Fonds Éco IGA celebrates its 10th anniversary in style by introducing Canada's first electric converted refrigerated home delivery van

QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 22, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - It's in Quebec City, at Ste-Foy's IGA QB Coop, that Fonds Éco IGA has chosen to launch celebrations for its 10^th anniversary, and not just any old way! Fonds Éco IGA is using the occasion to unveil the very first electric converted refrigerated home delivery van in Canada. Home delivery of groceries in a zero-emission van will be made possible thanks to an innovative initiative led by Fonds Éco IGA. 

"We're proud of what Fonds Éco IGA has become and has accomplished in the past ten years. Actively contributing to sustainably protecting, conserving and enhancing the environment is vitally important. I would like to commend and thank the many IGA merchants who have committed to this cause," highlights Carl Pichette, Sobeys Vice President Quebec Marketing.

A promising pilot project
The van was converted by EcoTuned, a young and fast-growing Quebec-based company powered by promising entrepreneurs very much like our IGA merchants. Come spring, this first van will take a tour through some of Quebec's regions?Sherbrooke, Gatineau and Drummondville?and stop by various merchants so they can show it to their customers. Stores will also have a chance in coming months to win one of four refrigerated electric home delivery vans as part of Fonds Éco IGA's 10^th anniversary celebrations.

"Thanks to Fonds Éco IGA's creation and funding, Quebec's IGA merchants have been able to support over 2,000 environmental projects across Quebec and in New Brunswick; that's incredible! IGA merchant donations to Fonds Éco IGA will hit ten million dollars this year, and their commitment to their communities continues. I tip my hat to them and wish us all another decade at the heart of Quebec's environmental action," says Pierre Lussier, Director of Jour de la Terre, which leads Fonds Éco IGA.

To download footage of the electric home delivery van: https://we.tl/wHf72CZZEt

One Tesla to be won
While the Fonds applauds IGA merchants for their involvement, they haven't forgotten that IGA customers deserve praise as well. That's why, during the month of May, customers will be able to enter a contest for a chance to win the use of an electric Tesla Model 3 car for one year!

Programs in high gear for the 10^th
True to form, Fonds Éco IGA is also celebrating the return of its annual programs:

• Free À vos frigos workshops, which have been given in IGAs since 2015 and are now also offered in company workplaces?these workshops are hosted by an expert and a chef from La Tablée des Chefs to fight food waste and have already been given to 5,100 citizens. Registration for À vos frigos workshops began February 16.
  jourdelaterre.org/qc/a-vos-frigos 
  
  
• The tour to distribute ecological items for a fraction of the price?registration for a rainwater barrel or home compost bin will open in three phases, depending on the region, starting February 28. Fonds Éco IGA has distributed over 101,000 ecological items since 2013. jourdelaterre.org/qc/distribution-de-barils-et-composteurs
  
  
• The Residual Waste Management program, which started in 2013, continues to reduce the environmental footprint left by IGA supermarkets and today includes 208 participating IGA stores, of which 90 hold Action Réduction certification. Once again this year, residual waste management advisors will continue to back the program. jourdelaterre.org/qc/gestion-des-matieres-residuelles

About Fonds Éco IGA
Fonds Éco IGA was founded in 2008 by Quebec's IGA merchants whose donations will total $10 million this year. It is managed by Jour de la Terre, an organization that helps people and organizations reduce their environmental impact. Fonds Éco IGA finances concrete, sustainable projects that respond to environmental realities and aim to protect, conserve and enhance environmental practices. Since it was created, Fonds Éco IGA has financed over 2,000 projects in communities throughout Quebec in addition now to some cities in New Brunswick. www.iga.net/en/in_the_community/environnement/fonds_eco_iga

SOURCE IGA