Contributing to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Overview

The symbol for the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), Theme IV: Shrinking the Environmental Footprint – Beginning with Government

Over the next three years (2011-14), the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (the Secretariat) will contribute to the new Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) under Theme IV to help shrink the environmental footprint – beginning with government.

Below you will find a description of the key areas in which the Secretariat will contribute to the FSDS including Strategic Environmental Assessments to support decision-making and Greening Government Operations.

This webpage along with the Secretariat's Report on Plans and Priorities 2011-12 together outline the Secretariat's Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy and will be updated annually.

Background

Since 1995, departments have presented sustainable development strategies to Parliament every three years.

The FSDS, which was tabled in Parliament on October 6, 2010, replaces the previous departmental strategies and introduced new requirements to make environmental decision-making and performance reporting more transparent to Parliament and Canadians.  The FSDS requires government-wide action to achieve common goals and targets in key areas, i.e. air and climate change, water, nature and shrinking the environmental footprint.

This introduces a new era for addressing and reporting on sustainable development in government by:

• providing an integrated whole-of-government picture of actions and results to achieve goals in environmental sustainability;
• linking sustainable development planning and reporting to the Government's core Expenditure Management System on an annual basis (Report on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Report); and,
• establishing effective monitoring and reporting processes to track progress for Parliament and Canadians.

Renewing Our Sustainable Development Vision

Under the Secretariat's previous Sustainable Development Strategy, the Secretariat's sustainable development vision was described as a functional norm.  In other words, TBS strives to ensure SD is considered and reflected in all of its work.

As the Secretariat moves toward fully integrating the new FSDS in the organization, over 2011–12 the Secretariat will review this vision in the context of its new FSDS requirements and make adjustments as needed to ensure it is inclusive of the new approach and its mandate.

Strategic Environmental Assessments

As provided in the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) outlines a process to identify potential environmental impacts and consider the need for mitigation to reduce or eliminate adverse effects.

All departments are required to conduct a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of a policy, plan or program proposal when the following two conditions are present:

1. the proposal is being submitted to an individual minister or to Cabinet for approval; and,
2. its implementation may result in important environmental effects, either positive or negative.

In certain circumstances, departments and agencies are required to conduct SEAs for proposals that do not meet both conditions.

As outlined in the Secretariat's 2011-12 RPP, the Secretariat will support the integration of SEAs in the Secretariat's decision making by:

• Strengthening the application of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) by ensuring that the Government's environmental goals are taken into account when pursuing social and economic goals; and,
• Pursuing best practices on reporting on summary information on the results of SEAs linked to the FSDS goals and targets, in order to ensure that environmental decision making is more transparent.

The Secretariat reviews proposals from government organizations for Cabinet approval.  While the accountability to ensure that an SEA is completed rests with the sponsoring Minister(s), the Secretariat provides guidance to organizations on developing proposals for the approval of Treasury Board (TB).  The Secretariat will continue to work with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to provide guidance for organizations that reflects best practices to incorporate SEA results in TB submissions.

To integrate sustainable development considerations in decision-making, the Secretariat will review its approach to managing the SEA process.

Greening Government Operations (GGO) in Internal Services

The Secretariat's main contribution to the government-wide efforts to support environmental sustainability is through its Internal Services program activity.

The Internal Services program activity consists of internal functions that support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of the Secretariat.  It represents one of the six program activities found in the Secretariat's Program Activity Architecture (PAA)¹.  These core activities contribute to achieving the Secretariat's strategic outcome that Government is well managed and accountable, and resources are allocated to achieve results for Canadians through Internal Services such as information management services, information technology services, real property services, acquisition services and others. The Internal Services program activity provides the necessary support for the success of all the Secretariat's program activities. Efforts by the Secretariat to continually improve its internal services contribute to better results in its core roles as a central agency and thus to a well managed and accountable government.

Through its Internal Services program activities, the Secretariat will implement the Greening Government Operations Targets to support Theme IV of the FSDS as follows: Electronic Waste, Managed Print, Paper Consumption, Green Meetings and Green Procurement.  Starting in 2011-12, the Secretariat will establish responsibilities and accountabilities, focus on building baselines and develop effective monitoring systems to achieve targets.  These targets and strategies are outlined in the Secretariat's 2011-12 RPP.

To further strengthen the Secretariat's approach to integrating SD in the department, the Secretariat will also explore options to leverage and promote SD in the workplace, for example, through the engagement of the existing Green Citizenship Network.

Links

For more information on how the Secretariat is implementing Theme IV: Shrinking the Environmental Footprint, consult the Secretariat's RPP 2011-12, Section III, Supplementary Information tables.

For complete details on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy visit the Environment Canada web site.

More information on the Strategic Environmental Assessments and to view the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals consult the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency web site.

Information on Greening Government Operations can be found on the Public Works and Government Services Canada site.

Footnotes