Alignment with our corporate vision and values
Our approach to and interest in community engagement is anchored in our vision, values and strategy. Our vision speaks to being a “premier essential services company that attracts and retains the best employees, is trusted by our customers and is valued by our stakeholders.”
Our values include acting with integrity and being trusted by our customers. Building and sustaining relationships with our customers,
Indigenous Peoples, the public and stakeholders is critical to achieving our goals and development plans.
Purpose of our engagement activities
We aim to engage in collaborative, transparent and respectful planning that results in permitting, building and operating critical infrastructure in a way that is aligned with the interests and priorities of the community, and that meets the needs of the broader society. By engaging with honesty, transparency and accountability, we work to create meaningful and lasting community relationships.
Our community engagement programs are rooted in our conviction that:
- The community must be heard and understood. We seek to learn what's important to the community and align our project designs to reflect community input.
- While meeting the technical and regulatory requirements for a project, many aspects of a development can and should be adapted to reflect community values; participants should be able to see their input reflected in the project design.
- Honesty, transparency and accountability are the basis for earning trust.
- Delivering on commitments is the foundation of our social license to operate.
We work to design an engagement process that considers community preferences for how they wish to be engaged, the extent of potential impact on the community, and the extent of adaptation possible within the known technical and regulatory requirements. Our programs meet or exceed all regulatory requirements for consultation, and result in the incorporation of public input into the design of the project and consideration of alternatives. We then seek to be a good partner to the community throughout construction and the life of the facility or infrastructure.
A high volume of our infrastructure work involves planned and emergency maintenance to sustain the reliable delivery of water, drainage and electricity services. Much of this work occurs outside the engagement spectrum, through communications.
Communications about work with significant impacts are delivered in advance to provide details about projects or construction to the community. We explain the work we're undertaking, why it's necessary, what communities can expect throughout construction, and how to contact us with questions and feedback.
EPCOR’s community engagement program aligns with and uses techniques from the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) engagement framework and, in Edmonton, also aligns with the City of Edmonton’s public engagement framework.
