Programme en Français PDF
Schedule In English PDF
24th January
25th January

24th of January

12:45pm-1:45pm

Check-in

1:45pm-2:15pm

Opening Remarks

2:15pm-3:15pm

First Keynote

A Necessary Paradigm Shift through Regenerative Capitalism

3:45pm-4:45pm

Panels on “Disrupting Business as Usual” 

Ethics in AI

Bilingual Session
Artificial Intelligence is a leading technological innovation that is influencing major changes in many industries such as cars, healthcare, and many more. But with such a powerful innovation we must ask ourselves, what are appropriate uses for the technology to be able to use it to its full potential? 

B Corps: Successful in 70 countries.

Powered by BDC
Certified B Corps are companies that act as a force for good. They are also a strikingly successful global experiment in broadened company purpose. This session will explain the movement, the certification and its strengths and limitations.

Managing without Growth. Slower by Design, not Disaster

Traditional economic measures of the well-being of a society, such as GDP, do not sufficiently track inequality, the health of our planet, and the production of goods and services that serve, rather than exploit, people. A radical paradigm shift in our economic thinking is necessary in order to pursue and measure progress towards social, environmental, and economic harmony. 

5:10pm-6:10pm

Panels on “The Future of Capital”

The Future of Sustainable Finance

The financial services industry has made significant strides towards sustainability vis-à-vis Responsible Investment (RI) and Impact Investing. These practices, however noble their intentions, require an estimated $5-7 trillion per year to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. This panel will explore the shifts in culture, education, and regulation needed in order to reach this target, as well as the shortcomings and blind spots of entrenched investment practices.

Rethinking Monetary Value - Alternative Cryptocurrencies and Local Currency

Bilingual Session
From the barter system to the exchange of paper bills, the form of currency we use has been continually evolving. With the introduction of cryptocurrencies and local currencies many people are advocating for the transition to these forms of exchange. This panel will explore the sustainability of these alternatives.

Climate Change Policy and Competitiveness

Efficient decision making is one of the most important skills for someone to have in the business world, but the new trends revolving around sustainability and climate change impose new restrictions for business people. This panel will explore the impact of this new challenge and how to successfully face it.

6:30pm-7:40pm

Second Keynote

Activating Youth to Drive Social Change

7:40pm-8pm

Closing Remarks

8pm

Networking Cocktail

25th of January

8:45am-10am

Check-in with light breakfast

10:15am-11:45am

Skills Training

Power of Storytelling

Stories bring people together and evoke emotions. This skills training session will focus on how stories can be used to inspire people to create change.

How to Become a Social Intrapreneur

The session aims at building the skill box that future employees should have to change companies from the inside. Participants will be able to understand the importance of employee activism and how important it becomes to be engaged as an employee, even if your job title doesn't include sustainability. This less "active" part of social intrapreneurship should also be embraced and adopted by future employees.

Sustainability Consulting

As sustainability becomes more and more popular amongst businesses, expertise in that domain is developing into an industry. Indeed, sustainability consulting is a recent field in which there is a lot of potential, and this “skills training” with an expert will give you an example of how it works and how you can thrive doing it.

How to Use Purpose Marketing to your Advantage for Sustainable Initiatives

French Session
Purpose marketing is a business strategy to bond with consumers based on shared needs and interests that support a worthy cause. This strategy has been extremely beneficial but also quite disastrous for many brands. This skills training session will teach participants how to implement purpose marketing effectively. 

11:45pm-12:45pm

Mini Food Festival

Powered by Mache

1pm-2:30pm

Skills Training

Circular Economy: Sustainable Supply Chain in the Food Industry

From our farms to our dinner tables, the journey that most of what we eat goes through generates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. Which is why companies in the food industry have to step up and make changes that will make that journey sustainable. During this “Skills training”, one of the companies who stepped up and faced the challenge will show you how it can be done

Impact Investing & Impact Measurement

Powered by Fondaction
Although the notion of the social enterprise has become widespread, the process and considerations by which an impact investment is made is not well understood among students of traditional investing. This session will shed light on the relative priorities of market-rate and concessionary returns, how social and environmental impact is quantified and valued, and how an impact investment is carried out.

Building Inclusive Cities & Economies (and The Power of a Citizen)

French Session
Cities that view diversity, equity and inclusion as core values and assets in today’s global economy. Diverse and inclusive cities and communities have more social, economic and physical resilience in the face of unforeseen challenges because community members are equipped with the values of equity, diversity and inclusion to adapt to changes and create positive opportunities for community-(re)building. Montreal is part of the global 100 Resilient Cities network, like many other cities worldwide. Given Montreal’s very diverse public and private interests, how should the multiple voices – especially from marginalized communities – be represented in major planning decisions related to economic sustainability? How should the planning system engage the diverse public in an equitable way?

Responsible Investment - ESG Analysis of a Portfolio

Investing is not always an activity associated with a shared value or social interests, but responsible investment revolves around choosing carefully the organizations in which you invest money to make sure they are in line with your own values. This process doesn’t mean throwing away possible profits, on the contrary, and that is what is going to be proved by an expert while he analyses with you a responsible portfolio.

2:50pm-4:20pm

Skills Training

The role of SMEs in driving Sustainable Development

In 2018, almost 90 percent of Canadians employed in the private sector worked for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This session will be led by a member of the Catalyst Project, a multidisciplinary research effort out of McGill’s Sustainability Systems Initiative that aims to disseminate stories of low-carbon strategies SMEs are employing through an online platform. Participants will put themselves in the shoes of an SME owner to brainstorm ideas for what the platform could look like.

Powering Quebec's Green Future

French Session
As a society we must take advantage of renewable resources which are naturally replenished such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. This panel will discuss the past, present, and future of renewable energies and the technologies that are driving the transition to a fully renewable energy grid.

Case Study of Implementing Corporate Shared Value

The way we see business is evolving throughout the climate crisis, companies now have more and more incentives to care about their surroundings and redefine their social impact. But how should they do it? What does that mean for their profit? Corporate shared value is an answer some people have already started experimenting, and during this “Skill training”, an expert on that subject will demonstrate through a case study how it can actually be the answer.

The Role of Women Leadership in driving Sustainable Development

Bilingual Session
Gender equality in the workplace is key to unlocking significant business growth, and driving positive social and environmental impacts. While acknowledging that business needs leaders of all kinds — women and men — to champion sustainability, many scholars have proven that women’s leadership in business is critical to driving significant economic opportunities and driving better performance, as well as broader, long-term benefits for society and the environment.This session will mainly focus on understanding the development and strategy for social responsibility (CSR) with the integration of ESG factors (environment, social and governance). Those two inspiring women will discuss the value of innovation, competence, business ethics, good governance practices, the place of women in decision making and good corporate management practices in order to better implement change.

4:40pm-4:45pm

Closing Remarks

5pm

Company Fair

Close Menu