Port of Québec consolidates approach to sustainable development

The Québec Port Authority (QPA) took another important step in terms of its sustainable development by entrusting the development of a strategy to Johanne Gélinas of the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. Gélinas previously held the position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the Canadian government, and was a commissioner at the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), the agency responsible for holding public environmental hearings, in Quebec.

“Making the Port of Québec a leader in sustainable development was a commitment I made when I took the helm two years ago,” said Mario Girard, QPA’s president and CEO. “We have already taken steps in this direction, such as the establishment of a community relations committee, but now we want to build a structured framework that will be a foundation for our activities. This is the natural evolution of our vision.”

Gélinas’s team will start by identifying the port’s most pressing sustainable development issues. This approach will include not only an analysis of international best practices implemented by large ports that are leaders in this realm, but also consultations with QPA stakeholders to obtain the most accurate portrait of the current situation and identify potential risks and opportunities. The assessment will make it possible to establish strategic goals for sustainable development, enabling the QPA to prioritize the actions required to further position itself as a responsible company. The entire process will be interactive and will involve community stakeholders.