- May 18, 2021 - Espace pour la vie : Going green, Sustainable development
More than a fashion, green and sustainable consumption is part of a profound citizens’ movement. How can we live without leaving too many traces behind us, in such a way as to bequeath to future generations a planet that’s healthy and rich in biodiversity?
For some, it’s perhaps a vague, even opaque concept. However, at Space for Life, with every decision we try to go a little further, taking an additional step in that direction by equipping ourselves with concrete means of action to play our part.
The restaurant’s shift towards veggie
What could be more natural for a botanical garden than deciding to offer plant-based food? For a few years now the Jardin botanique restaurant has served up vegetarian options featuring vegetables, flowers, herbs and berries. The year 2020 marked a turning point for the food services of Space for Life, which since then has been opting for exclusively vegetarian meals with a preference for local products. It’s an opportunity to discover and experience a diversity of flavors and textures, while at the same time considerably reducing our environmental footprint.
Local production, really?
Despite the numerous advances in terms of agriculture and vegetable production in Québec, reaching 100 percent of local food purchasing is still quite a challenge given our arid winters. That’s why we say “preferring” local purchase instead. We buy local products on the basis of their availability and cost, while encouraging short supply circuits as much as possible. A tip of the cap to our cooks, who vie with one another in ingenuity to constantly renew their offer based on the seasons, while minimizing food waste. And incidentally, our chef Josée has been good enough to share her recipe for zero waste chimichurri sauce.
The gift shops’ green swing: “Where is your product from, madam?”
Choosing locally made products, durable, fashioned from recycled or oil-free materials ‒ that’s the challenge taken up by the Space for Life gift shops. The Biodôme Migration seemed the perfect opportunity to review how our gift shops are stocked. A colossal effort was made to choose local, environmentally responsible and durable items, made from recycled materials. Of course, not everything is perfect yet, but special attention is paid to every purchase. Although the Biodôme is the first of the three Space for Life gift shops to go down that road, watch out for the changes coming to the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan. We haven’t finished wowing you yet!
Eco-friendly events – User manual
An eco-friendly event integrates the principles of sustainable development at all stages of its organization and in every component, be it the choice of suppliers, the caterer, the recovery of materials, waste sorting, transportation, and so on. There are five major matters on which we can act concretely in preparing our events: purchases and suppliers, food, waste management, transportation, greenhouse gases and communications. The Space for Life rental service has chosen to adhere to these principles in developing its own environmentally responsible event program to make its events greener. The better to guide you in the planning of your own events, we’ve designed a guide that covers those five components and that gives you ideas for acting concretely on your environmental footprint, both for events and for your daily activities.