Pembina works collaboratively with municipalities to develop practical, effective energy strategies that support broader sustainability objectives of communities — including mitigating the impacts of climate change. We also support the implementation of smart growth strategies by providing policy assessments and recommendations to municipalities and provincial governments. Pembina facilitates the efforts of municipalities in progressing toward sustainability by providing decision making tools and sustainability indicators that are customized to reflect the sustainability objectives of communities. Identifying opportunities to maximize the use of renewable energy is an important component of our work with municipalities.

Services available to municipalities include the following:

• Integrated Sustainability Planning
• Energy and Greenhouse Gas Planning
• Climate Change Resiliency Assessments
• Smart Growth

We also offer general services including the following:

• Education, engagement & capacity building
• Facilitation
• Policy assessment
• Decision making tools
• Sustainability indicators

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Planning

Pembina’s Community Energy Planning (CEP) is a process that accounts for the impact of energy supply and demand within community planning. Our approach to CEP is to customize the process to address the needs and goals of the client. Through the CEP process, communities gain a better understanding of their energy make-up and an action-oriented plan for achieving their energy goals.

We also offer Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Planning, a service closely related to CEP because energy is the primary source of GHG emissions in Canadian communities. GHG Planning helps communities construct a practical plan for setting targets and reducing GHG emissions to meet their climate-change-related sustainability goals.

Pembina is working with the community of Dawson Creek on a CEP process. The initial phase of the CEP includes an energy baseline report examining the current and future energy consumption patterns for Dawson Creek's municipal operations. Understanding energy use in the municipal operations has helped Dawson Creek assess different energy options and identify financial and environmental risks that it could face in the future. It also ensures internal opportunities are identified and addressed before engaging the broader community. Subsequent phases have included developing a green municipal vehicle purchasing policy that allows the municipality to consider efficiency, emissions and operating costs as well as initial capital cost when making purchasing decisions. Dawson Creek is also completing energy efficiency audits and retrofits on its municipal buildings.

Integrated Community Sustainability Planning

Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) is a process to establish a long-term vision for a sustainable community and an action plan for working towards this vision. The primary purposes of ICSP are to

• provide guidance to a community on how to become more sustainable; and
• create synergies between diverse groups within the community as they work towards common goals.

Pembina’s approach to ICSPs focuses on creating plans that have a strong implementation component and provide clear guidance to other community planning processes. We engage community members, staff, council and various organizations to work together to create a shared vision for their community in the future. The vision is used to “back cast”, or look backwards from the desired future to the present day to help determine what steps the community will need to take to achieve its vision. Beginning with the vision and corresponding end-state goals, the community will back cast to a set of targets and strategies, and finally indicators and a process for implementation and monitoring.

Pembina has been working with the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) on a ICDP process to develop a long-term vision for a sustainable region, a new mission for the partnership, and a set of sustainability indicators. This project has involved working with all 19 CRP members and gathering input from the citizens of the region to help guide the municipalities, municipal districts and First Nation in working together to create a more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable region.

Smart Growth

Smart growth is synonymous with creating sustainable communities. Pembina advocates for smart growth policies in both southern Ontario and Alberta. In southern Ontario, Pembina is a visible champion for smart growth through its direct involvement in regional and provincial planning processes, and through the publication of several major reports on smart growth. In Alberta, Pembina works with a number of local non-governmental organizations to promote smart growth within Calgary.

For more information on our work, refer to the Pembina Institute's smart growth publications.

Municipalities Contact