About
Karen Farbridge is changing the way municipalities look at energy.
Most communities are leaking money they don’t realize is being lost. Up to 85 cents of every energy dollar leaves local economies. Karen Farbridge has spent much of her career figuring out how to stop the leak.
A municipal advisor, board director, and educator, she is also the former 11-year Mayor of Guelph, Ontario and knows what it takes to actually move a city.
Karen’s focus is energy governance: helping municipalities embed energy policy directly into how they plan land, make decisions, and spend public money. This means real structural change, not just reports or inventories.
“Each project connects energy to the decisions that shape a community for decades.”
Selected Work
She has contributed to landmark initiatives across Ontario.
Land-use energy integration in Brampton and Caledon
New energy governance models for Durham Region
Regional energy independence in Waterloo Region
Rethinking home energy retrofits in Newmarket
Governance
Karen is a trusted advisor.
In addition to her energy advisory work, she has served as Chair of the Board of Meridian Credit Union (Ontario’s largest credit union), as a director of Guelph Hydro Inc. (now part of Alectra Utilities), and chaired the Board of QUEST Canada for four years.
She also teaches through York University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative where she has trained more than 150 municipal staff, planners, and civic leaders in the practice of community energy planning.
The Circular Energy Regime
From energy dependency to energy resilience. In four moves.
Founder of the Energy Conscious Communities project, Karen’s upcoming book, More Than Carbon: Reimagining Canada’s Energy Future from a Local Perspective (2027), introduces a framework she calls the “circular energy regime”.
Reduce demand.
Don’t waste energy.
Switch to renewables.
Draw down carbon.
“Karen’s work is grounded in the growing belief that strong communities will control their own energy future. She helps them get there.”