A first for a restaurant chain in Quebec - St-Hubert celebrates its 70th anniversary with a carbon-neutral delivery service

LAVAL, QC, Aug. 30, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - As its 70^th anniversary celebrations get under way, St-Hubert is proud to announce that its delivery service is now carbon neutral. This reaffirms the company's sustainable plan, the commitment to the environment and leadership in the fight against climate change. As a symbol of its 70 years of evolution and innovation, the famous rotisserie chain unveiled today a completely revamped and electrified 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.

Investing in the environment

Over the next five years, St-Hubert will invest more than $200,000 to purchase carbon credits, ensuring that its delivery service is carbon neutral. In addition to this investment, St-Hubert and its franchisees will continue their work to increase the number of electric and hybrid vehicles under its banner. To date, more than 20% of St-Hubert's delivery fleet of over 400 vehicles are electric or hybrid. The carbon neutrality of the company's delivery service is part of its sustainable development plan. This new initiative is in line with environmental actions taken in the past, such as the implementation of composting by the rotisserie, the replacement of its packaging with recyclable materials and its involvement as a founding member of the Circuit électrique driven by Hydro-Québec. In the last few years, St-Hubert has invested more than 2 million dollars in the environment. With this new announcement, the company continues to play a pioneering role in its industry.

Purchase of Quebec carbon credits

To make good on its commitment to carbon neutrality of its delivery service, St-Hubert turned to WILL Solutions, a Canadian B Corp certified company headquartered in Beloeil, Quebec, Canada. For more than 12 years, the company has been helping many Quebec SMEs reduce their GHG emissions, in particular through its Sustainable Community project. This Verra-certified project is a catalyst for local action, enabling various stakeholders to work together to reduce their GHG emissions. Each carbon credit purchased represents a one (1) tonne reduction in GHG emissions by Quebec SMEs, municipalities and community organizations. All reductions are qualified, measured, externally audited, and registered with the VCS/VERRA voluntary market program.

Ingenext electrifies an icon

The task of electrifying the yellow Beetle was entrusted to Ingenext, a Trois-Rivières-based company specializing in the reuse of EV parts, transportation electrification and automotive technology development. Ingenext used its expertise to create a powerful symbol of St-Hubert's green initiative. The company swapped the original '67 Beetle's engine for a Chevrolet Volt battery and a Tesla Model 3 engine, a tall order considering the retro model's limited space. A touch screen was also added to the dashboard to display data and control various vehicle functions. After extensive testing, the new electrified Beetle has met the SAAQ's safety requirements and has been deemed roadworthy. It will hit the roads of Quebec in the coming weeks to mark St-Hubert's 70th anniversary and its commitment to the carbon neutrality of its delivery service.

St-Hubert, Goodness that Lasts

In 1951, Hélène and René Léger founded the very first St-Hubert Bar-B-Q rotisserie on St-Hubert Street in Montreal, not knowing that their restaurant would one day become one of Quebec's most popular chains. They grew their business through hard work and dedication, becoming the first restaurant in Canada to offer free delivery in the early 1950s. That's when the yellow Beetle became an enduring symbol of the company. In the 1960s, St-Hubert started selling its legendary BBQ sauce in grocery stores. Fifty years later, it had 450 products for sale in supermarkets under various brands. In 2012, St-Hubert created the St-Hubert Foundation, which has donated over $7 million to 450 organizations to date. In 2021, St-Hubert is inviting its customers to celebrate 70 years of great taste, comfort and community involvement with contests and surprise activities.

Quotes

"St-Hubert has always been about daring to innovate and make a real difference for customers and local communities. We're very proud to offer now a carbon-neutral delivery service and to be making this announcement as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. For 70 years, we've made it our mission to constantly innovate while remaining authentic, true to our values and dedicated to our customers. It'll be a real joy to see our electric Beetle on the road—both our history and our aspirations on full display."

                —Richard Scofield, President, St-Hubert Group

"Ingenext is very proud to have worked with St-Hubert to restore and electrify their Volkswagen Beetle. It's gratifying to have been entrusted with this project, considering that we're the only company in Quebec that specializes in reusing motors and batteries from various automobile manufacturers. Drawing on our electrification expertise, we were able to integrate modern components into the St-Hubert Beetle, turning it into a unique, 100% electric car. We're very excited to see it hit the road in celebration of St-Hubert's 70th anniversary!"

               —Guillaume André, CEO, Ingenext

About St-Hubert Group

St-Hubert Group has more than 6,000 employees in two divisions. Founded in Montreal in 1951, St-Hubert BBQ Ltd. has over 120 rotisseries in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick and serves more than 28 million meals annually. St-Hubert Group also has a Retail division that manufactures and distributes many food products, including sauces, soups, ribs, meat pies and savoury tarts, under the St-Hubert brand and other brands. The company has a long tradition of innovation and is constantly striving to meet the needs of its customers.

@St-Hubert | sthubert | St-Hubert Group | @sthubert

About Ingenext

Ingenext is a Trois-Rivières-based company made up of engineers and technicians specializing in transportation electrification. Leveraging the circular economy, Ingenext reuses motors and batteries from various electric vehicle models to develop electric conversion kits. The company also sells motor and battery controllers and operates the biggest dedicated electric vehicle dismantling facility in North America.

About WILL Solutions

WILL Solutions Inc. (WILL) is a B Corp.-certified Canadian private company based in Quebec, Canada. The company is active in the voluntary carbon market sector with the Sustainable Community project. WILL has a social philosophy based on sharing. It rests on two major pillars: democratizing access to carbon credits through the pooling of local GHG reduction projects by SMEs and NPOs and returning as much money as possible to these partners following the sale of carbon credits by WILL. The company has been carbon neutral since 2007 and is committed to returning 40% of its revenues to GHG reduction projects and 10% of its net profit to community based projects and initiatives that support sustainable development.

SOURCE Groupe St-Hubert

Media relations, Camille Riverin, TACT, Cell: 418 717-2403, [email protected]; Josée Vaillancourt, Director, Communications & St-Hubert Foundation, St-Hubert Group, Telephone: [phone], ext. 2104, Cell: 514-913-3741, [email protected]