ÉTS

Mission

Established in September 2020, CERIEC’s mission is to contribute to the shaping and deployment of circular economy through a program of cutting-edge interdisciplinary scientific research and through training, dialogue, valorization and transfer initiatives designed to maximize benefits for economic actors, governments and civil society.

CERIEC intends to become the inescapable reference in terms of knowledge, skills and value creation around circular economy in Québec.

Located at ÉTS, it provides an important space for researchers and engineering students’ experimentation, particularly in the area of innovations designed to facilitate the transition to a sustainable future. 

The CERIEC continues in part the mission of the EDDEC Institute on the theme of circular economy. The Institute completed its mandate in 2020.

To learn more about circular economy, visit our reference platform.

CERIEC Seminar: Conception and design in a circular perspective (January 19, 2022)

Publication of the report Turning Point, by the Council of Canadian Academies (November 30, 2021)

CERIEC's Accelerator Session at the World Circular Economy Forum 2021 (September 15, 2021)

Launch of the circular economy tour of the regions of Quebec (September 10, 2021)

Launch of the First Living Lab in the Construction Sector (August 18, 2021)

Creation of the Québec research network in circular economy (July 13, 2021)

Launch of the Ecosystem of Circular Economy Living Labs (April 20, 2021)

Intervention components

Research and innovation

Objective: To contribute to the advancement of knowledge and increase the capacity for interdisciplinary research and innovation in solutions, business models and technologies, thus contributing to a sustainable circular economy.

An integrative approach: Circular economy living labs
Some sectors or business strategies linked to circular economy that are identified as priorities (e.g.: plastics, construction, agri-food, economy of functionality, etc.) will be subject to an accelerated deployment through schemes called living labs. These labs are developed and managed in an ecosystem approach. 

Logo DesjardinsThe network of circular economy living labs (ELEC), born of the partnership between Desjardins Group and ÉTS, will constitute a formidable field of experimentation. It will make it possible to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for priority sectors or strategies and to obtain rapid benefits in terms of knowledge, solutions and innovative technologies.

Each lab will allow:

  • To create a dialogue between researchers, members or non-members of the CERIEC as well as with other actors involved such as enterprises, governments, NGOs, citizen, etc.);
  • To co-construct solutions, technologies, deployment tools and methodologies to generate knowledge;
  • To experiment with these innovations on a pilot scale with a feedback mechanism to stakeholders via a dialogue space;
  • To ensure the valorization and transfer of knowledge, in particular by training users and enriching post-secondary education programs.

 Members of the steering committee:

  • Isabelle Gagnon, Director governance for SMEs, Desjardins
  • Pauline d'Amboise, Secretary General and Vice-President of Governance and Sustainable Development, Desjardins
  • Jean Belzile, Director of Strategic Development and Resources, ÉTS
  • Jocelyn Blériot, Executive officer, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
  • Stéphanie Cairns, Director, Circular Economy, Smart Prosperity Institute
  • Michel Cantin, VP Business Development, Desjardins
  • Richard Chénier, CEO, CENTECH
  • Genevieve David Watson, Policy Advisor, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, UMQ
  • Charles Despins, Director of Strategic and Research Development and Acting Director of Research and Partnerships, ÉTS
  • Véronique Doucet, Director of the Service du développement économique, Ville de Montréal
  • Sonia Gagné, CEO, RECYC-QUÉBEC
  • Marie-Eve Harvey, Director General, Policy, Economic intelligence and Results Branch, CED for Quebec Regions
  • Hélène Lauzon, President and CEO, CPEQ
  • Raphaël Leblanc, President, TribuTerre
  • Annie Levasseur, Scientific Director, CERIEC and Professor, ÉTS
  • Claude Maheux-Picard, DG, CTTEI
  • Solen Martin Déry, Transfer Advisor, TIESS
  • Vincent Moreau, Executive Vice President, Écotech Québec
  • Audrey Murray, President, CPMT and Conseil emploi métropole
  • Stéphane Pigeon, Director of Green Economy and Logistic, MEI
  • Catherine Simard, Director, Investment Stewardship, CDPQ
  • Amélie St-Laurent Samuel, Director, Partnerships and Strategic Development, FAQDD
  • Martin Vaillancourt, DG, RNCREQ

The Steering Committee is led by Daniel Normandin, Director of CERIEC and Chantal Rossignol, ELEC Coordinator. Its mandate is to ensure that ELEC acts as a structuring initiative for the deployment of circular economy with real benefits for the environment, society and the economy.

