The Clean Air Strategic Alliance

The Clean Air StrategicAllianceMultistakeholder Collaboration for Clean Airsheds

The Clean Air Strategic Alliance(CASA) is an Alberta-basedmultistakeholder policy forum

that brings together representativesfrom industry, government and non-profit organizations to address airquality issues. It was established by aministerial order in 1994 as a newway to manage air quality issues inAlberta. CASA recommends strategiesto assess and improve provincial airquality, and uses a consensus model toreach its goals. The alliance acts as anadvisory committee under the

Environmental Protection and Enhance-ment Act and the Department ofEnergy Act. Core operating funds are received from the provincial government, with additional supportprovided by a variety of non-profitorganizations, government bodies and industry supporters.

BACKGROUNDIn Alberta during the early 1990s there wasconsensus across sectors that environmentalissues were becoming increasingly complex.At that time various non-profit groups wereurging the provincial government to beproactive in addressing air quality issues specifically. Concerns around air quality had been brought to public attention earlierduring the 1982 Lodgepole blow out 1

CASA VISION: The air will be odourless, tasteless, look clear and

have no measurable short- or long-term adverse effects on people,

animals and the environment.

1 In 1982 an Amoco Canada sour gas well blew, and burned out of control for 68 days. During this time 150 million cubic feet of sour gas flowed perday, with a hydrogen sulfide content of 28 per cent. Two blowout specialists were killed following the accident, and 16 people were hospitalized. Attimes the rotten-egg smell of the hydrogen sulfide content in the gas could be detected as far away as Winnipeg. For a short description of the accident,see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_Canada_(natural_gas).

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CASA’s Electricity Team, comprised of industry and non-governmentgroups, worked together to develop provincial regulations for coalplant emissions. PHOTO: MATTHEW DANCE

MIKE KELLY (Director, Environment, Health and Safety -

TransAlta): “The Clean Air Strategy Program document

was a great document and nobody who was involved

with that wanted it to sit on the shelf and collect dust, so

they needed an implementation mechanism....”

and were therefore of particular interest.After a government-led two-year processof engagement involving stakeholdersfrom all sectors, the Clean Air StrategyProgram (CASP) was created. The program outlines a vision, an imple-mentation framework (the Clean AirManagement System, or CAMS), and a series of emission reduction goals toaddress air quality issues in Alberta.

The stakeholders involved in the forma-tive stages of the program believedstrongly in its objectives and process,

and pushed the provincial government to create theClean AirStrategicAlliance(CASA), themechanism

through which the program is now implemented.

ConsensusBuilding and EvaluationTo create long-lastingand appropriate airquality policy recom-mendations, the CASPrecommended a con-sensus model of deci-sion making; this hascome to be one of thedefining characteristicsof CASA. The process

of reaching consensus requires that par-ticipants set aside preconceptions, buildtrust and goodwill, and search for com-mon ground upon which to build a newunderstanding of the issue. The CAMSprocess encourages stakeholders toclearly identify their needs and wants,and then reconsider them in light of theknowledge and insight gained from inter-acting with other stakeholders. CAMSexplicitly names the steps involved inidentifying, addressing and creating rec-ommendations for air quality issues.CAMS supports consistent and defensi-ble decision making, and outlines thevarious steps involved. A strength of thesystem is that it has regular review andrenewal built into the implementationframework. Changes were made toCAMS when it was last reviewed by theCASA membership in 2005. Thesechanges clarified certain procedural

JILLIAN FLETT (Executive Director – CASA):

“I think it was recognized that there is more

accountability and buy-in if people are involved

in coming up with the recommendations.”

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Sustainable Energy Solutions

Senior AssociateConsultant, TomMarr-Laing and

other CASA mem-bers tour a windfarm in Alberta.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF CASA

TOM MARR-LAING (Senior Associate Consultant– Pembina Institute): “I think the real politik wehave to deal with here in Alberta forced activistparties to look at how else they could actuallyinfluence the levers of power – both political and industrial – in a way that’s progressive forenvironmental protection. Bodies like CASAemerged from that paradigm....”

steps. For example, stakeholders identi-fied prioritization as an ongoing processas opposed to a discrete step. TheCAMS was thus revised to acknowledgethat a constant influx of new informationand changing external circumstancescould affect how best to treat an issue.

