Eco-responsibility

The Mondial de la Bière has implemented a five-year action plan (2023-2027) to address the challenges of a gourmet festival with an international brewing focus. Our objective is to become an eco-responsible event within the framework of event tourism, continuously improving year after year to enhance quality of life today and for the future.

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Global Eco-Responsibility Policy for the Mondial de la Bière

1. Context

The Mondial de la Bière has implemented a five-year action plan (2023-2027) to address the challenges of a gourmet festival with an international brewing focus. Our objective is to become an eco-responsible event within the framework of event tourism, continuously improving year after year to enhance quality of life today and for the future.

Event tourism places us in a delicate position, as our goal is to attract visitors to promote our city and province. Clearly, our event significantly impacts transportation. Other key challenges include sourcing, recovery, and promoting responsible consumption. In 2024, we introduced a carbon footprint calculator, which will be utilized more effectively in 2025.

2. Definitions

Eco-responsibility refers to a set of behaviors aligned with sustainable development principles. Notable eco-responsible behaviors include recycling, composting, using public and active transportation, and purchasing eco-friendly, local, and organic products.

Social practices in event planning encompass actions and approaches adopted during events to promote equity, respect for human rights, and the well-being of individuals. These practices aim to create positive impacts on local communities and stakeholders, integrating principles of social justice, inclusion, and responsibility.

Reuse - The 3Rs + E Principle: This principle prioritizes the reduction, reuse, recycling, valorization, and disposal of residual materials, in that order, from an ecological management perspective.

Linguistic Notes: The term "3Rs + E" is derived from the initials of the French words for reduction, reuse, recycling,valorization, and elimination.

3. Guiding Principles

Our eco-responsibility policy aims to raise awareness among employees, volunteers, exhibitors, suppliers, and visitors by providing them with information and tools to help us gather data to improve our sustainable development impact year after year. Ongoing actions are outlined in Annex 1.

4. Scope

This policy applies to our annual event and participation in other events. It covers employees, volunteers, exhibitors, suppliers, and visitors.

Associated entities: Cadillac Fairview and various specialized suppliers in sorting, composting, recycling, and the collaboration of those subject to this policy.

5. Directions

Direction 1 — Residual Materials: Recovery of residuals, food, and IT equipment; reducing single-use items and distributing suitable foods. Sorting efforts led by the Green Team.

Direction 2 — Sourcing: Contract clauses for exhibitors and suppliers, supplier distance, and local ingredients.

Direction 3 — Social Practices: Protection and harassment prevention.

Direction 4 — Water, Energy, and Transport: Greenhouse gas emissions, water, energy, transport, and carbon footprint calculator.

Monitoring indicators: Diversion rate, weight verification, green brigade and sorting center, forms to calculate exhibitor and supplier ingredients (CQEER templates), water recovery during dismantling, and reports from our carbon footprint calculator covering visitors, exhibitors, and suppliers. Public transport agreements with BIXI and STM are also in progress.

6. Structure and Responsibility

Jeannine Marois is responsible for this policy, with support from Carole Plante and our logistics and sourcing employees.

7. Authority

The implementation of this policy is overseen by Jeannine Marois, President of the Board and CEO.

8. Monitoring and Accountability

This policy will be reviewed by Jeannine Marois, President of the Board and CEO, every two to five years starting November 2, 2024.

9. Effective Date

This policy, available at https://festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca/ecoresponsabilite, was adopted by the CEO in April 2023, came into effect in May 2023, and was amended on December 2, 2024. Global Eco-Responsibility Policy for the Mondial de la Bière .PDF

Signed by Jeannine Marois on December 2, 2024.

Annex 1

Ongoing Actions:

As part of the Mondial de la Bière in May 2023 and 2024, we collaborated with the Windsor Station team and their suppliers for recycling. Windsor Station already has a well-established system that we adapted to meet the increased demands during the festival week. For example, the frequency of recyclable and waste material collections was increased. We will continue along this path with them for 2025.

On-site, bins are clearly labeled, and visitors and exhibitors cooperate, ensuring that our event is a clean and responsible festival. This is done in collaboration with GDI Services.

We will continue working with Recycan Inc. for can collection. We provide bags to the exhibitors.

MultiRecycle, for its part, collected wood residues (beer pallets and others) at the end of the festival.

Since the SAQ no longer accepts deposits for imported beers, we hired ConsignAction to handle the collection of our cans and bottles.

Our logistics for waste collection work well with the exhibitors, and we achieve good management at the end of each day. Our microbrewery exhibitors also collaborate and aim to reduce their footprint.

This truly is a group effort led by us.

One of our colleagues contacted "Lueur." We agreed to create signage this year, as we did not have time for a full training session. Unfortunately, we did not receive the signs in time, but they will be installed in 2025.

SAESEM (Société pour l’Action, l’Éducation et la Sensibilisation Environnementale de Montréal - Green Training): We provided training to our volunteers and coordinators in 2023. We will repeat this training in 2025. Our staff and volunteers do not change significantly from year to year.

Enuf visited our site to discuss actions for 2025.

Key Achievements:

- We eliminated the printing of 95,000 cards and 10,000 programs in 2024.

- We collaborated with "Encore Biomatériaux," which develops materials made from organic waste, including spent grains (brewing residues).

- We eliminated paper coupons years ago and now use reusable RFID cards (since 2017).

- We also eliminated five-ounce plastic glasses. Only glass or reusable cups from the Mondial de la Bière are allowed on-site as of 2024.

- Our customers have received reusable bags since 2010 to transport their glasses and other items. The same will apply in 2025 to avoid breakage on public streets.

- The choice of location for our event is always guided by accessibility to public transportation. Bonaventure and Lucien-L’Allier stations are very close to our venue.

- Beyond the ecological reasons for encouraging public transport use, safety is another priority for our festival attendees, as we are a beer tasting event.

- We will continue to ensure that visitors understand where to properly dispose of items—recycling or garbage bins. Recycling is managed in collaboration with the venue provider.

We promote responsible consumption with the support of our partners, Point Zéro 8 and Alco Prévention Canada (awareness campaigns and safe ride programs) for the well-being of our visitors.

- Additionally, the average tasting portion size is two to four ounces.

Our Intentions for 2025:

We aim to work in collaboration with a company specializing in eco-responsibility.

We also hope to find volunteers specialized in environmental issues or affiliated with environmental causes.

Regarding composting, we wish to add it to our efforts if we find the right people to support us in this endeavor.

Windsor Station currently manages composting, but we need to improve on our side.

All these efforts are aimed at doing even better.