FOOD SERVICE: CASE STUDY
Find out how St-Hubert, the iconic rotisserie, is offsetting its carbon emissions and revolutionizing meal delivery.
St-Hubert has been the rotisserie par excellence since 1951. Founded in Montreal, Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert Ltée now includes over 120 rotisseries in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. Attentive service and top-quality ingredients are the hallmarks of our dishes, whether served in restaurants, delivered by our famous fleet of carbon-neutral yellow cars, or cooked at home with our grocery products.
Headquartered in Boisbriand, Groupe St-Hubert employs over 6,000 people in two divisions: food service and food production and distribution. The St-Hubert Retail division produces and distributes over 500 food products under various brand names to grocery stores across Canada.
The company is also socially involved in its communities, notably through the St-Hubert Foundation and its many eco-responsible initiatives.
Finally, St-Hubert’s mission: to deliver happiness!
Carbon Credit Buyer Information
| Name | St Hubert |
| Sector | Food Services / Food production and distribution |
| Sub-Sector | Rotisserie |
| Organization Type | Large Companies |
| Headquarters | Boisbriand, QC, Canada |
St-Hubert's Climate Challenge
Faced with the current climate challenge, St-Hubert has set itself up as an environmental pioneer in the foodservice sector. By investing in electric delivery vehicles, recyclable packaging, systematic composting of organic matter and decarbonizing its value chain, the company is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability.
Despite these advances, certain gas emissions remain incompressible by nature, throughout the industry.
It was in response to this observation that St-Hubert decided to go beyond reduction initiatives. The company’s goal was to make its meal delivery service carbon neutral for all its restaurants! Nothing less than this promise of sustainable commitment to celebrate 70 years!
To achieve this, the company looked for a supplier of high-quality carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by meal delivery. The choice fell on Will Solutions’ Sustainable Community project, a series of innovative, community-based ecological projects in Quebec.
How can we participate in and contribute to decarbonization?
Carbon neutrality and net zero
Would you like to offset your emissions like St-Hubert? Buy carbon credits today to achieve carbon neutrality.
Emissions reductions
Would you rather carry out ecological projects and finance them? Contact us to become a project developer!
Reducing St-Hubert's GHG emissions, step by step
Calculate your Carbon Footprint
D’abord l’entreprise a réalisé une estimation de l’empreinte carbone des livraisons.
In other words, it tells us how many tonnes of GHGs are emitted by cars into the atmosphere for the delivery service. The distance covered for meal deliveries has been estimated at over 11 million km by car, with 20% of vehicles being electric or hybrid.
The company has thus taken one of the most important steps in its decarbonization strategy: estimating its emissions and then making informed decisions to reduce its carbon footprint!
Aligning history and sustainable objectives
Finally, the company remains true to its history while building for the future.
St-Hubert’s carbon-neutral delivery project has a unique mascot! An electric replica of their iconic yellow delivery Beetle, this zero-emission car is the mascot of the brand. Since St-Hubert’s 70th anniversary two years ago, it has been roaming the streets and hosting events at the rotisserie. By combining nostalgia and innovation, the company remains true to its history and values, while forging a more sustainable future.
In-house Ecological Projects
Secondly, St-Hubert is committed to carbon emission reduction projects !
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Increasing electrification of delivery vehicles: to date, 20% of vehicles are electric or hybrid.
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Local purchasing: 80% of purchases for the foodservice division come from Quebec suppliers, drastically reducing the carbon footprint associated with transporting goods.
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Founding partner of the Hydro Québec electric circuit: Since June 2011, Les Rôtisseries St-Hubert has been a founding partner of this revolutionary project of public charging stations designed to reduce CO2 emissions from transportation. To date, more than fifty restaurants offer a fast-charging station!
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Food recovery: Groupe St-Hubert recovers and reuses pie dough scraps to produce an ecological vodka from the circular economy (Comont Vodka).
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Recovery of compostable materials: since 2010, several restaurants have taken part in compost collection, achieving the highest performance level of the ICI on recycle! certification.
St-Hubert emissions offsetting
Carbon offsetting involves the purchase of carbon credits to compensate for an activity’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Companies or individuals purchase these credits to finance emission reduction projects elsewhere, such as support for renewable energies.
As a result, carbon credit buyers play a crucial role in financing these projects, offsetting excess emissions, contributing to the fight against climate change and allocating funds for the green transition.
