Fonds Écoleader — Biodiversity – Component 1: Businesses

• A completed and signed financial assistance application form, including the expert’s signed quote entered in the online form.
• Proof that the signatory is authorized to sign and act on behalf of the applicant company and the expert firm, unless the signatory is the general manager, president, or vice-president.
• Letters confirming complementary financing, whether from a loan or a grant, identifying the public or private source of funding.
• If the company already has a diagnostic biodiversité, it must be attached to the application.
• For cohort projects, letters of commitment from participating companies and the mandatory cost breakdown by category for each cohort member are required; start-up businesses with less than three years of existence must also provide a business plan including a three-year pro forma budget.

Who is eligible?

• For Volet 1, a for-profit business or social economy enterprise legally constituted, registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec, and incorporated under a law of the Government of Québec or Canada.
• For Volet 2, each cohort member must be a for-profit business or social economy enterprise meeting the same conditions.
• A cohort coordinator may be an association, a grouping or federation of cooperatives, a for-profit business, a social economy enterprise, a non-profit organization carrying out economic development activities, a financial services business, or a municipality.

Who is not eligible

• Sole proprietors or self-employed workers are not eligible, except those in the agricultural, fisheries, and forestry sectors that can demonstrate minimum revenue of $30,000 through recent audited financial statements less than three years old.
• Conservation organizations or organizations whose main mission is the acquisition, protection, or management of territories for conservation purposes are not eligible as individual applicants or cohort members, although they may act as a cohort coordinator in Volet 2.
• Syndicates of co-ownership, associations, groupings of persons, financial services businesses and other businesses under the Autorité des marchés financiers, including insurance companies or brokers, businesses constituted as a société en participation, holding companies, and businesses under insolvency protection are not eligible, except a financial services business may act as a cohort coordinator if it meets the stated conditions.
• Businesses listed in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA), state-owned or majority government-controlled companies except those owned by band councils and Indigenous communities, and applicants or experts with recent default or ethics issues are not eligible.
• Businesses active in arms, fossil fuels except transition activities toward a low-carbon economy, gambling or violent games, combat sports involving living species, sexual exploitation, tobacco or drug-related services, or activities mainly related to religion, politics, or rights advocacy are not eligible.

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees for biodiversity experts listed in the FAQDD expert directory, including specialized services, design, documentation, and technical studies, up to an eligible hourly rate of $200/h, taxes included.
• Travel and accommodation expenses in Québec related to the project, up to $2,500, or up to $5,000 for a cohort project.
• Training costs, up to 20% of the total eligible activity expenses, to a maximum of $15,000.
• Material costs for analyses and for implementing business practices favourable to biodiversity, up to 20% of the total eligible activity expenses, to a maximum of $15,000, and communication costs up to 10%, to a maximum of $7,500.
• Professional fees for required project reporting up to $1,500 for Volet 1, subcontractor fees from organizations not listed in the FAQDD expert directory up to 30% of eligible activity expenses and a maximum of $25,000, and coordination costs for cohort projects up to 10% of eligible activity expenses and a maximum of $50,000 in aid.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Projects not mainly carried out by an expert listed in the FAQDD expert directory, or projects mainly focused on scientific research, experimental development of knowledge, documentation, information, awareness, education, sales, promotion, or event participation.
• Projects to develop a new product, service, or technology; projects aimed only at developing or updating a training program or tool; cloud solution projects; and activities for which the company already has the internal skills required.
• Projects aimed at regulatory compliance, environmental certification application or renewal, biodiversity impact compensation, recurring support needs, market structuring, foundation creation, or sponsorship searches.
• Climate or decarbonization projects without a direct and demonstrated biodiversity impact, duplicate or similar projects already funded by Fonds Écoleader, and projects carried out outside Québec.
• Costs incurred or contractually committed before the application is submitted, non-invoiced human or material contributions, capital and amortization costs, operating costs, debt service, legal fees, funding application writing costs, recoverable taxes, and philanthropic expenses.

• Coherence and relevance of the proposed solution, including the clarity of the issue, project justification, sound planning, and likelihood of completion.
• Capacity of the company to oversee and carry out the project, including complementary financing and the appropriate choice of expert.
• Potential project impacts, with mandatory biodiversity-related objectives that demonstrate significant biodiversity benefits from the outset.
• Socio-economic and governance co-benefits, when applicable.
• Project efficiency, assessed by the fit between the problem described, the expected impacts, and the project cost.

• Consult the Guide du demandeur, the FAQDD expert directory, and the project submission toolkit available for the program.
• Complete the financial assistance application form available on the Fonds Écoleader – Biodiversité webpage.
• Include the required information and documents, including the expert’s quote entered in the online form.
• For cohort projects, include the additional required documents for participating companies.
• Click Envoyer within the applicable timeframe to officially submit the application.
• Receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt.

• FAQDD analyzes the application for eligibility and compliance with the program guidelines.
• Eligible expenses may be recognized from the date the project is submitted, but funding is confirmed only when FAQDD sends written confirmation, and any work started before that confirmation is at the applicant’s risk.
• After confirmation, an agreement is signed between FAQDD, the applicant, and the main expert, and once signed, the agreement cannot be modified.
• For projects that include both eligible categories, written approval to continue the project and the 10% interim payment depend on FAQDD’s receipt, analysis, and approval of the interim report.
• The final payment depends on FAQDD’s receipt, analysis, and approval of the final report, invoices and proofs of payment, project deliverables, and, for cohort projects, letters confirming the services received.

• Pre-submission support is available to help applicants interpret the program terms, assess applicant or activity eligibility, and better meet the envelope’s objectives before filing.
• FAQDD biodiversity advisors can be invited to speak, lead a workshop, host a booth, or take part in an event or customized activity.
• Experts listed in the FAQDD directory are not certified by FAQDD.
• Services offered by experts in the directory are not automatically eligible for funding and are validated through the application analysis.