Education and training

Objective: To increase the highly qualified workforce capable of supporting the deployment of circular economy through training and skills development of engineers, managers and professionals.

Summer school and MOOC: essential educational tools
The CERIEC and its partners have been spearheading the organization of a summer school (in French) since 2017. They have also been offering a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) since 2018, entitled “Économie circulaire: une transition incontournable“ (Circular economy: an inevitable transition).

Designed for citizens, professionals, students, researchers, elected officials and teachers from all walks of life, this course is aimed at those who wish to become familiar with the concept of circular economy. There are no prerequisite qualifications to take this course. 

Outreach and communication

Objective: To maintain a continuous dialogue with civil society actors in order to steer research and training towards their needs and to guide public policy.

QuébecCirculaire.org: the reference platform for Quebec's transition to circular economy
Québec Circulaire is part of an international francophone network in circular economy, which gathers several collaborative and interconnected platforms from Canada, France and Switzerland. This knowledge ecosystem acts as an effective social network for servicing projects and multi-actor cooperation in the territories.

Valorization and transfer

Objective: To support the efforts of businesses, governments and civil society to accelerate their transition to a circular economy through the effective transfer of knowledge, solutions, technologies and skills.

The Pôle québécois de concertation en économie circulaire: a unique forum for civil society.
Since 2015, more than twenty organizations from industry, associations, unions, environmental and governmental sectors have come together to mobilize and create the conditions for a transition to circular economy in Québec. The Pôle québécois de concertation sur l'économie circulaire (Québec centre for consultation on circular economy) is, among other things, the basis of the "official" Québec definition of circular economy.

Annie Levasseur
Scientific Director

Benjamin Laplatte
Assistant Director

Chantal Rossignol
Coordinator, Network of Circular Economy Living Labs

Hortense Montoux
Project Manager, Living Lab, construction

Émilie Chiasson
Communications Advisor

Stéphanie Jagou
Training Coordinator

Amanda Velazquez Salazar
Postdoctoral Researcher

Caroline Sanchez Valero
Scientific Coordinator, Québec Circular Economy Research Network

Valérie Demers
Project Manager, Québec Circular Economy Research Network

Raphaël Dias Brandao
Project Manager, Québec Circular Economy Research Network

  • Annie Levasseur, Scientific Director of CERIEC and professor in the Construction Engineering Department
  • Ghyslain Gagnon, Dean of Research at ÉTS
  • Daniel Normandin, Director of CERIEC
  • Benjamin Laplatte, Assistant Director of CERIEC
  • Amin Chaabane, Professor in the Systems Engineering Department
  • Tasseda Boukherroub, Professor in the Systems Engineering Department
  • Robert Hausler, Professor in the Construction Engineering Department
  • Lucas Hof, Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department
  • Nadjia Kara, Professor in the Software and Information Technology Engineering Department
  • Danielle Monfet, Professor in the Construction Engineering Department
  • Claudiane Ouellet-Plamondon, Professor in the Construction Engineering Department
  • Mustapha Ouhimmou, Professor in the Systems Engineering Department
  • Ilyass Tabiai, Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department
  • Philippe Terrier, Senior Lecturer in the General Education Service
  • Bora Ung, Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department
  • Christian Casanova, Director of Research and Partnerships
  • Michel Huneault, Director of Academic Affairs
  • Ghyslain Gagnon, Dean of Research at ÉTS
  • Annie Levasseur, Scientific Director of CERIEC and professor in the Construction Engineering Department
  • Daniel Normandin, Director of CERIEC
  • Benjamin Laplatte, Assistant Director of CERIEC
Sustainable Development

ÉTS is a Leader in Sustainable Development!

As a teaching and research establishment, ÉTS has long recognized its responsibilities to the next generation, the environment and society. That’s why, in 2008, the School adopted its sustainable development policy (in French). Since then, its concern for the impacts of its activities on the environment, the economy and society has not wavered.  And its actions have borne fruit!