Richard Connor, Unisfera’s Chief Science Officer and Lead Author of the 4th edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, has been invited to respond to the World Economic Forum’s perspectives on the ’Water-Food-Enegy Nexus’ as part of the Luncheon Keynote Address at the 3rd annual Canadian Water Summit, Water-Food-Energy : Strategies for Competitiveness, on June 28, 2012 in Calgary, Alberta at TELUS Spark, the new Science Centre. To learn more about the 2012 Canadian Water Summit, please visit : www.watersummit.ca.

Marc Paquin, CEO of Unisfera, shares his insights on the challenges and opportunities of implementing sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in a special report of the April 2012 edition of the OIQ’s magazine PLAN (article, attached, is in French).

Revue PLAN - dossier spécial RSE

Richard Connor, Unisfera’s Chief Science Officer, is the Lead Author of the Fourth World Water Development Report of the United Nations (WWDR4). Given the context of increasing pressure on freshwater resources due to climate change, demographics and increasing demands in energy and agriculture, Mr. Connor notes that "We must stop thinking of water allocation in ways that lead to conflict and instead promote the principle of sharing access to the resource’s benefits among populations". (Le Figaro ; article is attached). More on the Report’s conclusions can also be found on Cyberpresse, Radio-Canada, and Romandie.com.

Le Figaro March 2012 (in French)

The WWDR4 Report is the result of collaboration between 28 different agencies of the UN system.

Richard Connor, Unisfera’s Chief Science Officer and Lead Author of the 4th Edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR4) will be attending the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille (France) for the Official Launch of the Report on March 12. At the press conference following the main ceremony, Mr. Connor will be joining the Chair of UN-Water and WMO Director-General Michel Jarraud and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to field questions from journalists from around the world. Prepared in collaboration with 28 different agencies of the UN system, the triennial WWDR provides an authoritative overview of the status, use and management of today’s global freshwater resources, and highlights the main challenges of tomorrow.

Marc Paquin, Unisfera CEO, has joined the Advisory Board of the Network for Business Sustainability, a Canadian non-profit network of international academic experts and business leaders who are interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Established in 2005, NBS produces authoritative resources on important sustainability issues - with the goal of shaping management practice and research. The Advisory Board provides strategic guidance on all aspects of the Network’s activities.

Unisfera’s 7th annual Conference on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility will be held April 25 and 26 at the Omni Mont-Royal Hotel in Montreal. Me Pierre Marc Johnson is the Honorary Chair of the Conference which will focus on managing change and creating and sharing value through sustainable development and social responsibility. For more information on the Conference program and to register, visit www.cedd.ca.

Unisféra/Planetair is currently looking for a Life-Cycle Analyst to join its Montreal-based team. Applications shall be received no later than 29 November 2011. For more information, click on the PDF logo.

LCA Analyst

A segment on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from citizens was broadcasted by Radio-Canada in the tv show “La Semaine Verte”. The segment focuses on ways of reducing GHG emissions. It also deals with the different approaches for offsetting these emissions and underlines the limits associated with tree plantation as a way to offset emissions. During the last part of the segment, Marc Paquin, Unisfera-Planetair’s CEO, explains the carbon market’s actual state and the different types of carbon offsetting projects which will enable us to reduce our dependency to hydrocarbons, such as petroleum, coal and oil. You can watch this programme online by following this link (in French) : http://www.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/pop.shtml#urlMedia=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2010/CBFT/LaSemaineVerte201010091700_2.asx

Our Chief Science Officer, Richard Connor, was a keynote speaker during the Forum québécois sur l’eau that took place October 25th - 26th in Montreal. His presentation tackled the various roles water could play for the development and growth of Québec’s society.

Our Chief Science Officer, Richard Connor, reflects on the global water crises and makes a plea for increasing research into Quebec’s groundwater resources in an exclusive interview with Le Devoir.

To read the article, available in French only, click on the following link : http://www.ledevoir.com/environnement/actualites-sur-l-environnement/298579/le-point-sur-la-situation-de-l-eau-l-eau-meme-si-elle-est-recyclable-n-est-pas-une-ressource-infinie