SAINT-LAURENT, QC, Aug. 24, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Saint-Laurent is pleased to announce the first edition of the Eco-Citizens' Rendez-Vous, October 25-26, 2019. This major event is being organized for companies on Friday, October 25 at the Centre de conférence et de réception Le Challenger and then for the general public on Saturday, October 26 at the Saint-Laurent Sports Complex, a LEED Gold building. In view of the climate emergency, the objective is to provide Borough residents and companies with various concrete tools to adopt eco-responsible habits on a daily basis and contribute toward preserving the environment, while improving their quality of life and health.

Quote
"As a sustainable municipal territory, Saint-Laurent wants to go beyond awareness and enable its community to take concrete action to improve its quality of life on a daily basis, while preserving the environment in the present context of climate change. After more than 15 years of measures taken by Saint-Laurent in this regard, we are pleased, with this first Eco-Citizens' Rendez-Vous, to get the entire Saint-Laurent community involved around one and the same vision and shared values. We are inviting each and every one of our residents, in this way, to take action. It will be a great time to get together and exchange ideas in order to learn while having fun as a family. In Saint-Laurent, we have more than just citizens: we have eco-citizens!

Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent

Highlights
With 15 years of commitment featuring many initiatives, Saint-Laurent declared itself a "sustainable municipal territory" in January 2019 and adopted a new Sustainable Development Policy.

With this ambitious event, Saint-Laurent wants to mobilize the Saint-Laurent community and encourage its residents to become "eco-citizens".

1. Invitation to companies:
The Corporate Eco-Citizens' Rendez-Vous, Friday, October 25, 2019, at the Centre de conférence et de réception Le Challenger

Organized in collaboration with Développement économique Saint-Laurent (DESTL), this breakfast event for companies, commercial establishments and institutions in Saint-Laurent will focus on sustainable development as a means of optimizing their employer brand and promoting the hiring and support of their employees. A number of companies, particularly those in Saint-Laurent, will come to discuss their successes and their good practices in this regard in order to share possible solutions with the participating entrepreneurs. For example, Marie-Josée Richer, co-founder of Prana, will discuss her company's experience and the importance of integrating this component into the business plan, with an update also on B-Corp certification.

In addition to these inspiring examples, the participants will have a number of chances to network through various activities in order to create business opportunities.   

2. Invitation to residents
The Eco-Citizens' Rendez-Vous, Saturday, October 26, 2019, at the Saint-Laurent Sports Complex

This event, which will be free of charge to the general public, will take place 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Three types of activities are planned.

• An exhibitor village: Some 30 booths will highlight specialized tools, services, projects and resources on topics such as zero waste, electric transit, biodiversity, responsible consumption, ecological education, the social economy, healthy eating and urban agriculture. The public is invited to take part in enriching experiences, full of creativity and innovation, based on experimentation and direct participation. Those in attendance will also be given a wealth of useful and relevant information to help them take "green" actions on a daily basis.
• Dynamic, interactive and informative talks: These will be presented by prestigious speakers, experts in their fields, including Patrick de Bellefeuille, professional speaker and presenter at Météo Média, who will also be moderating the discussions during the day.
• A section for families: Activity areas will give children and their parents a chance to have fun, while participating in educational activities on the environment. Competitions, draws and demonstrations are also in store.

About Saint-Laurent
Having celebrated the 125th anniversary of its incorporation in 2018, Saint-Laurent is one of the 19 boroughs in Ville de Montréal. As sustainable development is at the heart of all its decisions, the Borough declared itself a "sustainable municipal territory" on January 8, 2019. Its population of over 100,000, is one of the most multicultural: 81% of its residents are immigrants or have a parent born in another country. Located at the crossroads of Montréal's main highways with great accessibility to public transit, the Borough extends over 42.8 square kilometres in area. More than 70% of its territory is devoted to industrial and commercial activities. With 4500 companies and 110,000 jobs, it is in fact the second largest employment pool on the island of Montréal. It also boasts one of Québec's main industrial and technological centres. And last but not least, with its two libraries, its Centre des loisirs (recreation centre), its new Sports Complex, its arena and some 50 parks, Saint-Laurent offers a wide range of services in many fields, such as culture, sports and recreation. In this way, the Borough ensures a high quality of life for the families and companies within its community.

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement de Saint-Laurent

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