Indigenous Partnerships
Athabasca Asphalt is committed to building strong, respectful, and mutually beneficial partnerships with Indigenous communities. We recognize the importance of Indigenous rights, traditional knowledge, and cultural values, and we strive to integrate these perspectives into our planning, design, and operations.
Our Partnerships Are Built On
By approaching each project as an opportunity for collaboration, Athabasca Asphalt seeks to build partnerships that deliver lasting economic, social, and environmental benefits for Indigenous communities and all stakeholders.
Technology & Process Advantage
We prioritize opportunities for Indigenous ownership and equity participation,
where possible.
Economic Development
We support Indigenous employment, training, and contracting opportunities to ensure meaningful participation across our
supply chain.
Environmental Stewardship
We collaborate with Indigenous partners to integrate traditional knowledge and community priorities into our sustainability practices.
Respect and Reconciliation
We honour Indigenous histories, governance, and decision-making, and we are committed to advancing reconciliation through action.
Indigenous Community Partners
The Loon River First Nation (Cree: ᒫᑿ ᓰᐲᐩ, mâkwa-sîpîy) is a First Nations band government in northern Alberta. A signatory to Treaty 8, it is made up of three reserves: Loon Lake 235, Loon Prairie 237, and Swampy Lake 236. Loon River serves over 700 community members over 219 km2 of their lands.
Environmental
Our asphalt binder purpose-built facilities achieve near-zero emissions by bypassing high-carbon refining steps, operating at lower temperatures, and integrating electrification. Unlike conventional processes, we require no water, preserving local resources while significantly reducing the carbon intensity of asphalt binder production and supporting the shift to sustainable infrastructure.
Production Emissions Reduction
In recent years, road infrastructure has come under scrutiny due to its significant greenhouse gas emissions during construction and beyond. AAC has a near-zero carbon footprint for producing and storing its asphalt binder products, which reduces its carbon footprint compared to other asphalt binder products on the market.
Sustainable Water Management
Through our new design, asphalt binder processing does not require any pre-treatment or post-treatment of water. No water is required as part of the production process, significantly reducing the environmental impact during production and eliminating the need for wastewater treatment in post-refining.
Electrification and Low MW
Electrification replaces traditional natural gas supplies for heating feedstock tanks, heating during asphalt binder production, and storing asphalt binder products post-production, all to reduce carbon emissions. The facility’s low power consumption eliminates the need for a dedicated substation, reducing carbon emissions from power generation.
