Jasper is in a unique position and should take steps to be a leader in sustainability and creative approaches to climate change, according to the two local representatives who attended an international sustainability conference in Chicago last month.

As reported earlier in the Fitzhugh, Councillor Joe Couture and Environmental Stewardship Coordinator Nicole Ward attended the ICLEI event in July. In a comprehensive report to council Tuesday, August 1 the pair outlined several steps they believe Jasper could take towards becoming a more sustainable community.

“There are things that you don’t have to spend money on, but just change the way you do business,” said Couture.

Use of energy efficient lighting, or even encouraging municipal employees to switch off lights and power down computers when not in use can lead to a savings of 20 to 45 per cent, Couture told council. 

“I think that in Jasper we’ve already done many of these things,” he said, adding that the first step for the municipality should be celebrating local accomplishments towards sustainability. Councillor Andy Walker echoed this sentiment.

“Let’s get something hard and solid to show us where we are now,” he urged. “Let’s also inform our visitors about our sustainable actions. I never see anything about how we’ve reduced our garbage by 50 per cent, for example.”

Besides a round of pats on the back, Ward and Couture said that Jasper might consider offering incentives for green building and processes, something that has become common practice elsewhere in North America. Couture also called for Jasper’s commitment to sustainability to be clearly spelled out in a sustainable community plan, which would be a document supported by both the municipality and Parks Canada.

Next steps might become more clear after the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) completes a sustainability assessment of the municipality, tentatively scheduled for mid-October.

“They don’t do this in every community,” Couture said. “Doing this with FCM is going to solidify our relationship with them because they are very keen on working with communities that are committed to sustainability.”

FCM will train one or two municipal staffers so that they can use the process as a self-assessment tool. Adapting basic models to specific situations is one key message Ward and Couture took from their time in Chicago.

“You don’t have to go out and re-invent the wheel every time,” Couture said. “People are offering these techniques and saying ‘go ahead’.”

Couture believes that working with FCM and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association is the way forward, but Councillor Mike Day expressed concern that the provincial government has been reluctant to support climate change initiatives in the past.

“I know what the people of Jasper believe and want, but we have an outgoing premier who doesn’t have the same view. Will this change?”

Comments about dinosaur farts being the root cause of global warming aside, Ward said there was good cooperation with the province.

“There’s lots of good ideas coming from Alberta Environment. Everyone’s been surprisingly open-minded about it. There’s definitely room for improvement, and we are positioning ourselves well, on a practical and international level, rather than a provincial one.”