Montreal to host 2017 Challenge Bibendum

CLERMONT-FERRAND, France (Dec. 15, 2016) — Group Michelin has selected Montreal as the site of the next Challenge Bibendum event, to be held June 13-15, 2017, under the sustainable mobility event's new “Movin'on” identity.

The Montreal event will feature a more “open dynamic“ that will permit large and small companies as well as start-ups, scientific institutions and non-governmental organizations to offer sustainable mobility solutions, in particular to cities, which will be home to the vast majority of the world's population.

"Movin'on is more than just a name change; it's a call to action,” said Group Michelin CEO 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. 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.

Mr. Senard suggested the transportation industry could be transformed 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.”

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre noted that Montreal has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020, compared with 1990. Its “tangible initiatives to electrify transportation” also positions the city as a leader in the area of sustainable, effective mobility.

“Hosting the 2017 Michelin Challenge Bibendum…recognizes the city's efforts to create the society of the future,” Mr. Coderre said. “This global sustainable mobility summit…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 C2 — an annual “immersive three-day” creative/business event — as an organizing partner for Movin'on.

C2 President Richard St-Pierre said, “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 emphasize the key role that Tourism Montreal played in attracting this event to Montreal.”

Michelin has been organizing Challenge Bibendum  events since 1998. The last one was held in Chengdu, China, in 2014. 

More recently, Michelin reaffirmed its vision of effective, sustainable mobility with the goal of helping people and goods to move about more efficiently by pledging at the COP21 conference in November to reduce the carbon footprint of its tires 20 percent by 2030.

In addition to company-level initiatives, Michelin wants to pursue the dialogue with other stakeholders in order to reinvent a form of mobility that is safe, connected and responsible.