Here is some background from their website:

In October 1982, at the end of what was otherwise an ordinary week, two people were dead and the air of central Alberta was heavily polluted. The devastation was the result of the Lodgepole sour gas blowout. The sour gas pollution continued to spew into the air for weeks affecting people in cities like Edmonton and even across provincial borders. It became known as Canada's largest industrial accident, resulting in a $2.5 million public inquiry.

This tragic event and resulting inquiry inspired a small group of local residents to band together to press for higher safety standards in the oil and gas industry. As a result of their intervention, the regulations guiding sour gas development by the petroleum industry were changed dramatically. Empowered by the positive experience of citizen-lead action, this group went on to found the Pembina Institute in 1985.

In the years that followed the inquiry, the Pembina Institute successfully applied a number of different strategies to improve the health and environmental standards used to conduct business within the oil and gas sector.

The Pembina Institute continues to pioneer practical, multi-stakeholder solutions to energy and environmental issues across Canada.

Pembina make its Toronto home at the CSI building.