Scholarship supports environment markets

Whether governments are ready to sign up for accountability-laden emission reducing targets or not, business is. And it is opening up a new type of market that a School of Business MBA student is learning to broker deals in.

Dan Stickney, an MBA student and current EPCOR scholarship recipient, was on hand to help welcome EPCOR's two-pronged $1.5 million donation on campus last week - a $500,000 portion of the gift will put in place a scholarship for those who conduct research into energy markets and climate change issues.

"My focus is on energy markets and the environment, specifically emissions credits and offsets and emissions trading," said Stickney who is completing a joint MBA-Master of Forestry degree with a specialization in Natural Resources and Energy. "I was working with EPCOR to see how they can meet their voluntary emission reduction targets."

Credit trading mechanisms are increasing in popularity as a method to mitigate the negative effects of economic growth, by contributing to sustainability.

Stickney believes that many professional opportunities exist in these markets, characterized by their lack of standardization and expertise. Over the summer, Stickney was part of an internship in Peru, exploring potential credit market buyers, quantifying carbon inventory, and determining the most appropriate mix of market mechanisms to protect the threatened rainforest areas.

With the Kyoto Accord a non-starter federally, what has emerged is an emission reduction target system that sees big businesses align their practices with the emerging environmental social conscience at large, and volunteering to help limit emissions.

Stickney says that one of the easiest ways a company can meet its self-imposed emission reductions is through carbon credit trading. Companies in developed nations, where emission reductions often come at the expense of progress, can pay companies in developing countries that have more than exceeded their emission goals, for their excess carbon credits.

"It is essentially a market mechanism," Stickney said. "If company B can reduce its emissions easier by doing in-house things, they can sell their credits beyond their compliance, to company A to help meet that company's compliance needs."

"Under a business-as-usual scenario, the government of Peru might be cutting down X amount of forest per year. If they reduce that amount, that reduces the amount of carbon that would have been emitted into the atmosphere. So they could potentially generate credits by doing this."

This means companies looking to meet their own emission-reduction targets can pay the government of Peru, or some landholder, not to clear so much land.

The idea behind this scholarship emerged during a trip to the Peruvian Amazon by School of Business Dean Mike Percy, where he learned of the details surrounding a transcontinental highway that was making its way to Peru.

Percy says construction of the highway through Brazil cleared a swath of jungle roughly the size of Belgium. It was during discussions with Peruvian stakeholders that Percy decided a foray into the business of the environment might make for a meaningful internship experience.

"We think this would be ideal for our MBA program to focus on environmental issues, and it would link activities right at the ground," said Percy. "We wanted to explore what it would it take in terms of incentives for indigenous people not to shift out of having jungle habitat and jungle crops, and not shift to commercial crops. As it worked out, we'll send another student next year. In fact, we're open for this kind of placement for our MBAs anywhere in the world."

Stickney's work is funded through the Centre for Applied Business Research in Energy and the Environment. EPCOR's contribution will continue to fund researchers and students whose focus of study is on energy markets, electricity restructuring and climate change issues.

The remaining $1 million is earmarked for The Canadian Centre for Clean Coal and Mineral Process Technologies, based in the Faculty of Engineering.

The centre's researchers are focusing on the chemistry of metal extraction, coal cleaning, fine particle processing, waste management, bitumen extraction and related technologies. As a major user of coal in electrical generation, EPCOR is keenly interested in the centre's work.

"Our students and researchers are conducting work in engineering and business that will ensure EPCOR remains one of the country's top industry leaders," said U of A President Indira Samarasekera. "This is a textbook example of how the corporate-university partnership should work. It's a win-win for both institutions."

"Leading-edge research and informed public policy is a benefit to all Canadians," said Don Lowry, EPCOR president and CEO. "EPCOR is an industry leader and supporting these initiatives with one of Canada's top universities is an important and necessary contribution to Canada's environmental health. We're incredibly fortunate to have this expertise right next door."