Laurier Québec, a shopping centre owned and operated by Ivanhoe Cambridge, is once again leading the way in terms of sustainable development by providing a composting service, in partnership with the administration of Quebec City, for the organic waste generated by its 20 food court restaurants. The service was launched on July 21. "We are pleased to be taking part in the City's composting pilot project," said Pierre Léveillé, the general manager of Laurier. "The whole Laurier team is deeply committed to the environment and is constantly on the lookout for effective recycling and sustainable development solutions."
As a result of this initiative, some 240 tonnes of organic waste will be diverted from landfill every year and composted. There will also be some very positive repercussions on greenhouse gas reduction, as the program will help cut annual GHG emissions to the tune of 70 tonnes – the equivalent of 15 cars travelling about 20,000 kilometres a year.
"But the impact goes beyond mere facts and figures," emphasized Mr. Léveillé. "We are fostering new habits in our food court concessions in terms of how organic waste is handled during the food preparation process."
Laurier is the first shopping centre to take part in Quebec City's pilot project, in collaboration with the experts at Transfert Environnement. Special bins have been set up near the kitchens and are emptied out on a regular basis. Restaurant managers and employees have been trained and have adapted quickly to these new practices.
"We have introduced a wide range of environmental practices at Laurier," stated Mr. Léveillé. "And because the results have been so decisive, it's easy now to get everyone on board. We have invested several million dollars and countless hours in recent years to make Laurier into a truly green shopping centre. Every step has met with success, and this has encouraged us to keep up our efforts and undertake new initiatives that will eventually become standard practice within the industry."
In 2007, Laurier introduced specially adapted, clearly labelled recycling bins to serve the 300,000 patrons who visit the food court every week. This has had a major impact on the recycling of plastic, glass, metal and newsprint. "We are still looking into the possibility of recycling other materials or finding alternatives for items currently in use at the centre," said Mr. Léveillé. "Styrofoam cups, for example, can be recycled, but there currently aren't any facilities in Quebec that do so effectively. We are trying to seek out another solution."
Laurier is the first shopping centre in Quebec to be certified through the BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Go Green program.
The Go Green program helps buildings reduce their carbon footprint by improving their energy consumption, waste management and other aspects of their environmental performance. Laurier is currently working toward BOMA BESt Level 2 certification, which they hope to receive in December 2010. They will then aim for Level 3 in December 2011. "Creating the best possible environment for our customers and continually pioneering new sustainability-oriented solutions have been central to our business practices for years now," Mr. Léveillé added. "These are projects that all our employees and retailers can really get behind. And it has been very rewarding for us to see our efforts acknowledged at the national level."
About Laurier
Owned and managed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, Laurier is located on Laurier Boulevard – one of the main thoroughfares into Quebec City – near Pierre-Laporte Bridge and only minutes away from the attractions of the city's historical district. It is the area's leading tourist destination after Vieux-Québec and, with 350 stores and services, is the largest shopping centre in eastern Canada. Laurier is known for its diverse merchandise mix and top-notch lineup of leading retailers, including Sears, The Bay, Zellers, Toys “R” Us, Future Shop, Linen Chest, Old Navy, Renaud-Bray, Sports Experts, Freedom Central and H&M. Every year, more than 13 million visitors come to enjoy the Laurier experience.
About Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge is a pre-eminent Canadian-based global property owner, manager, developer and investor, focusing on high-quality shopping centres located in urban areas. Beyond its strong Canada-wide presence, the Company is also active elsewhere in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, where it owns a number of properties either by itself or through joint ventures with prominent real estate partners. Abroad, Ivanhoe Cambridge also holds interests in several shopping centre development and management companies and maintains offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Its real estate portfolio consists of more than 50 million square feet (4.6 million square metres) of retail space and includes 80 regional and super-regional shopping centres. As at December 31, 2009, the market value of Ivanhoe Cambridge’s assets reached CAD $12.8 billion.
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ivanhoe Cambridge is a principal real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of Canada’s institutional fund managers. Amongst its shareholders, the Company also counts four prominent Canadian pension funds.