Program objectives

  1. To provide specialized external expertise in order to help businesses interested in improving their environmental and economic performance to take further steps in adoptin key environmentally responsible practices and implementing clean technologies (AT-DD). 
  2. To provide financial assistance for initiatives involving sustainable development projects (DEL-DD)

1- Eligible projects – Technical assistance for sustainable development (AT-DD)

AT-DD projects must be delivered by specialized external resources with recognized expertise in providing support and guidance on sustainable development issues.

While there are many possibilities, following are a few examples of eligible technical assistance projects for sustainable development (AT-DD).

  • Waste management optimization
  • Ecodesign
  • Human resource optimization
  • Biomimicry
  • Sustainable business models
  • Energy consumption and efficiency optimization
  • Carbon footprint analysis
  • Freight optimization
  • Risk management
  • Product lifecycle analysis
  • Sustainable development compliance and certification

Eligible organizations

To be eligible, an organization must be a small or medium-size private business, collective enterprise or non-profit organization with fewer than 200 employees. 

Interested organizations have until December 31 to submit their project. The Virage Vert Program technical assistance form must be duly completed. A member of the SADC team will contact the person in charge of the project to open the file and determine the eligibility of the application.

The amount allocated to the Virage Vert Program will be granted to eligible and accepted projects until the annual envelope is exhausted. 

FILL OUT THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FORM (AT-DD)

2- Eligible projects – Local development projects in sustainable development (DEL-DD)

DEL-DD projects eligible for the Virage Vert Program can take different forms, but a few essentials remain unchanged:

  1. Projects must consist of local initiatives or promising projects for local economic development in sustainable development (SD). Implementing sustainable development (SD) projects must help consolidate and diversify local economies, making them more resilient to current and future changes;
  2. Projects must necessarily address a sustainable development issue or opportunity;
  3. Projects must be part of a clearly stated local, territorial or regional strategic planning process, in collaboration with other partners in the community;
  4. Private enterprises, collective enterprises and NPOs must be essential stakeholders in DEL-DD projects.

While there are many other possibilities, examples of eligible DEL-DD projects include:

  • Cohort project involving circular economy, industrial symbiosis and functional economy enterprises
  • Cohort project for carbon credits, carbon neutrality and enterprise greenhouse-gas reduction
  • Cohort project for renewable energy recovery in enterprises (e.g., biomass)
  • Cohort project for raising enterprises’ awareness, providing them with training or rallying them around a specific sustainable development topic or issue

The amount allocated to the Virage Vert Program will be granted to eligible and accepted projects until the annual envelope is exhausted. 

The project leaders have until December 31 to submit their project. The Virage Vert local economic development program project form must be duly completed. A member of the SADC team will contact the person in charge of the project to open the file and determine the eligibility of the application.

FILL OUT THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FORM -SD