The Electricity TeamCASA creates project teams to addressstatements of opportunity that have beenaccepted by the Board. The CASAElectricity Team is one such team, andprovides an example of how CASAdeals with a specific air quality issue.During the early 2000s, a companybegan building a new coal-fired powerplant. The Alberta government, alongwith the non-profit community, realizedthat the regulations around the construc-tion and operation of this type of planthad not been examined in years sincethere had been little development in thesector. The government quickly beganworking on a new set of regulations, trig-gering public outcry at the lack of consul-tation and transparency in the regulatorydevelopment process. Recognizing thedemand for a more inclusive regulatoryprocess, the government turned the issueover to CASA. CASA was charged withdeveloping new provincial regulationsfor coal plant emissions, with the under-standing that if it could not reach a con-sensus, the government would createnew regulations independently.

The government presented CASA with astatement of opportunity to trigger theconsensus-building process. As oftenhappens at the beginning of new CASAprojects, the Electricity Team went on an

overnight retreat to identify the group’sobjectives and build general knowledgeabout coal power plant emissions. Whileboth industry and environmental NGOswere concerned with reducing harmfulemissions, mitigating environmentalimpacts and regulating future plant devel-opment, the industry members were alsoconcerned with protecting their largecapital investments. Industry was alsolooking for policy and economic incen-tives to support its investment in environ-mental infrastructure. By recognizing theconstraints faced by industry, learningabout the factors involved in air qualityissues, and prioritizing the desires of thestakeholder groups, the working groupwas able to negotiate a mutually accept-able policy framework.

Eighteen months later, the ElectricityTeam produced a set of regulations thatwere approved by the provincial govern-ment and are still in place today. Theregulations govern the operation of exist-ing coal plants as well as the construc-tion and operation of new plants, andinclude a policy review process everyfew years. In addition, the regulationscall for existing plants to reduce their car-bon dioxide and mercury emissionsevery five years.

Participants on the team identify a num-ber of positive outcomes. The provincenow has a clear emissions policy inplace, which accommodates the buildingof new plants while responding to theneed to reduce regulated emissions atregular intervals. The public benefits frombetter air quality because the regulationsaddress the harmful emissions in the mosteffective way, that is, by requiring their

MIKE KELLY (Director, Environment, Health and Safety -

TransAlta): “Capital stock turnover was critical to us and to soci-

ety at large because there are many millions of dollars sitting

there in that steel for construction. What we got for our side was

that the 40-year life of these plants was going to be honoured....”

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reduction. Industry has adequate time toadapt to new regulations, and can pro-tect its capital investments because theregulations respect the 40-year lifespanof existing plants. Early adopters of thenew regulations are rewarded with emis-sion credits. The non-profit sector has aguarantee that emissions will be reducedand air quality will improve, thus fulfilling

their mandate.In addition, thenon-profit sec-tor has alsogained a deep-er knowledgeof potentialallies and net-works withinthe electricitysector.

The Electricity Team was recognized withan Alberta Emerald Award for its workin 2004.

REASONS FOR SUCCESSCASA’s multistakeholder collaborativeprocess provides a number of benefitsfor participants and for external stake-holders. First, by bringing everyoneinvolved in a particular air quality issueto the same table, facts and opinions arecommunicated directly and openly, ensur-ing everyone receives the same informa-tion. Second, participants gain a broad-er understanding of the challenges andopportunities that exist in sectors otherthan their own. This would not occur ifstakeholders were operating in isolation.This allows participants to more speedilyidentify where they may differ and where

JILLIAN FLETT (Executive Director – CASA):

“It’s been an open and transparent process so

that it allows anyone and everyone who wants

information to get it.... Our minutes are all

public. It’s all available for people....”

TOM MARR-LAING (Senior AssociateConsultant – Pembina Institute): “It’s a very different experience to sit down inside a roomand try and work with somebody who you seeas the faceless bureaucrat or the rapacious capitalist.... Those are the stereotypes.... I think the genius in the Alberta situation washaving forums where people were forced toexplore those biases, and then have them challenged on all sides through dialogue.”



The alliance hasreceived numerousawards for its part-nership approachto complex issues.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF CASA

they may be aligned. Third, a multistake-holder approach to solving air qualityissues means that solutions are likely tobe acceptable to all stakeholders, reduc-ing the risk of lengthy, expensive hear-ings and lawsuits that often result fromnon-inclusive processes. As a result, multi-stakeholder-developed solutions tend tobe longer lasting because they were builtusing the perspectives of those who willbe affected by their implementation.

