City of Spruce Grove Eco-Industrial Plan

Based on eco-industrial network (EIN) principles, the City of Spruce Grove will develop an eco-industrial plan that will become an important strategic element for the City’s growth as a sustainable community. The plan will provide a better understanding of how businesses affect demand on City infrastructure services. It will also indicate ways to reduce demand and decrease the overall environmental impact of business/industrial operations. Reductions may result from integrating business and municipal infrastructure, and from strategies such as efficient land use planning, greenspace preservation, green purchasing, the use of green building design/retrofit, renewable energy sources and efficient community energy systems. Other initiatives that may be identified are changes to municipal policy to include EIN principles in City development standards, and the development of new or eco-industrial park retrofits, green industrial buildings, new wastewater treatment plants that facilitate reuse, renewable energy projects and/or waste-to-energy projects that support district heating. The environment benefits that the City expects from such initiatives include: reduced water consumption and wastewater generation; more green space in industrial areas; fewer truck trips and lower related greenhouse gas emissions; fewer impermeable surfaces in new industrial developments; less energy to heat or cool existing and new industrial buildings; and reduced overall operational greenhouse gas emissions.