The Alliance Pipeline Ltd. Calgary Area Community Investment Council was looking to invest in Environmental Stewardship, one of five community investment sectors in their mandate. While the employee-run Council received many solicitations from other sectors, it was having some difficulty identifying Calgary-based environmental organizations that met its guidelines. When the Council asked its in-house environmental experts for advice, Alberta Ecotrust immediately came to mind.

Melissa Pockar, Environmental Coordinator, explained why Alliance chose Ecotrust as a key environmental partner.

We liked the focus Ecotrust has on funding grassroots, community environmental projects and the fact that funding decisions are made through a collaborative process involving both corporate and environmental non-government organization (ENGO) representatives.

Alliance also appreciated that environmental groups are often able to use Ecotrust grants to leverage funding from other, larger grant-makers.

Alliance Pipeline has become a Sustaining Partner of Alberta Ecotrust. While Alberta Ecotrust knows clearly what it gains from Alliance's support, what does Alliance hope to gain from their involvement with the Ecotrust? 

• From a short-term perspective, Alliance wants the exposure to, and involvement in, diverse environmental projects impacting Calgary and the surrounding area.
• Alliance also anticipates networking opportunities with ENGOs and with other corporations that share similar concerns and philosophies about the environment.
• This partnership will provide long-term gains by providing an efficient mechanism whereby Alliance can meet its corporate mandate to make a substantial contribution to the environmental quality of life in Alberta.

Alliance Pipeline is a natural gas transportation company, created to align the interests of producers, shippers, consumers, marketers and the equity owners of the pipeline system. Its goals have always been to be entrepreneurial and to introduce competitive innovation to the regulated natural gas transmission marketplace.

The Alliance Pipeline Vision Statement says, in part, that in order to be successful, Alliance must take a proactive, co-operative approach with communities impacted by its operations. It also aims to be sensitive to, and to take action on, concerns raised by responsible environmental groups. Practicing the highest standards of environmental stewardship is integral to that vision and Alliance encourages participation, both individually and collectively, in community activities.  Herein lies the indisputable fit between Alliance Pipeline and Alberta Ecotrust.

As a new partner, Alliance Pipeline is extremely impressed with the partnership structure and overall mandate of Alberta Ecotrust. It also recognizes the value Alberta Ecotrust adds to many projects through its "shepherding" and capacity-building activities. This only serves to reinforce the company's decision to become involved and was one more reason why it was easy to partner with the Ecotrust. 

Susan Tyrrell, Chair of the Alliance Pipeline Calgary Area Community Investment Council for 2003 summed it up nicely.
I was very impressed with the presentation made to us by Ecotrust representatives. The fact that they brought along one of their corporate members who was willing to give up his lunch hour to address the benefits of membership had a big impact on our decision to join.

Thank-you for your support Alliance, and welcome to the Ecotrust team!

Volunteer Involvement

Melissa Pockar, Environmental Coordinator for Alliance Pipeline Ltd.,  has recently joined Alberta Ecotrust's Project Review committee and helped make the difficult decisions about which proposals to fund in the 2003 fall funding round. The committee is comprised of equal representation from the corporate and environmental sectors, a structure Pockar finds to be extremely productive and beneficial in the overall grant-making process.

"It is an interesting and motivating experience," explained Pockar. She believes her time on the committee is well spent, because it allows her to tap into the many different types of projects and initiatives that are ongoing in the Calgary area and throughout the province.

Click here to see summaries of projects funded by Alberta Ecotrust in the fall of 2003.

Other Investment Programs

The Alliance-Ecotrust union is not the first environmental partnership for Alliance. It has a rich history of being involved in the environment and establishing important initiatives. This includes a 5-year commitment to the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the recently launched Alliance Pipeline Nature Experience Program - a 3-year partnership with City of Calgary Parks to provide hands-on wilderness learning experiences for school children between the ages of 6 and 12. Alliance has also supported the Sarcee Fish and Game Association and Ducks Unlimited, the Macororie Parks and Recreation's development of the TransCanada Trail in the Loreburn, Saskatchewan area, the Municipal District of Wainwright in Alberta and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.  Because the Alliance Pipeline system travels from northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta to the Chicago area, Alliance Pipeline also supports the Jackson County Conservation Board's Hurtsville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa Iowa, on the US portion of its system.