Montoni Group is planting trees and plans to restore and conserve natural environments in Quebec through a newly launched program called Pure, in order to remove carbon emissions it cannot easily offset.

The Laval-based real estate developer launched Pure to “develop and manage our own projects, ensuring quality, traceability, and credibility of carbon outcomes,” its director of sustainable development Patrick Côté said in an email exchange with Sustainable Biz Canada.

Pure is backed with a $750,000-investment over three years, and is to serve as a major force behind Montoni’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2040.

Rather than rely on international carbon credit purchases to offset difficult-to-abate greenhouse gas emissions, such as those arising from construction materials, Montoni is focusing on local projects it will design and lead. Such an approach will enable rigorous monitoring, it said.

Launched internally in 2025, Pure is planned as a long-term initiative with no fixed end date. Montoni wants to see Pure evolve alongside its climate strategy and emissions profile, Côté said.

Montoni’s Pure program

Montoni expects to plant approximately 20,000 trees in the first three years of Pure, Côté said, a number equal to or greater than the amount it cleared in its operations. This principle is to apply to new projects as well. In 2025, 6,800 trees were planted. 

Every three years, Montoni will review its strategy and adjust the number of tree plantings accordingly, Côté continued.

For the restoration and conservation of natural environments, Montoni is targeting areas that were “disturbed or degraded prior to our intervention.” By taking action, the company can increase the carbon sequestration potential of the sites, improve biodiversity and strengthen ecosystems, it said.

The real estate developer named two of its projects with strong potential that are in the study and assessment phase to determine the most appropriate restoration measures. Montoni has specified the lakes near Écoparc Saint-Bruno and over 400,000 square feet of wetland in Écoparc Laval 15 as environments that could be restored.

Montoni expects to commit to the long‑term protection of its sites through legal conservation mechanisms and partnerships with local conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited Canada. It plans to use the expertise of Quebec organizations like Groupe AGÉCO and Habitat to support and guide the development of the methodology and framework for Pure.

Pure is anticipated to offset between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2040, Côté said, contributing to Montoni's goal of attaining carbon neutrality by that year.

Montoni’s sustainability commitment

Montoni is a notable developer, having finished over 700 industrial, commercial, institutional and residential projects to date, representing over 30 million square feet of space. It has approximately 25 million square feet of buildings under development.

In its 2023-24 sustainability report, the latest one published to date, Montoni said it had almost 50 LEED-certified projects since 2010, representing over five million square feet of buildings.

Montoni finished its first building that was certified under the Zero Carbon Building – Design Standard in 2023, with almost 3.5 million square feet of projects being developed also targeted to meet such a certification.

From 2021 to 2024, Montoni cut its overall carbon emissions by 24 per cent – from 53,463 tonnes of CO2 to 40,798 tonnes of CO2.

It reduced its embodied carbon emissions intensity by 20 per cent during the period, from 28.7 kilograms of CO2 per square foot built to 22.85 kilograms of CO2 per square foot built. The company slashed its operational emissions by over 40 per cent – from 0.83 kilograms of CO2 per square foot managed to 0.49 kilograms of CO2 per square foot managed.

With supply chain emissions making up the majority of its carbon emissions profile, particularly building materials, Montoni took steps to address that scope, such as running an internal study on the use of wood to replace steel frames and implementing a life-cycle assessment to measure the impact of materials.

“Beyond Pure, Montoni’s sustainability strategy remains firmly focused on reducing emissions at the source,” Côté said, such as raising its energy efficiency, using lower‑carbon construction materials and advancing innovation in building design and asset management.