In September 2025, Anaïssia Franca and Steeve Fiset were interviewed by The Globe and Mail to talk about CIMA+’s new services – Strategic Consulting and Advisory Services in Sustainability and Decarbonization.
We are republishing this interview in full with the newspaper’s permission.
Drawing on more than 35 years of experience, CIMA+ offers tailored solutions to help clients thrive while reducing emissions and protecting the environment.
When people picture a company-wide climate action plan, they might think of spreadsheets, graphs and corporate targets, not something that sparks imagination and excitement.
But excitement is what Canadian engineering consulting company CIMA+ delivered while helping a global manufacturing leader advance toward an ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent and achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
The firm’s integrated, ‘A to Z’ approach is typical of how strategic consulting and advisory services at CIMA+ help organizations and municipalities find sustainable solutions in a world facing an urgent climate crisis, says Steeve Fiset, chief strategy officer at CIMA+.
“At CIMA+, we work on designing roads, buildings, hospitals, bridges, airports,” he says. “As we are heavily involved in designing the infrastructure of today and tomorrow, we must take climate action into account, given the global threat of climate change. That is where CIMA+ comes in [to help].”
Drawing on over 35 years of experience, CIMA+ created a detailed analysis of the company’s greenhouse gas inventory, which covered tens of thousands of employees and a network of manufacturing and distribution sites worldwide. In doing so, they pinpointed the most significant emission sources and provided the foundation for targeted, practical reduction measures.
The work didn’t stop there. CIMA+ supported the client in securing funding for an in-depth energy audit at a flagship facility, uncovering further opportunities to improve efficiency.
The end result? A clear, actionable roadmap toward carbon neutrality that positions the company as a leader in sustainable manufacturing.
SUPPORT FROM IDEATION TO EXECUTION
Anaïssia Franca, director, strategic consulting and advisory services, sustainability and decarbonization, at CIMA+, explains that CIMA+ divides its strategic advisory services into three pillars: helping clients reduce their emissions, protecting the environment and scarce resources, and improving the resilience of their infrastructures in the face of climate change.
With these pillars in mind, CIMA+ employs a comprehensive framework that helps projects get from spark to realization, she adds. They help clients anticipate and manage any uncertainty around potential investments. They ensure the plan makes sense by aligning the clients’ investments with their objectives. They help clients accelerate the transition to sustainable infrastructure while strengthening the acceptability of their projects. And lastly, they maximize the impact of projects so that a company’s investment feels worthwhile.
“What sets us apart is that we propose actions that are both impactful and feasible from an economic and engineering standpoint,” says Ms. Franca.
“Engineers are sometimes brought in after the decarbonization or resilience project is planned, but working with clients on projects from the earliest ideation stage all the way to completion is key.”
Customization is another key component of strategic advisory services at CIMA+, she adds. In the case of the global manufacturing leader described earlier, the company has more than 10 plants globally and in multiple provinces. CIMA+ recognized that each location’s energy mix and grid conditions would require tailored approaches that accounted for regional differences.
The breadth of the projects that CIMA+ has tackled to improve resilience and decarbonization to date are as diverse and wide-ranging as the expertise, extending across Canada and across industries. Examples include advising a large shipping company on electrifying their fleet, developing and implementing mining decarbonization and resilience plans, helping a small rural municipality reduce the carbon impact of local agriculture and designing the largest battery storage bank in Ontario.
TAILORED, AFFORDABLE AND ACHIEVABLE
While strategic advisory services is part of a newer offering in the CIMA+ portfolio, it’s a natural evolution for the firm, based on decades of experience and an enduring passion for building a more sustainable world.
“It’s something we care about a lot,” says Mr. Fiset. “Decarbonization and sustainability are in our DNA, so this is something we want to be an active player and contributor in. This new service provides practical expertise for clients dealing with new challenges.”
Solutions are tailored, affordable and achievable, Mr. Fiset adds. He points to the firm’s broad expertise as another strength, ranging from “smart energy management to cybersecurity and every aspect of engineering.”
Ultimately, the goal is to help clients thrive, while reducing emissions, protecting scarce resources and adapting to the impacts of climate change, he says.
“Sustainability is not just nice to have; climate change is real,” Mr. Fiset says. “The good news is that there are smart, affordable solutions that exist. It’s just a matter of re-thinking the way we develop a project – and it works.”
Do you have a climate change-related challenge you need to tackle?
Visit the page Strategic consulting and advisory services for more info, or connect with Anaïssia Franca, director strategic consulting and advisory services, sustainability and decarbonization at anaissia.franca@cima.ca.