HEC Montréal is committed to biodiversity

The School joins the Nature Positive Universities Alliance

December 12, 2022

HEC Montréal is one of the 111 universities that have signed the Nature Positive Pledge, an initiative that aims to prevent and reverse environmental degradation through concrete actions to promote greater biodiversity. 11 Quebec universities, including HEC Montréal came together initially to sign the Pledge, and 500 other universities around the world are in the process of following suit.

This announcement comes in the wake of COP15, the UN biodiversity conference, which is currently being held in Montréal.

The Nature Positive Universities Alliance was a joint initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Oxford University as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This action should help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

“I am proud that our institution is one of the founding members of the Nature Positive Universities Alliance. By joining this movement, our School is committed to restoring ecosystems. Starting in 2023, targeted actions will aim to protect and enhance the biodiversity of urban forests that surround our campus located on the Mount Royal Heritage Site. I invite all organizations to get involved in this type of movement, because it is only through ambitious objectives and exemplary practices that we will curb global warming and adopt the path of sustainable transition.”

HEC Montréal has identified biodiversity targets covering two sections of land around the Côte-Sainte-Catherine building, totalling nearly 10,000 m². The aim, over 3 years, is to:

• protect, preserve, and enhance the ecosystems of wooded areas (sugar maple-hickory stand);
• increase the biodiversity and number of native species in the forest garden.

Proposed actions include planting of new trees and shrubs, protection of existing species and pollinators, as well as some landscaping. HEC Montréal thus wishes to protect and enhance the biodiversity of its green spaces while ensuring their harmonious integration with its current infrastructure, so that the entire School community can continue to enjoy them.

In 2023, the School community will be invited to take part in information sharing sessions for co-constructing this enhancement project which will help achieve the targets.

HEC Montréal’s commitment to this international movement also includes a transparent process of producing annual reports that will evaluate how many objectives have been met by the School.

Find out more about Nature Positive Universities

Find out more about the urban agriculture project entitled Hectare Urbain