The Carbon Offsetting in a Nutshell
Supported project:
Quebec’s Sustainable Community
Carbon neutrality perimeter:
Meal delivery service
Tonnes of GHG offset per year:
1 375
Carbon neutral commitment
Up to 2025
Years of carbon neutral commitment:
5
Total tonnes of offset planned:
6 875
St Hubert is firmly committed to carbon offsetting through its contribution to the Will Solutions Sustainable Community carbon project. Focusing on the carbon neutrality of its meal delivery service, St Hubert plans to offset 1375 tonnes of GHG per year until 2025.
With a total of 6875 tonnes of GHG offset over five years, St Hubert demonstrates its commitment to environmental sustainability and the reduction of carbon emissions in its business sector.
Decarbonization Strategy Results
Quantitative Results
%
100% carbon-neutral delivery service!
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hybrid or electric delivery vehicles !
Carbon-neutral commitments until at least 2026 !
Qualitative Results
Going beyond emissions reductions
In fact, by offsetting its emissions, St-Hubert is carrying out a decarbonizing action that complements the reductions in its own value chain!
Supporting local ecological projects
For every carbon credit purchased, the organization also helps finance innovative, community-based and voluntary ecological projects by local small and medium-sized enterprises, thus contributing to the local green economy!
Offering eco-responsible services
The company listens to its customers and their eco-responsible expectations, offering sustainable services in line with their convictions and values! Delivering happiness, with peace of mind!
Demonstrating a strong environmental commitment
The company’s carbon offsetting strategy is clear. Indeed, the scope of carbon offsetting, namely meal delivery, has been defined, GHG emissions are offset with local projects, and the company has made a multi-year commitment, demonstrating continuity in its environmental commitment.
Respecting the carbon mitigation hierarchy
St-Hubert not only offsets its emissions, but also carries out carbon reduction projects on its own operations! The company is aware that an effective commitment requires decarbonizing its value chain, then using carbon offsetting for residual or incompressible emissions.
Becoming an opinion leader
Through its exemplary approach, St-Hubert is showing the way for other large organizations and companies in the foodservice sector to decarbonize their activities. Thanks to its values of innovation and eco-responsibility, the company is a tangible embodiment of the green shift.
St-Hubert's climate and ESG future
Last September, St-Hubert proudly welcomed its very first electric tractor for deliveries between warehouses, customers and partners.
In collaboration with their truck rental partner, the company is committed to the progressive electrification of its vehicle fleet, in line with its innovative values. This investment in transport electrification offers remarkable visibility and reinforces the company’s eco-responsible approach in a concrete way.
St-Hubert’s climate and ESG objectives include the acquisition of a second electric tractor for grocery delivery, the implementation of projects to reduce landfill waste at its Boisbriand food production plant, and the continuation of initiatives to promote equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
Finally, St-Hubert is also paving the way for an inclusive ESG future by adapting 12 of its rotisseries to accommodate autistic people (on Sunday lunchtimes), while engaging in an ongoing process of awareness-raising and training to encourage their hiring in its restaurants and its manufacturing plant in Boisbriand.
The Eye of WILL: decarbonization tips for the food service sector
Here are some key tips for foodservice businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and help combat climate change.
Internally
Measure the carbon emissions of these activities: assess the carbon emissions of all your operations to identify the main sources. This provides a sound basis for developing effective reduction plans.
Waste reduction: minimize waste by adopting sustainable packaging, promoting recycling and implementing food waste reduction initiatives.
Energy efficiency: adopt energy-efficient practices. For example, invest in energy-efficient equipment, encourage LED lighting, and implement energy management systems.
Training and awareness: raise staff awareness of environmental issues and provide training on best practices. A well-informed workforce actively contributes to reducing emissions, both directly and indirectly!
Regular performance analysis: establish environmental performance indicators. Regularly analyze the results to adjust your strategies in line with progress made.
Externally
Committed partnerships and responsible sourcing: work with like-minded companies to strengthen your sustainable impact. Optimize your suppliers by favoring local and sustainable partnerships, thus reducing your carbon footprint (scope 3). But also, favor seasonal products and support local production.
Responsible carbon offsetting: identify high-quality local or national carbon offset projects. In this way, support initiatives that have a positive impact on the community and the environment, and that have co-benefits aligned with your corporate values and positioning.
Transparency and communication: clearly communicate your sustainable initiatives to customers. Transparency builds trust and demonstrates commitment to sustainability.
Encouraging sustainable choices: encourage customers to make sustainable choices. Offer vegetarian options, favor local ingredients, and highlight environmentally-friendly practices.
This combined advice will contribute to a robust sustainability and ESG strategy, aligned with growing consumer expectations and promoting a greener future for the foodservice sector. 🌿🍽️