Oil capital rises as global eco-trailblazer

The Edmonton region is known as a global centre for oil and gas research, development and operations with roots in the extraction industry dating back to the 1940s. But as much as today's energy leadership is focused on advanced, technical solutions involved in the development of Canada's oil sands, it is partnered with a passion for environmental responsibility and sustainable industrial development.

Canada is next only to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, having the third-largest proven global crude oil reserves with more than 170 billion barrels. Alberta accounts for an overwhelming portion of these reserves, nearly 98 per cent.

Apart from producing large volumes of oil and gas for global consumption, the province contributes invaluable research, technologies and innovative processing techniques that continue to make oil extraction safer, more highly efficient and more eco-friendly than ever.

The energy industry also provides about one in every seven jobs in Canada, and drives the majority of capital investments benefitting Edmonton and Alberta.

"The strategic importance of the industry is one that continues to grow, and Edmonton will continue to respond to this need for safe, sustainable energy," says Tom Ruth, Edmonton International Airport president and CEO. "And the good news is that Edmonton excels at making a great industry even better."

But Edmonton's story isn't just one of conventional energy. Indeed, its leading expertise in urban waste management has led Edmonton to spearhead an initiative to translate its environmental expertise into tangible positive solutions for municipalities in Asia and Eastern Europe. Among the most remarkable of which is the construction of an industrial-scale waste-to-biofuel facility that will enable its Canadian partner Enerkem to produce as much as 36 million litres of biofuel per year. This first-of-its-kind facility will help to propel Edmonton to become the first major city in North America to reach a zero-waste standard (diverting 90 per cent of household waste from landfill) without incineration by next year. Through Edmonton-based Canadian Centre for Clean Coal/Carbon and Mineral Processing Technologies, the city is also pursuing groundbreaking research on clean coal, mineral processing and carbon capture, and water-based oil sands extraction.