Launch of collaboration to develop biodiversity indicators for Québec investors
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Fondaction, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Quebec), the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS) and Université de Sherbrooke have joined forces to conduct research with the goal of creating a series of biodiversity indicators specific to the Québec territory and its investors.
These indicators will be used to provide a better measurement of the impact investments have on biodiversity. Once created, they will allow a first in Canada: mobilizing players in conservation, biodiversity, research and finance to rally around protecting Québec’s biodiversity.
“The way our collective savings is invested can reduce our impact on nature, and in some cases, even help restore it. This is why CPAWS Québec is working with teams researching how to balance economic activity with the limits of our ecosystems, as well as with investors seeking to be leaders in environmental protection, in order to further the dialogue on the best local indicators for measuring impacts on biodiversity,” explained Diego Creimer, Finance and Biodiversity Director, CPAWS Québec.
Investors represent a critical lever for quickly transforming the economy to reverse the loss of biodiversity. The indicators created by this project will establish a shared framework to assess the impact investments have on biodiversity and improve decision-making.
“There is no reason to compete when it comes to biodiversity loss, climate change and social inequality. The challenge is monumental, and it’s only by working together and toward the same goal that we’ll succeed. This research project to produce a series of biodiversity indicators specific to the Québec territory means local investors, like Fondaction, will be able to make decisions that are as informed as possible, thereby limiting the negative impact of our investments, and more importantly, ensures that financing can have a positive impact on nature,” explained Geneviève Morin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fondaction.
“This unique project will provide shared indicators specific to Québec that investors like CDPQ can leverage to have a positive impact on society and nature. Our contribution will act as a knowledge catalyst for supporting our collective transition to a sustainable, equitable and resilient world,” said Marc-André Blanchard, Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global and Global Head of Sustainability, CDPQ.
The two-year research project, which aims to develop tools to better inform investors’ choices to preserve and protect nature and essential services for communities, is led by Félix Landry, a postdoctoral student of Professor Dominique Gravel at Université de Sherbrooke, to ensure the rigour and expertise required by the importance of these issues.
“The project is built around collaboration, which ensures sufficient planning and execution that follows scientific methods and the needs of the financial sector,” added Dominique Gravel, Professor in the Biology Department at Université de Sherbrooke.
About CDPQ
At CDPQ, we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for public retirement and insurance plans, we work alongside our partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress. We are active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at As at June 30, 2022, CDPQ’s net assets totalled CAD 391.6 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
CDPQ is a registered trademark owned by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and licensed for use by its subsidiaries.
About Fondaction
A forerunner in sustainable finance for the past 25 years, Fondaction brings together individuals that are mobilizing for the positive transformation of society, taking action to make Québec’s economy more equitable, inclusive, green and successful. As a labour-sponsored fund, Fondaction represents tens of thousands of savers and hundreds of companies committed to helping Québec progress. It manages net assets of more than $3.11 billion invested in hundreds of businesses and in financial markets, prioritizing investments that generate positive economic, social and environmental impacts in addition to a financial return. Fondaction helps create and maintain quality jobs, reduce inequalities and fight climate change. For more information, go to fondaction.com or our LinkedIn page.
About the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Québec)
CPAWS Québec is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of nature. We are working to create a network of protected areas across Quebec to ensure the long-term protection of the boreal forest, the North, the St. Lawrence river and gulf and the ecosystems that support our threatened species. We also ensure the proper management of existing protected areas. Founded in 2001, CPAWS Québec can draw on a Canadian network that has been active since 1963, and which today consists of a national office in Ottawa and 13 chapters from coast to coast.
About the Université de Sherbrooke
The Université de Sherbrooke is in the heart of one of Quebec’s three major research hubs. Known for its sense of innovation, the Université de Sherbrooke is a key partner of senior and regional governments in the promotion of economic, cultural, and social development. It has garnered a reputation due to, among other things, the strong growth in its research activities in recent years, its successes in technology transfers, as well as its initiatives in entrepreneurship and open innovation in collaboration with industry and social milieus.
About the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science
The QCBS groups more than 120 researchers working at the forefront of the field both nationally and internationally, and represents a partnership between 12 universities and 4 collaborating organizations: Bishop’s University, Concordia University, McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, INRS-institut Armand Frappier, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Université du Québec en Outaouais, TELUQ, the Montréal Botanical Garden, Biodôme de Montréal, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. Its mission is to foster and promote a world-class research and training program in biodiversity science, facilitate scientific cooperation and learning among a cross-disciplinary group of researchers and assume a lead role on biodiversity related issues and to contribute to the academic and public debate on biodiversity loss.
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