Municipalities are confronted with an increasing number of complex challenges. Examples of these challenges include

• responding to climate-related risks
• dealing with rising infrastructure and service costs
• managing limited water resources
• reducing greenhouse gas and local air pollution.

At the same time, municipalities are seeking to improve the well-being of their communities and deliver on community expectations for improved infrastructure and services.

The Pembina Institute has extensive experience working with municipalities to develop tools and strategies that enable them to effectively address these challenges, balance social, economic and environmental considerations, and deliver on community expectations both now and over the long term. Our strength is in helping communities address their unique circumstances and needs.

Our Services

We offer a range of services to help municipalities:

• Holistic sustainability planning — including Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) and the use of sustainability indicators — enables communities to develop an integrated planning framework to guide and monitor progress towards sustainability objectives.

• Smart growth planning can enhance the livability of communities and regions while reducing urban sprawl, greenhouse gas and local air pollution, and infrastructure costs.

• Community energy planning (CEP) leads communities through the process of identifying, assessing and implementing opportunities to reduce energy consumption and develop new sources of energy supply. CEP can limit communities' exposure to the economic impact of volatile energy pricing, create local employment opportunities, and reduce overall environmental impact.

• Infrastructure managers that are increasingly concerned about the effects of climate change on the design standards and operation of municipal systems will benefit from climate change adaptation planning. This is critical to identifying and assessing possible risks, reducing liability, limiting uninsured losses and reducing disaster response budgets.

• Developing a climate change mitigation strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can go hand-in-hand with increasing energy efficiency, reducing the costs of municipal operations and improving the reliability of energy services through the increased use of local renewable energy resources.

• Developing sound energy policies that give administration the direction, authority and mandate to pursue cleaner, smarter energy decisions is essential for accountability and measured progress.

Our Approach

The Pembina Institute brings a collaborative, inclusive and focused approach to integrating sustainability and energy planning tools into municipal structures and processes.

We recognize the importance of building the awareness, understanding and skills of municipal staff, officials and community leaders so that communities have the capacity to continue progressing towards their goals. Therefore, our team works with municipalities to strengthen their capacity to address complex issues, as well as deliver on expected outcomes in a timely, professional manner.

Our team also knows the importance of community engagement in successfully implementing initiatives to enhance the sustainability and well-being of the community. We design our community processes to provide an appropriate level and style of public engagement that provides community members — including residents, businesses and local organizations — with opportunities to learn about and provide input on relevant issues and initiatives. Our team is skilled in facilitation, enabling us to help communities navigate differing interests and identify shared goals.

The Pembina Institute carefully assesses the needs and circumstances of each community. We work with municipal staff to design an initiative that will provide the most effective combination of services and tools to meet the municipality's objectives.

For more information about our services, contact

Jesse Row, P.Eng

• Director, Sustainable Communities Group
• Email: jesser(at)pembina.org
  Phone: 403-269-3344 Ext. 110