Employees at the City of Calgary connect with residents through education, outreach and by supporting sustainable communities.SUPPLIED
As the manager of environmental operations systems for the City of Calgary, Heather Feil gets to work on big stuff every day. Whether it’s finding ways to improve the City’s waste management, water reduction and energy use practices or making green purchasing decisions, she and her operational excellence team chart a path to sustainability.
But often, it’s the little things that remind her what makes the City a great green employer.
“I was working as an environmental specialist with waste and recycling and had a conversation with an operator who’d noticed the cleaning products we were using could be more environmentally friendly,” says Feil. “We worked together on finding alternatives that were effective but also biodegradable and wouldn’t impact the storm sewer system.
“It was a small change, but it’s an example of how improvements don’t just come from regulatory requirements or City policies — they come from employees that care about the work they do. It made me feel good we were able to do something about it.”
The City of Calgary has over 15,000 employees providing services to a fast-growing population of over 1.6 million. From the central hub of the Municipal Complex, they weave an intricate green web of services that includes fire, transit, waste and recycling, social programs, parks and recreation facilities and more.
The City’s comprehensive sustainability programs are built into every aspect of the way employees deliver services, says Nicole Newton, director, climate and environment.
“These are values that are embedded in our culture and we’re focused on putting them into practice — they’re not add-ons, but part of our everyday work and decision-making,” says Newton.
“At the heart of it is a very committed complement of employees that’s focused on delivering the best, most reliable service to Calgarians.”
Newton says employees like Feil have bought into a green vision that includes sustainable building and landscaping policies as well as a green fleet program that reduces the city’s carbon footprint and improves its abilities to cope with challenges posed by climate change. Education and outreach programs engage both the public and employees in a constructive dialogue to ensure the green culture they’ve created keeps growing.
“Our internal employee education program provides lots of options, from on-demand learning to more tailored workshops to support continuous learning,” says Newton.
“Externally, our employees assist us to reach out to thousands of Calgarians every year with hands-on programming that helps people take meaningful action in their own lives and shift practices to build a sustainable future.”
For Feil, it’s many of the simple things the City does for her as an employee that help her live those sustainability values at work and at home.
“The work-life balance is really important to me. It’s a very important thing in my life that I can ride my bike to work and park it in the secure bike storage at the municipal building downtown,” she says.
“There’s an employee transit pass program and flexible work options. We have a hybrid fleet if you need to take a vehicle to a different site. We have great wellness programs and there are recreation facilities in many of the city buildings. All that’s so great for me.”
Both Newton and Feil believe they’re helping the city lay the groundwork for a continued sustainable future by building those values into its civic DNA.
“We’re employees of the City of Calgary and we’re also citizens, so we want to make this a great, sustainable place to live — not just for right now, but for the next generation and 50 or 100 years down the road,” says Feil.
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.
Video: The City of Calgary