ABSTRACT
TransAlta Corporation is an electric utility based in Calgary, Canada, that owns and operates thermal and hydroelectric power plants, and electric transmission and distribution systems, servicing 1.7 million people directly and indirectly. The good news is that TransAlta supplies low-cost energy to its commercial and independent customers—a 1995 survey by the UK's Electricity Association indicated that TransAlta Utilities' domestic and industrial rates are among the lowest internationally. This chapter describes the continuing journey of TransAlta, the coal-based electric power company as it has discovered and defined its meaning of sustainable development. To every new project TransAlta brings with it a wealth of knowledge in environmental management and sustainable development. TransAlta has guided implementation of its strategy for sustainable development through the use of a framework of five 'Strategic Cornerstones', each an arena for continual improvement, and each with set objectives for operationalization.
