable economy.”
– Éric Provost, Executive Vice President, Business Services and President, Quebec Market, Laurentian Bank.
“We support more than a hundred SMEs each year in their transformation to a greener economy, and remain acutely aware that this effort presents them with major challenges. By joining forces in a concerted approach, we will increase our collective capacity to create a climate conducive to the transition of SMEs across Quebec.”
– Jean-Pierre Gouin, General Manager, ADDERE Service-conseil(Eastern Townships region)
“The circular economy projects that we have been carrying out for several years: Symbiose agroalimentaire Montérégie and Vision circularité, have allowed us to create a network of partners from the economic milieu that includes public and private economic development organizations as well as businesses and sectoral groups. We welcome this initiative, which will allow us to share best practices with a growing number of SMEs.”
– Andréanne Paris, Executive Director, Conseil régional de l’environnement de la Montérégie
Companies are increasingly aware of the importance of integrating sustainable development into their activities. In recent years, we have developed services to better inform and support manufacturing SMEs and encourage their sustainable transition: industrial ecology workshops as well as Eco-Networking among businesses to integrate climate change, better manage energy and waste, promote the circular economy, and other eco-responsible practices in the borough of Saint-Laurent. We commend the vision developed by QNP for this project, which will only have positive impacts on the Montreal area.
– Leesa Hodgson, General Manager, Industrial Excellence Saint-Laurent(Montreal region)
“We combine strategic intelligence, expert analysis and collective intelligence and are pleased to put our innovative technological tools, our curiosity and our ability to channel the collective intelligence of our large network to help SMEs transition to a prosperous and sustainable economy.”
– Caroline Bouchard, Co-founder, Phar
“At Brav., through our work with SMEs to better prepare for the impacts of climate change and to help them develop a climate action plan, we have found that SMEs have a strong desire for action but often do not know where to start. For SMEs that are already advanced in their approach, they sometimes face new and complex challenges for which solutions have yet to be invented. We believe that exchange and collaboration with other companies that have common needs and interests, within a community of practice, can bring a lot. Together we are stronger!”
– Pascale Lagacé, Executive Director, Brav.
“We aim to achieve an ecoherent society where the economy is consistent with the ecology of the planet. This is certainly the most complex challenge humanity has faced to date. We are committed to co-creating new tools tailored to SMEs to help them navigate this complexity to achieve the societal system transformations that are needed while undermining the risks of transition.”
– Yves Lusignan, President, Ciblexpert
« Projet collectif travaille à faciliter l’accès aux connaissances et favoriser les échanges entre les personnes et les organisations qui créent une société plus équitable et écologique. Nous sommes enthousiastes à l’idée de collaborer avec QNP pour soutenir la documentation et la diffusion des connaissances qui émergeront de « PME en transition. »
– Vincent Chapdelaine, Co-directeur général, Projet collectif
“More than 1,000 scientists, professionals and citizens have contributed to defining the vision of desirable futures for the Quebec economy and society, and developing “transition paths” that can take us there. The QNP project will provide us with opportunities to share the fruits of our labors, and to provide content and formats adapted to the contexts and needs of SMEs.”
– Mélanie McDonald, Executive Director, Transition Pathways
At BDC, we are completely aligned with the ultimate goal of this action-research project proposed by QNP. We believe that the B Corp movement, to which we adhere, already contributes to the realization of the vision put forward by QNP. Indeed, the SMEs in Transition program aims for companies to recognize the benefits of going beyond mitigating their negative impacts and to leverage their full potential to collectively generate net positive impacts on society and the environment. Together, we always encourage more SMEs in Quebec to imagine and implement transition pathways that contribute to Canada’s carbon neutrality objective by 2050.
– Craig Ryan, Director, Sustainability & ESG, BDC
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. Supported by the McConnell Foundation, its mission is to raise awareness, mobilize and equip businesses to seize new business opportunities, go beyond mitigating risks, and activate their full potential to create positive impacts on society and the environment.