It is with great pride that we have adopted at Domaine Chalets des Pins a Responsible Tourism and Sustainable Development policy (hereinafter the “Policy”). The objective of our Responsible Tourism and Sustainable Development Policy is to define and communicate our approach to improving our environmental, social, and economic initiatives across our activities and developments.
We wish to preserve this corner of paradise at the heart of the Matawinie for future generations, and from day one we committed to undertaking what we call a “green shift” — implementing sustainable development and responsible tourism initiatives. During our first year of operations, we put several on-the-ground measures in place, and during our second year we sought to structure this green shift through this Policy, an action plan, and eventually a procurement policy as well. Once the framework is in place, we will be able to take further action — continuously, at both small and large scales.
The wildlife and flora, including the lake and the centuries-old pine trees rooted on our property, deserve our full attention and respect if we wish to continue enjoying the breathtaking spectacle they offer us throughout the seasons.
Our values are:
• Sustainable and responsible development
• Respect (for all elements of the synergy)
• Awakening (for children and adults alike)
In the context of this Policy, we note that underlying these values, we intend to be transparent, honest, and innovative — because it is important to us not to engage in greenwashing, but to pursue a sincere approach with real impact.
We are a human-scale business and it is essential for us to prioritize certain issues in order to focus our efforts on realistic objectives set within reasonable timeframes, given our available resources, so that we can concretely achieve these goals. While we would like to address all possible issues quickly, we believe it is necessary to prioritize those that, given our resources, will have the greatest impact on our vision and mission while remaining aligned with our values. Below are the two priority issues at the time of the adoption of this Policy, which is a living document. We commit to reviewing it each year and making the necessary changes.
At Domaine Chalets des Pins, we have the privilege of being surrounded by an exceptionally abundant and diverse array of wildlife and flora. With the support of the right partners, we wish to protect the natural environments and species that coexist in our ecosystem. We are privileged to be accompanied in our approach by Pascale Coutu, Sustainable Tourism Development Advisor at Tourisme Lanaudière, and to have collaborated with Yasmine Benbelaid, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Eco-Advisory Chair of the UQAC, to develop a Tourism GHG Balance Calculator, which we used to measure our carbon footprint.
We are aware of the environmental impact inherent to tourism, and it is our genuine intention to minimize this impact as much as possible through our action plan, the implementation of guiding policies and regulations — such as our visitor code of ethics and awareness guidelines established and distributed in the fall of 2025. Domaine Chalets des Pins aims to stand out in the tourism sector by leading by example in environmental protection and by working to raise awareness among its clients, its community, its employees, its business partners, and its suppliers about the importance of acting in this area.
As a corporate citizen, we wish to adopt good business practices in terms of social, societal, economic, and environmental impact. We aspire to be a transformative actor within our business community. This means, first and foremost, working with Québec-based businesses, getting involved in committees that have an impact on our tourism industry and our community. We believe that this kind of engagement allows us to stay at the forefront of innovations and foster the emergence of new, creative ideas. It also allows us to contribute to our business and civic community.
At Domaine Chalets des Pins, we commit to acting in accordance with our social responsibility, in full transparency and with a constant concern for equity, responsible tourism, and sustainable development. We commit to taking concrete actions to preserve the natural environment in which we have the privilege of operating — by minimizing our ecological footprint as much as possible, reducing our carbon footprint to the greatest extent possible, which we commit to monitoring on an annual basis.
This Responsible Tourism and Sustainable Development Policy is implemented through:
This Policy is a living document. It will evolve with the seasons, much like our forest of centuries-old pine trees. At our human scale, we believe every gesture counts: one less bag of waste, one protected tree, one more visitor made aware. This is how, step by step, we contribute to responsible tourism and sustainable development in Québec.
In full transparency, we present here the actions already in place at Domaine Chalets des Pins. They demonstrate our commitment to acting now, with steps adapted to our human scale.
Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
– Carl Gustav Jung
Original version: October 24, 2025, adopted by the Board of Directors on October 31, 2025.
Revised on: February 20, 2026
All rights reserved: This document is the property of Domaine Chalets des Pins. We wish to thank Pascale Coutu, Sustainable Tourism Development Advisor at Tourisme Lanaudière, who guided us through the drafting and implementation of this Policy. It was produced in part using the V4 template dated March 2025, developed by Tourisme Lanaudière, through a collaborative effort involving ATRs, ATSs, economic partners, and advisory services aimed at continuously improving the tool, which is intended for free use by tourism entrepreneurs within a sustainable tourism development support framework. It may not be reproduced or distributed for commercial purposes.
Photo credits: Cindy Asselin, Yassine Maaloul, Sabrina Vigneau-Courchesne
