As countries seek to improve their living standards, they increase pressure on the world’s natural resources. Yet as these resources are finite, resource providers are looking for alternatives that are cheaper, easier to produce than conventional materials, and also sustainable. In the view of natural resources specialist Benoit Gervais, we are in a new era of sustainable resource consumption, which means seeking companies that will benefit from this environment.
“This shift by society towards better Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) standards encompasses many topics. And the most important one is climate change. Which brings us under the “E”, or the environmental umbrella,” says Gervais, senior vice-president and head of the resource team at Toronto-based Mackenzie Investments. A Montreal native and 18-year industry veteran who joined Mackenzie in 2001, after graduating from McGill University with a bachelor of engineering and an MSc (in mineral economics) from the Colorado School of Mines, Gervais is lead manager of the 4-star, gold-rated Mackenzie Global Resource Class. He leads a team that includes Onno Rutten, Scott Prieur and Asmaa Marrat.
Sustainability now a necessary efficiency
