Case Study: FTQ-Construction

Écrit par Camille-Charlotte Gilbert-Lapointe

Client | FTQ-Construction
Mandate | Support for Research and Writing - Plan de transition juste : Bâtir un Québec plus vert
Fields | Decarbonization, sustainable building, construction, circular economy, waste management, renewable energy, just transition

The Context

For several years, the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) has been advocating for a fairer and more responsible economy, fully aware of the climate emergency faced by Quebec — and the rest of the world.

To achieve the establishment of such an economy, FTQ-Construction has identified an energy transition as necessary — a transition where Quebec’s current economic model would drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its dependence on polluting energy sources, while restructuring around renewable energies and less polluting, energy-intensive processes.

Wanting to play its part in the face of the climate crisis — and to be a tangible agent of change — FTQ-Construction set itself the mission of advancing this vision of an energy transition by sharing it with governments, businesses, and other organizations in civil society. It is in this spirit that the organization took the initiative to implement a transition plan for the construction industry in Quebec — a plan that would serve as a reference for FTQ-Construction in its interventions with the industry.

The Problem

The idea for the transition plan was first envisioned by a change-maker within FTQ-Construction: an employee who did not necessarily have expertise in sustainable development but had the ambition to make a difference and address the numerous testimonies from members over the years — those construction workers experiencing the fluctuating impacts of climate change on construction sites.

This employee took the initiative, but quickly encountered an obstacle: they were not adequately equipped to carry the project to completion, lacking expertise in sustainable development within FTQ-Construction. External specialists had to be found to help shape the transition plan, which would ultimately be presented to FTQ-Construction members, in response to their needs. These change-makers needed support in research, structuring, and writing the plan; this is precisely why they turned to KELP Stratégies.

The Approach

In collaboration with the internal team at FTQ-Construction responsible for the project, KELP Stratégies contributed to the research and writing of FTQ-Construction's first transition plan, named “Just Transition Plan: Building a Greener Quebec.”

KELP’s mandate was broken down into several aspects:

  • Research and literature analysis: KELP Stratégies conducted extensive research in various fields, covering topics such as:

    • State of the circular economy in construction

    • Overview of the building sector worldwide

    • Upcoming challenges for workers and the impacts of climate change on their reality

    • Climate goals related to buildings and construction

    • Benchmarks and research on innovations in circular economy and construction, both locally and internationally

  • Preparing the structure of the report and sections to be completed

  • Writing sections of the report, proofreading content, and recommending adjustments

  • Proposing recommendations for the transition plan

The Result

After several months of work, the transition plan was presented to members during the FTQ-Construction annual congress. These members, who had eagerly awaited the plan, adopted it unanimously during the congress. Positive reactions were numerous, and the solutions presented even garnered support from organizations such as Équiterre, Greenpeace, and RECYC-Québec in the media.

Although one of the central objectives of the plan was to address the needs of its members, FTQ-Construction also wanted to leverage the plan to have a broader impact when it comes to energy transition in the construction sector in Quebec. It aimed to position itself strategically in the public sphere to better represent the interests of construction workers with the lawmakers responsible for legislation in the sector.

The publication of the transition plan — coupled with its positive reception from major players in the sustainable development sector — fulfilled this secondary objective. In response to the publication of the plan, FTQ-Construction was invited to sit on the Expert Committee on the Management of Construction, Renovation, and Demolition Waste of RECYC-QUÉBEC and contributed directly to the development of its roadmap. FTQ-Construction also became involved in the Construction Acceleration Lab of CERIEC, was invited to organize an international event as part of the COP27 Buildings Day, and was even invited to present the plan and its key directions to the Minister of Labour and the Super Minister of Economy, Innovation, and Energy.

Two years after the report's publication, FTQ-Construction announced its desire to continue its commitment to combating and adapting to climate change and is currently envisioning the next steps of its initiative.

Literature - Press Articles

Camille-Charlotte Gilbert-Lapointe
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