Mr. Church is the Team Leader for the Communities Group in Natural Resources Canada where he has been for the past almost 18 years. In this time he has been managing research into tools, guidelines and best practices that relate energy demand to the urban environment. He actively promotes district energy, community planning and energy mapping and works to raise their awareness at the municipal level. He represents Canada at the International Energy Agency and works closely with associations such as QUEST, IDEA and the FCM as well as utilities and industries. His background ranges from nuclear submarines to industrial heat recovery but his latest area of work is in spearheading an initiative to bring together district energy and land-use planning practices in the development of Smart Energy communities.