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Green Procurement

Meeting Policy Requirements

1. Has the department incorporated environmental performance considerations in its procurement decision-making processes?

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 contracting 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 in the National Capital Region.

The Department's procurement planning process is a component of the Health Canada Integrated Planning approach, which allows us to achieve economies of scale through consolidation of acquisitions, increase flexibility and avoid delays through greater use of Standing Offer Agreements, and be better able to manage risk due to improved lead times for higher dollar value and/or highly complex requirements. The increased operational efficiency of the planning process supports the objectives of sustainable development. The process also provides the opportunity to incorporate environmental performance considerations as appropriate in consolidated acquisitions.

The Health Canada Assets Management Policy requires the application of sustainable development principles in the acquisition, maintenance and disposal of assets. The Health Canada Fleet Management Guide also directs managers to consider environmental issues when evaluating and planning transportation options.

Health Canada has developed an Annual Fleet Report that reports on alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant emissions and various other matrices that are analysed from an environmental perspective. This report is used to make decisions regarding fleet management and to track progress against sustainable development strategy targets.

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

1. allowing the Department to 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. Results achieved:

The results of our training and SAP initiatives can be found in the green procurement targets section.

Health Canada's Deputy Minister has presented an Award for Excellence in June 2009 to the integrated planning team for developing an integrated plan that serves as a model for other departments. The integrated plan positions the Department well to meet its program and strategic objectives, including those outlined in the Policy on Green Procurement.

The purchase of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles has increased by 172% and 23% respectively and the overall average fuel efficiency of our vehicles has improved, compared to fiscal year 2006-2007.

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

Although Health Canada is not identified in section 8 of the policy, the Department 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. Health Canada participates in the Interdepartmental Green Stewardship Community of Practice. The Department also has incorporated green procurement tracking procedures in our existing enterprise system through participation in horizontal SAP initiatives with other SAP departments.

Green Procurement Targets

5. Has the department established green procurement targets?

Yes

6. Are these green procurement targets the same as those identified in your Sustainable Development Strategy (Table 8)?

Yes

7. Summary of green procurement targets:

1. By March 2010, all materiel managers and procurement personnel will have received training on green procurement offered by PWGSC, Canada School of Public Service, or any other federal government department.

   This target was set as a function of the Policy on Green Procurement requirement to ensure that officials in key management, procurement services delivery and oversight positions, have the necessary training to support the objectives of the policy. Associated benefits relating to knowledgeable functional experts includes raising awareness and providing advice regarding sound procurement planning and green procurement opportunities with cost centre managers. The scope of this target is limited to personnel in the Materiel and Assets Management Directorate, the centre of procurement expertise in the Department. The Department also promotes training of cost centre managers on green procurement in addition to this target.

2. By March 2010, incorporate tracking tools into the existing systems (e.g. SAP etc.) to monitor green purchases.

   This target was set as a function of the Policy on Green Procurement requirement to monitor and report on green procurement performance. The associated benefit is the ability to benchmark and report progress on green procurement as well as to increase awareness of green procurement in the Department. The scope of this target includes all purchases entered in our enterprise system, SAP.

8. Results achieved:

As of March 2009, 29% of personnel in the Materiel and Assets Management Directorate have confirmed completion of green procurement training. In May 2009, Health Canada provided green procurement training at the annual Materiel and Assets Management Directorate workshop and has achieved a training level of 100%. The Department has met the green procurement training commitment set out in the Health Canada Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2010.

A green procurement field was implemented in SAP to monitor green purchases in February 2009. This tracking tool allows the Department to report on environmental friendliness for all purchases entered in SAP, which includes everything except acquisition card purchases. In 2007-2008, Health Canada acquired $135 million in services and $55 million in goods. Since implementation, the environmental friendliness of 60% of line items and spending has being identified as unknown. An environmentally friendly attribute has been identified for 7% of line items and 3% of spending. The Department will 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 our strategic objectives. The Department has met the green procurement tracking tool commitment set out in the Health Canada Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2010.

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