Earth Hour Team Captain: Sophie Paradis, local leader, in Longueuil

By Sophie Paradis, Earth Hour Team Captain, Longueuil.
My professional experience in journalism and nature conservation led me to the City of Longueuil, which was already thinking about how to become greener back in 2008. And that’s how, since 2011, I have been in charge of sustainable development for the administration and the community. It’s about working with everyone—with the various branches of the administration, with citizens, with organizations and businesses in the area—so that together we can adopt better practices that meet the principles of sustainable development.

Sophie team captain

As soon as I arrived in Longueuil, we committed to supporting the Earth Hour campaign and today we encourage citizens to participate in the event. The campaign is an opportunity to remind ourselves, collectively, of how important it is to do our part to fight climate change. In order to lead by example, Longueuil will be turning off the lights at City Hall and in municipal buildings.
In addition, 2013 will be a year to remember for our community; we will be adopting Longueuil’s first Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development. This plan will reflect the community’s vision and wishes for sustainable development and will provide a framework to guide our actions, plans and policies towards a more sustainable city. This approach, which furthers our engagement and commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, is completely aligned with the Earth Hour campaign. The small but meaningful actions that Earth Hour proposes, when put together, can make a big change.
sophie bikes

© Fernando Zarur / WWF-Canon 

Being an Earth Hour Team Captain for this campaign encourages me to keep up the mobilization that has already begun within our municipality and among our citizens—to weave it into our citizen DNA so that these actions become part of our everyday lives. Together, the small actions we take can bring about big change. As Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see in the world.”
The ‘Earth Hour Team Captains’ blog series highlights on-the-ground leaders who are making a difference in communities all over Canada. Championing the spirit of Earth Hour with year-round actions, these individuals are making strides toward a greener future.
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