Capturing Canada: Lévis, Quebec adds some friendly competition to sustainability

With administrative offices located throughout the US and Canada, we are always keen to hear about looking trends in innovation and sustainability all across the globe. The latest news brings us to Lévis, Quebec, a bustling Canadian city working to improve its sustainable ranking.

Canada and US flagLast week, the city of Lévis was granted $71,000 in Federal funding to reduce local pollution and improve overall air quality. The plan, known as the EcoAction Community Funding Program, seeks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by nearly 10,000 tons – an initiative that starts and ends with environmental education.

According to Solid Waste & Recycling, the program aims to bring an environmental preservation curriculum into 70 school classes and an estimated 2,500 businesses.  Local schools and businesses will then ‘rival’ each other to reduce carbon emissions created from transportation, packaging materials and more.

Competing buildings in each category (schools and businesses) must also demonstrate a significant increase in recycling efforts, and the winners walk away with a different type of ‘green’ – a greater commitment to sustainability.

At The Refinishing Touch, as providers of furniture asset management solutions that are cost-efficient and reduce the amount of carbon released during renovations, we keenly support strategies such as the EcoAction Program, which make sustainability achievable and intriguing for all age groups.

To really get a leg-up on the competition, companies should look towards furniture refinishing and re-upholstery – a highly-effective way to reduce one’s carbon footprint. The next time your business considers renovating its interior, look to re-purpose existing furniture instead of buying brand new. The process is also time- and cost-efficient, making a carbon-neutral goal even more attainable.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch’s award-winning furniture asset management implemented in hotels, government agencies and higher education housing throughout the US and Canada, please click here.

Read more about Lévis’s environmental efforts and the EcoAction Community Funding Program, which is set to add an additional 100 new projects in 2013, by visiting Solid Waste & Recycling.