A responsible Festival: Our approach to sustainable development
Vision and approach
Since the very first editions of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
in the early 1980s, organizers have shown a deep respect for social and environmental
values. In that era, the concept of sustainable development had neither been named
nor defined, and large-scale recycling was still far from being rooted in the mores
of Quebecers.
[More…]
Initiatives
For the past several years, the Festival has launched a plethora of social initiatives
bearing witness to its commitment to sustainable citizen engagement. Here is a brief
look at these actions that benefit the entire community. [More…]
- Awards and grants
- The Blues Camp
- JazzFest des jeunes
- Samajam
- The Consortium Écho-Logique
The Festival's responsible approach also applies to the economic sphere. In this
domain, the measures undertaken have involved local agents and products. [More…]
Celebrated initiatives
VIVATS 2013
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal was just presented with the Grand
Vivat award for its outstanding achievements in responsible management in Quebec.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the Festival a more eco-friendly event!
In recognition of the perseverance, ingenuity and creativity of its efforts in “going
green”, the Festival was awarded the 2009 Prix du Tourisme durable during the Grands
Prix du tourisme du Québec. This honour gives the Festival an enviable reputation
at the international level as a responsible and engaged event.
WORDS OF PRAISE
“Aside from helping me financially, the Festival’s Jazz Guitar Grant gave me confidence
in what I do and confirmed that I was in the right place.”
– Charles Fréchette, Festival grant recipient and winner of the 2011 Montreal
Guitar Grand Prix, Jazz category
“The Blues Camp was more than an intensive week of music. It was about discovering
who we truly are. The dynamism and passion emanating from every direction led me
to find myself, and I knew without a doubt that music would be my life.”
– Elyze, saxophonist, Blues Camp “graduate”
“There are many ways to help the poorest among us, and the Festival International
de Jazz de Montréal understands this, offering its perishable food to the Maison
du Père at the end of every evening. It is a responsible gesture that should be
commended! We need people like you to help get people off the street. Thank you
for the loyalty you have shown for so many years now.”
– Manon Dubois, Director of development and communications, Fondation la Maison
du Père
Greener every year
Far from resting on our laurels, we intend to pursue our sustainable development
strategy and to improve it as the years unfold. The annual Écho-Logique report,
produced by the Consortium of the same name, is an indispensable tool for measuring
the reach of our actions, and helps us improve our results.
In the short term, the Festival’s
main aims are to reuse the greatest amount of material possible and reduce consumption
at source, largely thanks to a project of refillable water and beer containers,
thereby reducing the sale of individual containers and replacing the use of individual
water bottles with reusable containers.
We are also refining our sensitization program by holding training workshops and
preparing environmental dossiers spotlighting our achievements and specifying what
we expect from our temporary work teams.
In addition, we intend to obtain certification related to responsible management
standards for events issued by the Conseil québécois des événements éco-responsables.
In closing, we endeavour to pursue our social mission, with the cooperation of our
partners and suppliers, in order to advance the causes that we hold dear.