ARCHIVED - Health Canada - Supplementary Tables

1. Has the department established green procurement targets?

Yes

2. Summary of initiatives to incorporate environmental performance considerations in procurement decision-making processes:

Health Canada (HC) supports the objectives of the Policy on Green Procurement, including incorporating environmental performance considerations and value for money into the procurement decision-making process. HC promotes training of materiel managers, procurement personnel and cost centre managers (the contract signing authority) on green procurement by encouraging them to take the Canada School of Public Service on-line course, by broadcasting general awareness messages and by participating in Environment Week. The Acquisition Card Policy has been updated to direct cardholders to ensure their procurement practices stand the test of public scrutiny in matters of prudence, honesty and conflict of interest as well as with the implementation of environmental practices.

The Department's procurement planning process is a component of the Health Canada Integrated Planning approach, which allows HC to identify economies of scale through consolidation of acquisitions, resulting in increased flexibility and avoiding delays through greater use of Standing Offer Agreements. HC is also better able to manage risk due to improved lead times for higher dollar value and/or highly complex requirements. The process also provides the opportunity to incorporate environmental performance considerations as appropriate in any consolidated acquisition vehicle HC develops and implements.

The Department is in the process of reviewing procurement related processes and controls to ensure that they incorporate environmental considerations, when appropriate. Updating the Health Canada Fleet Management Standard was the main focus of greening during the fiscal year. The standard directs managers to consider environmental issues when evaluating and planning transportation options. In particular, HC has implemented a fleet vehicle acquisitions standard, based on standardized national operational requirements and matching those requirements with the most environmentally-friendly models available through Standing Offers.

Health Canada produces an Annual Fleet Report that reports on alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, greenhouse gas and air contaminant emissions and various other performance indicators. This report is used to make decisions regarding fleet management and to track progress against sustainable development strategy targets identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

The Department has implemented the practice of capturing green procurement information using a field in the existing enterprise system, SAP. The SAP green procurement field serves a dual purpose of

1. Allowing the Department to identify and report on the environmental friendliness of purchases so that decision-making can be influenced.
   
   
2. Serving as a regular reminder to the individuals entering SAP information that there is a Policy on Green Procurement that should be applied to their purchasing decisions.

3. Contributions to facilitate government-wide implementation of green procurement:

Health Canada is identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and is an active participant in federal procurement reform initiatives, such as the establishment of mandatory standing offers led by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), which incorporate environmental performance and lifecycle analysis. The Department has incorporated green procurement tracking procedures in our existing enterprise system through participation in horizontal SAP initiatives with other SAP departments.

4. Summary of green procurement targets:

Green procurement is a key target area listed in the 2011-14 Federal Sustainable. Development Strategy (FSDS) for "Shrinking the Environmental Footprint" of government. The 2010-2011fiscal-year was a development year and each department was to establish:

• At least 3 SMART green procurement targets to reduce environmental impacts;
• SMART targets for training, employee performance evaluations, and management processes and controls, as they pertain to procurement decision-making.
• A target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations (from the baseline fiscal year 2005-2006), set on a downward trend, thereby contributing to the economy-wide target of a 17% reduction by 2020.

5. Results achieved:

The Department has set targets recommended by PWGSC in areas that are well supported by existing tools, best practices and supplier capacity and interest. This process was selected to support implementation of the targets, since an important consideration was that no incremental funding would be provided for incremental work under the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy umbrella.

As of April 1, 2011, 100% of employee performance evaluations for PG Group Directors and Managers included clauses relating to greening of government operations.

Health Canada is analyzing procurement decision-making processes and controls to identify those that should include environmental considerations. The Fleet Management Standard was reviewed and updated accordingly through consultation with the Regions and programs.

The Department will continue to work with PWGSC on identifying greening opportunities for procurement. Health Canada will also continue communications to increase awareness of green procurement and the need to enter green procurement information for every transaction. Including green procurement in the enterprise system process itself provides a constant reminder to employees that green procurement is one of HC's objectives.

Acquisition card holder training includes a reminder regarding the implementation of environmental practices within the Department. Green procurement training continues to be mandatory for all new Procurement Officers (PG group) and is strongly encouraged for all employees with a role in procurement.

The purchase of alternative fuels has decreased (compared to 2009-10), attributed in part to the lack of access to alternative fuels in many regions across Canada. In 2010-11, 43% of new vehicle acquisitions were vehicles capable of using alternative fuels (ethanol 85, etc.), however, availability of this type of fuel is an ongoing issue.