Calgary-November 28, 2007-The Pembina Institute, a national environmental think tank, today released a case study compendium and hosted a forum on innovative partnerships between unlikely allies who help make resource development sustainable. The unlikely allies comprise resource companies and their external stakeholders such as communities, landowner associations and environmental groups. This is the first report of its kind to document Canada-based examples.
The Pembina Institute conducted the research in partnership with Dalhousie University and six Canadian companies: TransCanada, Catalyst Paper, Nexen, Global Energy Services Ltd. (TSX-V: GLK), ConocoPhillips Canada and Trident Exploration. Unlikely Allies: Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Development includes case studies of six partnerships: for example, the Clean Air Strategic Alliance, an Alberta-based multistakeholder policy group that deals with air quality issues; a coalbed methane company's efforts to use its need for Christmas baskets as an opportunity to train high school students in entrepreneurialism and to support local artisans; and the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group, a synergy group that consists of 30 oil and gas companies and 15 communities.
The increasing pace and scale of resource development in Canada makes the release of the case studies timely. "With its resource-dependent economy, tight labour supply and increasingly empowered civil society movement, Canada must be a model jurisdiction for this kind of collaboration," says Ed Whittingham, co-director of Corporate Consulting at the Pembina Institute. "What this compendium shows is that novel, pragmatic alliances between resource companies and civil society can be effective vehicles for making development sustainable - whether by reducing emissions, turning high school students into local entrepreneurs or ensuring that oil companies and landowners regularly communicate."
Today's forum at the Nexen Conference Centre in Calgary includes 60 senior representatives from resource companies, environmental groups, local and national government and academia. Building upon an inaugural event in 2006, it is the only annual forum in Alberta dedicated to exploring how resource companies and their community and environmental stakeholders can work together to achieve sustainable development goals of mutual interest.
"It's fitting to host the forum in Alberta," says Whittingham. "The approaches to partnering in these case studies are not just made in Canada; they are mostly made in Alberta. While we have our fair share of sustainability challenges and conflict, these studies show that Albertans are taking creative approaches to addressing both."
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For more information:
Ed Whittingham, Pembina Corporate Consulting
Cell: 403-899-0578
edw@pembina.org
or visit www.pembina.org/corporate-services