The CASA model often allows sectors toavoid an unnecessary sniping once anissue goes public. In policy processesactors with competing interests will some-times confront each other through massmedia. Public spats between actors maypush organizations into postures that arenot conducive to consensus building or tocollaborating with other sectors. MikeKelly, Director of Environment, Healthand Safety at TransAlta, believes that thevalued personal relationships and thetrust created through the CASA process,as well as the group’s history of success-es, have kept issues from becomingoverblown. Relationships and trust areparticularly important given the publicnature of CASA’s work; minutes frommeetings and all reports and recommen-dations are available online for the pub-lic’s perusal, part of the alliance’semphasis on accountability and trans-parency at all levels of the organization.

Air quality has improved in the provinceas a direct result of the implementation ofCASA’s recommendations. Solution gasflaring has been reduced by over 70%from a 2000 baseline, while sulphur and

mercury emissions have also beenreduced. CASA has also assisted thegovernment in setting ambient air qualityobjectives.

Finally, CASA has emphasized evalua-tion and stakeholder surveys, resulting ingood organizational understanding of itsstrengths and weaknesses. This decisionto collect feedback has created a flexibil-ity and attentiveness to stakeholder satis-faction that ensures the organizationremains relevant and effective.

CHALLENGESThe CASA process is not without its difficulties. First, consensus requires that all stakeholders at the table are able to discuss the issue on equal footing. In manycases, this means that individuals from certain organizations need to be broughtup to speed in terms of technical or regula-tory knowledge. This process can be lengthyand costly, but is necessary to ensure participation from everyone at the table.

Second, if consensus is not reached within the CASA process, the issue issent to the provincial government to ruleon a solution. However, since it is oftenthe provincial government that requestsCASA’s services, when an issue is sentback to government there is no guaran-tee of quick advancement on the policyissue. This has been the case with creating a carbon dioxide emissions policy and regulatory framework. CASA was unable to reach consensus on two occasions, and until early 2007, the provincial government had no framework in place.

MIKE KELLY (Director, Environment, Health and Safety – TransAlta):

“CASA cuts out the backdoor negotiations, and it depoliticizes it too,

which is the marvelous thing, because again, you’re not fighting it

out in the media, and the politicians like that, and we like that,

and the environmentalists like that too… so it works for everybody.”

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Third, since each sector has a represen-tative, each representative must be anexcellent communicator capable of pre-senting and appreciating the priorities ofa number of different organizations. Thisneed also extends to reporting back toone’s own sector. Sector representativesare often unable to achieve every objec-tive that their member organizationsdesire. With consensus-based solutions,there are always points where certainparties have to compromise. Oftentimes,explaining to people who were not present at the table exactly how andwhy this happened can be difficult.Further, it is imperative that the individualselected by each sector be respectedand credible to ensure support for theircommitments and decisions.

There are also some sector-specific chal-lenges created by the multistakeholderapproach. It can be difficult to convincesome corporations that non-profit groupshave a legitimate place at the table, asthere remains the perception that non-profits cannot understand the issues andcomplexities involved in the private sector.On the other hand finding the resources

(both financial and human) to commit tothe often lengthy timeline required byCASA deliberations and to develop a sufficient understanding of the issues and complexities can be a challenge,especially for non-profit organizations.

Recognition and Looking ForwardThe alliance has received numerousawards for its partnership approach tocomplex issues, including two AlbertaEmerald awards for EnvironmentalExcellence, two Premier’s Awards ofExcellence and, in 2005, the ArthurKroeger College Award for PolicyLeadership. With a track record nowspanning a decade, CASA serves as amodel for other airshed organizationsthat have been set up across theprovince to monitor air quality, and moregenerally as a multistakeholder decisionmaking process. Already a number ofother organizations have turned toCASA for guidance in developing andimplementing a multistakeholderapproach to problem solving. For exam-ple, the CASA model has now beenused to develop the new Alberta WaterCouncil, which uses a multistakeholderapproach to address provincial waterissues. The replication of the model toaddress other environmental areas ofinterest is an affirmation of the public’ssupport for the process.

MIKE KELLY (Director, Environment, Health andSafety – TransAlta): “At the end of the day, all thoseother people couldn’t be at that table, and don’t under-stand how they got to that particular solution. There are always places where you can point and say,well, you could have done that better, how come you didn’t do this....”

TOM MARR-LAING (Senior Associate Consultant – Pembina

Institute): “It’s one tool in your toolkit. It should never be viewed

as an either/or – either you’re totally for confrontations or

you engage in these complex partnerships... It is a tool to

be used at the right time in the right circumstances....”



Documents

The Clean Air Strategic Alliance