Michelin Challenge Bibendum becomes Movin’on – name change a “call to action”

Not only has Michelin announced the location of its next Challenge Bibendum – the French manufacturer has given the event a new name: Movin’on. Three years after the last Michelin Challenge Bibendum sustainable mobility get-together in Chengdu, China, Movin’on heads next June to Montreal, Canada.

“Movin’on is more than just a name change; it’s a call to action,” comments Michelin Group chief executive officer Jean-Dominique Senard. “Joining forces so that together we can invent, improve and project ourselves into tomorrow’s world of transportation is the key point.”

At the COP21 conference in November 2015, Michelin pledged to reduce the carbon footprint of its tyres 20 per cent by 2030. In addition to initiatives at the company level, Michelin also intends to pursue dialogue with other stakeholders in order to “reinvent a form of mobility that is safe, connected and responsible.” In 2017, the company aims to launch a “new, even more open dynamic” that will permit large and small companies as well as start-ups, scientific institutions and NGOs to offer sustainable mobility solutions, in particular to the cities that will be home to the vast majority of the world’s population.

“Powered by this vision, we have chosen Montreal as a partner and host city for the next Movin’on, the global sustainable mobility summit, which will thus open up to a new ecosystem of public and private players that want to be part of the adventure. Michelin is leading this new phase, whose success will depend on the collective federated around the project,” explains the tyre maker in a statement.

Senard continues: “Montreal is a city that has pioneered in sustainable urban mobility, and in a few months it will host a unique platform for demonstrating prototypes and innovations that support mobility. Let’s transform the transportation industry by soliciting the ingenuity of researchers, the agility of start-up creators and the technological power of large companies. I want this international event to create a roadmap that traces a tangible way to achieve the sustainable mobility of the future and that we can show to public authorities.”

Denis Coderre, mayor of Montreal and president of major city association Metropolis, adds: “Montreal, with its commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 30 per cent by 2020 compared with 1990 and its tangible initiatives to electrify transportation, is positioned as a leader in the area of sustainable, effective mobility. Hosting the 2017 Michelin Challenge Bibendum, now called Movin’on, the global sustainable mobility summit, recognises the city’s efforts to create the society of the future. This global sustainable mobility summit, which will be held in Montreal, will provide an opportunity to showcase the city’s innovations and to discuss them with the world’s leaders in the field.”

In addition, Michelin is joining with Montreal-based company C2, host of an annual event that brings commerce and creativity together, as an organising partner for Movin’on. “C2 is proud to be a partner to this global event,” states Richard St-Pierre, president of C2. “This project will enable us, once again, to demonstrate the power of creativity to transform and reinvent industries by encouraging innovation through the collision of ideas. We also want to emphasise the key role that Tourism Montreal played in attracting this event to Montreal.”