The COVID crisis has revealed the fragility of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Businesses that had already made a commitment to protect the environment and thought about their supply chains seem to have performed better than others.¹ Although the current situation, when companies’ very survival is at risk, makes it hard to implement or maintain environmental policies or measures, it could also trigger accelerated implementation of environmental measures and best practices while creating a more stable entrepreneurship ecosystem.² It’s the perfect opportunity to think about what will make companies resilient after COVID.

One of the 3 objectives of the City of Montreal’s economic recovery plan is to support green and inclusive economic development. Buying and sourcing locally, socially and responsibly can get a variety of communities and stakeholders to engage: consumers could change their habits, businesses could rethink their B2B partnerships and services, manufacturers could transform their supply chains and governments could modify their procurement policies.

Of the 4,000 companies backed by the PME MTL network in 2019, 380 received assistance with industrial and sustainable development and 187 were provided support on sustainable development practices. The pandemic adversely affected all Montreal businesses, many of which reinvented themselves and began to pivot their businesses. PME MTL is proud of the Montreal ecosystem’s efforts and wants to encourage more people and entrepreneurs to continue thinking about the business models we want to see post-COVID.