Acting to take care of the environment

Every action counts. Montréal is overflowing with cultural initiatives that care about sustainable development. Here are a few:

• The 2-22 obtained LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – New Construction) Silver certification, for its environmentally friendly design;
• The Esplanade Financière Sun Life at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium leverages the solar esplanade to power lighting for outdoor events and harvest rainwater;
• The Phi Centre has a green and white roof that collects rainwater, as well as energy-efficient windows;
• The ephemeral work, Jardins M, created by Atelier Pierre Thibault in collaboration with Reford Gardens, evokes nature and offers an area of urban respite close beside Château Ramezay;
• The Théâtre de Verdure has taken a step towards greater environmental responsibility in collaboration with the Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables (CQEER) and its Scène écoresponsable program. It is now the first venue in Québec to undertake such measures;
• The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and the circus collective Les 7 doigts de la main integrated tools from CQEER’s Scène écoresponsable program into the performance piece entitled Le Murmure du coquelicot;
• The Montréal library network is promoting reading and public transit through the Lire vous transporte campaign;
• The new bibliothèque Marc-Favreau is seeking basic LEED certification. Meanwhile, the equally new bibliothèque du Boisé is pursuing LEED Gold certification and has put together a collection of documents about environmental citizenship and sustainable development;
• The Festival international de jazz de Montréal won the 2013 Grand Vivat prize, awarded by CQEER, to recognize its sustainable development efforts. It is THE carbon-neutral festival in North America!;
• Mosaïcultures Internationales Montréal 2013 – Terre d’espérance was the first large-scale event to be certified by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec for its environmental responsibility. Quite the feat, considering it welcomed a million visitors in 100 days;
• Tourisme Montréal has added a sustainability criterion to its directory of restaurants, in an effort to recognize environmentally responsible practices;
• Écomusée du fier monde is touring an exhibition (Habiter une ville durable) on living in sustainable cities.