Mission, Vision and Historical Background

Mission

Équiterre helps build a social movement by encouraging individuals, organizations and governments to make ecological and equitable choices, in a spirit of solidarity.

Vision
 

By 2020, Équiterre, through its local, regional, provincial, national, and international actions, will have:

• contributed to making Quebec a model and exemplary society where: 
  • sustainable development and a socially just economy will have their place in society and where the state will play a major social and economic role; 
  • citizens and organizations will be actors of change by undertaking ecological and socially just actions;
     
• contributed to making Quebec and Canada nations where legislation and policies promote sustainable development and social justice and lead to positive and tangible impacts on the environment, society, and the quality of life for citizens;
   
• contributed to increasing , on an international level, the development of more just, equitable, and eco-friendly economic and commercial exchanges, primarily with regard to agricultural products;
   
• contributed to bringing together environmental, social, and economical stakeholder in matters of ecology, sustainable development, and a socially-just economy.
   

More specifically, the actions which Équiterre plans to undertake by 2020 will contribute to:

• food sovereignty of nations promoting more just and equitable economic and commercial exchanges;
   
• a more diversified ecological agriculture;
   
• increased responsible consumption, which will favour local and ecological buying, reuse and recycling as well as reduce waste;
   
• the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
   
• an increase in active and public transportation;
   
• reduced energy consumption, in particular through energy efficiency measures in buildings;
   
• an increase of the number of buildings that respect ecological and sustainable construction and renovation principles.

Historical Background
 

Équiterre’s origins date back to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Following the Summit, several participants who shared a vision of sustainable development grounded in environmental and social values, decided to found Équiterre in 1993 and implement concrete solutions.

In 1995, Équiterre was incorporated as a non-profit organization––originally under the name Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development (A SEED). One year later, it obtained its charitable organization status from the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec and, in 1998, adopted the name “Équiterre.”

Today, Équiterre possesses a wealth of expertise and a rich portfolio of projects, and enjoys the dedication of the many individuals who joined over the course of the years. It now concentrates its actions around four programmes -Ecological Agriculture, Fair Trade, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Transportation-; and two campaigns -Climate Changeand Responsible Consumption.