ARCHIVED - NRCan's Sustainable Development Strategy: 2012-13

In 2008, the government put into effect the Federal Sustainable Development Act with the intent of increasing the transparency and accountability of environmental decision-making. To do so, it created the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), which is a plan comprised of all the activities that the government intends to pursue to support sustainable development. The activities are categorized into 4 themes:

Theme I – Addressing Climate Change and air Quality

Theme II – Maintaining Water Quality and Availability

Theme III – Protecting Nature

Theme IV – Shrinking the Environmental Foorprint-Beginning with Government

For more information on the FSDS please visit this website:http://www.ec.gc.ca/dd-sd/default.asp?lang=En&n=F93CD795-1

Some 27 federal departments contribute to the FSDS and each department has its own Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS). Similar to the FSDS, the DSDS contains department activities that contribute to sustainable development.

Through its Sustainable Development Strategy, NRCan works to improve the quality of life of Canadians by creating a sustainable resource advantage.

In order to realize this vision, not only does the department consider sustainability in policy-making, it also conducts the science in which the principles of sustainable development are rooted. NRCan employs many tools to integrate sustainable development considerations into decision-making, such as the Public Participation Policy (formerly referred to as the New Engagement Policy). This policy ensures the collection and use of stakeholder knowledge and expertise for the purpose of furthering the consideration of sustainable development in decision-making.

Furthermore, NRCan contributes to sustainable development by carrying out strategic environmental assessment (SEA), in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals and its guidelines. This year, NRCan commits to:

• Continue to implement its updated internal SEA policy, processes and guidance material (e.g. SEA templates, internal websites, training material) which address the new requirements of the guidelines supporting the Cabinet Directive, such as:  analysing within SEAs the impact of policy, plan and program proposals on FSDS goals and targets; reporting on SEA results through Departmental Performance Reports; and describing the impact of policy, plan and program proposals on FSDS goals and targets in SEA public statements.
• Deliver briefing and training sessions to NRCan staff.
• Support best practices by continuing to work with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Environment Canada and the interdepartmental community on processes, measures and tools to strengthen the application of SEA federally
• Performance measure: rate of NRCan compliance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals and its supporting guidelines.

For more information on SEA at NRCan, please visit the NRCan website:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/environmental-assessment-strategic/55

For more information such as access the description of an activity, how the department measures the result of that activity, and how that activity contributes to sustainable development, click on the links in the table below.

NRCan Sub-activities that Contribute to FSDS Themes, Goals and Targets

Strategic Outcome (SO) 1 Canada’s Natural Resources are Globally Competitive	Program Activity (PA) 1.1 Market Access and Diversification	Sub-activity (SA) 1.1.2 Forest Products Market Access and Development		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
	PA 1.2 Innovation for New Products and Processes	SA 1.2.2 Forest Sector Innovation		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
	PA 1.3 Investment in Natural Resource Sectors	SA 1.3.2 Forest-based Community Partnerships		Goal 7 – Biological Resources Target 7.3 – Sustainable Forest Management
		SA 1.3.5 New Energy Supply		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
SO 2 Natural Resource Sectors and Consumers are Environmentally Responsible	PA 2.1 Energy-efficient Practices and Lower-carbon Energy Sources	SA 2.1.1 Renewable Energy Deployment		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
		SA 2.1.2 Support for Clean Energy Decision-making		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
		SA 2.1.3 Alternative Transportation Fuels		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
		SA 2.1.4 Energy Efficiency		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
	PA 2.2 Technology Innovation	SA 2.2.1 Materials for Energy		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
		SA 2.2.2 Green Mining		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
		SA 2.2.3 Clean Energy Science and Technology		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
	PA 2.3 Responsible Natural Resource Management	SA 2.3.1 Forest Ecosystem Science and Application		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
				Goal 7 – Biological Resources Target 7.3 – Sustainable Forest Management
		SA 2.3.2 Groundwater Geoscience		Goal 3 – Water Quality Target 3.1 – Fresh Water Quality Goal 4 – Water Availability Target 4.1 - Water Resource Management and Use
		SA 2.3.3 Environmental Studies and Assessments		Goal 6 – Ecosystem Habitat Conservation and Protection Target 6.2 – Terrestrial Ecosystem and Habitat Target 6.3 – Marine Ecosystems
		SA 2.3.4 Radioactive Waste Management		Goal 3 – Water Quality Target 3.1 – Fresh Water Quality
SO 3 Canadians Have Information to Manage their Lands and Natural Resources, and are Protected from Related Risks	PA 3.1 Protection for Canadians and Natural Resources	SA 3.1.4 Climate Change Adaptation		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
	PA 3.2 Landmass Information	SA 3.2.1 Essential Geographic Information		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
				Goal 6 – Ecosystem Habitat Conservation and Protection Target 6.2 – Terrestrial Ecosystem and Habitat Target 6.4 – Managing Threats to Ecosystems

Details about NRCan’s Greening Government Operations (GGO) are summarized in a supplementary table of the 2012-13 RPP housed on the Treasury Board Secretariat website.

Goal 8 - Greening Government Operations - Minimize the environmental footprint of government operations

Greening Government Operations – RPP 2012-13 Supplementary Table

Additional Sustainable Development Activities not captured in the NRCan’s Sustainable Development Strategy

NRCan also contributes to sustainable development through the Clean Air Agenda (CAA). The CAA is part of the government’s broader efforts to address the challenges of climate change and air pollution. Over a four-year period (2007-11), $2.5 billion was provided to develop regulations and programming to achieve measurable reductions in greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. In the 2011 Budget, the government renewed the CAA funding ($870 million over two years) with an increased focus on regulatory actions as the root of Canada’s approach to climate change and clean air.

NRCan’s has activities that contribute to both the CAA and the FSDS. Click on any element of the PAA below to access a description of the activity, how the department measures the result of that activity, and how that activity contributes to sustainable development and the Clean Air Agenda.

NRCan Sub Activities that Contribute to the Clean Air Agenda

SO1 Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors are Globally Competitive	PA  1.1 Market Access and Diversification	SA 1.1.2 Forest Products Market Access and Development	CAA Theme – Inter-national Actions
SO 2 Natural Resource Sectors and Consumers are Environmentally Responsible	PA 2.1 Energy-efficient Practices and Lower-carbon Energy Sources	SA 2.1.1 Renewable Energy Deployment	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
		SA 2.1.2 Support for Clean Energy Decision-making	CAA Theme – Clean Energy CAA Theme  - Inter-national Actions
		SA 2.1.3 Alternative Transportation Fuels	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
		SA 2.1.4 Energy Efficiency	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
	PA 2.2 Technology Innovation	SA 2.2.1 Materials for Energy	CAA Theme -  Adapt-ation
		SA 2.2.3 Clean Energy Science and Technology	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
SO 3 Canadians Have Information to Manage their Lands and Natural Resources, and are Protected from Related Risks	PA 3.1 Protection for Canadians and Natural Resources	SA 3.1.3 Forest Disturbances Science and Application	CAA Theme -  Adapt-ation
		SA 3.1.4 Climate Change Adaptation	CAA Theme – Adapt-ation

The results of the CAA activities are articulated in Environment Canada’s Report on Plans and Priorities and reported on as a horizontal initiative in their Performance Report.