ARCHIVED - Key Result 4: NRCan demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development in its operations

Final Progress Report on NRCan's Sustainable Development Strategy - Moving Forward

Summary

Of the 20 Targets:

• 11 targets have been completed.
• 2 targets are in progress (on schedule to be completed with the timeframe outlined in the target).
• 7 targets have been revised (to reflect operational conditions and to ensure their successful completion).

A Snapshot of Some Accomplishments

• Through its work on greening its operations, NRCan has demonstrated its commitment to the principles of sustainable development. A key focus for the Department within its own house was to further its work to implement a comprehensive environmental management system (EMS). An EMS facilitates managing the Department’s assets responsibly while minimizing environmental impacts and facilitates pursuing more comprehensive tracking. NRCan has finalized the environmental aspects managed within the EMS and completed an environmental risk assessment of custodial facilities as well as secondary interest and third party facilities. This has enabled the creation of environmental data sheets for all occupied NRCan installations across Canada. This work has enabled the identification of priorities, the improvement in the quality of historical data for some sub aspects, and filled gaps in environmental data for secondary interest and third-party facilities. EMS action plans for each environmental aspect were developed and updated, with possible objectives and targets, which will be finalized shortly.
• Management of effluents and emissions included some air emissions studies, wastewater sampling, and groundwater monitoring.
• Furthering the goal of sustainable land use involved increasing the rigor of contamination screening criteria, continuing environmental site assessment activities, which will be completed by 2015, coinciding with the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan 2005-2015 mandate. Also of importance was the advancement of a Booth Street Redevelopment Strategy. The Booth Street Complex is considered a ‘brownfield’, defined as an idle or underused property where past activities have caused contamination, but exhibit good potential for other uses (or upgrading). Discussions with Treasury Board Secretariat have commenced and it is likely that a proposal will have to be submitted to Cabinet (2007/2008). Implementation will proceed once approval is received, with potential completion scheduled by 2012.
• During the timeframe of this SDS, the ability to affect national progress on GHG emissions reductions (and other environmental objectives) was enhanced by the development of a national real property Governance Model, which came into effect April 1, 2007. While study of the components of the Department’s portfolio in the National Capital Region found no opportunity during the timeframe of this SDS to implement the Federal Buildings Initiative, subsequent developments in the field of energy contracting may mean that further projects can be considered, the feasibility of which will be evaluated following the undertaking of energy audits and opportunity assessments. The timeline for the Booth Street Redevelopment Strategy anticipates delivery of a new energy efficient building in 2011/2012.
• NRCan’s draft Water Conservation Strategy has been completed and approved. Quality assurance work was undertaken on historical NRCan water use data, new data was collected and a water consumption trend analysis report was completed, enabling the establishment of a performance target in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

More information on NRCan’s progress for Key Result #4 can be found in the tables below.