Community Energy Association

CEA grew from a committee established by the Government of BC and the Union of BC Municipalities in the 1990s, was incorporated as a non-profit in 2003, and registered as a charity the following year. CEA functions as a nonprofit consultant with members and a Board of Directors; more than half of CEA’s member-organizations are local governments and Indigenous communities. Today, CEA’s members and staff live in communities large and small and share in the benefits of being a community of practitioners. We bring our collective expertise, experiences, commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, and passion to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions while maximizing co-benefits, so that communities are healthy and resilient. This requires building local and regional capacity, leveraging funds, and fostering collaboration among all levels of government, Indigenous communities, energy providers, educational institutions, and other organizations to plan and implement local solutions. Our work includes creating community projects and plans, implementing infrastructure projects, facilitating opportunities to share information and build collaboration among communities and sectors, and developing public engagement campaigns. These activities are funded by public and private organizations that share a commitment to local climate leadership. Staff teams are organized in service areas that cultivate expertise in the areas most relevant to communities: the built environment, capacity and leadership development, communications and engagement, planning and research, relationships and reconciliation, and transportation. Our teams are committed to meeting client goals and objectives and, as a non-profit, we ensure that everything we learn is accessible and creates opportunities for communities to replicate successes.