Five members of Divest McGill gathered on April 17 outside of the Metro grocery store located in the De Lorimier neighbourhood to encourage Montrealers to boycottMetro Inc. Despite the cold and windy conditions, the Divest members connected with passersby for almost an hour to try to convince Metro shoppers to buy their food elsewhere and to spread awareness about their campaign.
Divest McGill launched their Metro Inc. boycott in August 2020 in an effort to pressure the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) to divest from its multi-million investment in the fossil fuel industry. Divest McGill is targeting Metro in order to pressure Maryse Bertrand the BoG’s vice-chair and a member of Metro Inc.’s Board of Directors to support McGill’s divestment.
After months of consultation spanning from January 2020 to September 2020, McGill’s new Climate and Sustainability Strategy (2020-2025) was endorsed by the McGill Board of Governors during their meeting on Dec. 10. The strategy addresses the three long-term goals of achieving a platinum sustainability rating by 2030, becoming zero-waste by 2035, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2040.
The new strategy was developed to carry out the goals of the prior Vision 2020 sustainability strategy while also tackling environmental issues through a new perspective. This new approach considers eight areas of importance through individualized flagship actions. The eight areas considered include research and education, buildings and utilities, waste management, travel, waste systems, procurement, landscapes and ecosystems, and community building.