Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
1. Overview of the federal government’s approach to sustainable development
The 2013–16 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) presents the Government of Canada’s sustainable development activities, as required by the Federal Sustainable Development Act. In keeping with the objectives of the Act to make environmental decision making more transparent and accountable to Parliament, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supports the implementation of the FSDS through the activities described in this supplementary information table.
2. Our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
This Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy describes the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s actions in support of Theme IV: shrinking the environmental footprint, beginning with government. The report for 2016–17 presents a high level overview of results and is the final report under the 2013–16 FSDS. Last year’s report is available on the departmental website.
3. Departmental performance highlights
Theme IV: shrinking the environmental footprint, beginning with government
Under Theme IV, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada contributed to the 2013–16 FSDS through two implementation strategies for Goal 7: waste and asset management.
| FSDS goal | FSDS target | FSDS performance indicator | FSDS performance results |
|---|---|---|---|
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Goal 7: waste and asset management Reduce waste generated, and minimize the environmental impacts of assets throughout their life cycle. |
Target 7.2: green procurement As of April 1, 2014, the Government of Canada will continue to take action to embed environmental considerations into public procurement, in accordance with the federal Policy on Green Procurement. |
Departmental approach to further the implementation of the Policy on Green Procurement in place. Number and percentage of specialists in procurement and/or material management who have completed the Canada School of Public Service Procurement course or equivalent, in the given fiscal year. Number and percentage of managers and functional heads of procurement and materiel whose performance evaluation includes support and contribution toward green procurement, in the given fiscal year Departmental performance indicators for departmental green procurement targets:
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The overall result is to achieve environmentally responsible acquisition, use and disposal of goods and services Yes (achieved) Target - Planned No.: 4 Target - Planned No.: 2 Target: 50% by March 31, 2017 Target: 90% by March 31, 2017 Target: 95% by March 31, 2017 |
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Target 7.3: sustainable workplace operations As of April 1, 2015, the Government of Canada will update and adopt policies and practices to improve the sustainability of its workplace operations |
Integrate environmental considerations into corporate policies, processes and practices in accordance with departmental refresh cycles Maintain or improve existing approaches to sustainable workplace practices (printer ratios, paper usage and green meetings) Reuse or recycle workplace material and assets in an environmentally sound and secure manner. |
The overall result is to achieve a reduced environmental impact for departmental workplace operations. Achieved Achieved Achieved |
Implementation strategies: performance summary
The department:
- integrated environmental considerations into procurement management processes and controls;
- leveraged common use of procurement instruments where available and feasible;
- trained acquisition cardholders on green procurement;
- increased awareness on the Policy on Green Procurement among managers.
4. Report on Strategic Environmental Assessment
During the 2016–17 reporting cycle, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada considered the environmental effects of initiatives subject to the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, as part of its decision-making processes. As the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada did not develop any initiatives that required a Strategic Environmental Assessment, no related public statements were produced.
