Recognizing the growing need for guidance on sustainability planning among their members, many of which face significant growth challenges, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) hired The Natural Step Canada to help develop programs for municipal sustainability planning. A major piece of this program was developing a guidebook on municipal sustainability planning (MSP) and supporting the AUMA in piloting it in five municipalities (Olds, Chauvin, Pincher Creek, Thorhild, and Claresholm).

The AUMA MSP guidebook is a step-by-step guide for municipalities on how to create an integrated municipal sustainability plan.  It’s designed to help municipal staff integrate sustainability into their decision-making in a strategic way.  Based on The Natural Step Framework, it can be used by other communities across Canada with different, sizes, budgets and challenges.