NRCan Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy: 2013-14

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 comprising 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, visit Environment Canada’s 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 DSDS, NRCan has a vision to improve the quality of life of Canadians by creating a sustainable resource advantage.

To realize this vision, the department not only considers sustainability in policy-making, but it also conducts 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.

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 (Cabinet Directive) and its guidelines.

This year, NRCan commits to continue to implement the new requirements of the guidelines supporting the Cabinet Directive by employing the updated Departmental SEA process, and to measure performance through the rate of NRCan compliance with the Cabinet Directive and its supporting guidelines. NRCan will also continue to improve SEA in the federal family, through ongoing collaboration on SEA tools and guidance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and other participating departments and agencies.

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 accessing the description of a program, how the department measures the results of that program, and how that program contributes to sustainable development, click on the links in the table below.

NRCan Sub-programs that contribute to FSDS Themes, Goals and Targets

Strategic Outcome (SO) 1 Canada’s Natural Resources are Globally Competitive	Program (P) 1.1 Market Access and Diversification	Sub-program (SP) 1.1.2 Forest Products Market Access and Development		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
	P 1.2 Innovation for New Products and Processes	SP 1.2.2 Forest Sector Innovation		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
SO 2 Natural Resource Sectors and Consumers are Environmentally Responsible	P 2.1 Energy-efficient Practices and Lower-carbon Energy Sources	SP 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
		SP 2.1.2 Support for Clean Energy Decision-making		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
		SP 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
		SP 2.1.4 Energy Efficiency		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
	P 2.2 Technology Innovation	SP 2.2.1 Materials for Energy		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation
		SP 2.2.2 Green Mining		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation Goal 2 – Air Pollution Target 2.1 – Air Pollutants
		SP 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
	P 2.3 Responsible Natural Resource Management	SP 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
		SP 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
		SP 2.3.3 Environmental Studies and Assessment		Goal 6 – Ecosystem Habitat Conservation and Protection Target 6.2 – Terrestrial Ecosystem and Habitat Target 6.3 – Marine Ecosystems
		SP 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	P 3.1 Protection for Canadians and Natural Resources	SP 3.1.3 Forest Disturbances Science and Application		Goal 6 – Ecosystem Habitat Conservation and Protection Target 6.4 – Managing Threats to Ecosystems
		SP 3.1.4 Climate Change Adaptation		Goal 1 – Climate Change Target 1.1 – Climate Change Mitigation

Details about NRCan’s Greening Government Operations (GGO) are summarized in a supplementary table of the 2013-14 RPP housed on NRCan’s departmental website.

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

Greening Government Operations– RPP 2013-14 Supplementary Table

Clean Air Agenda Programming

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), the Government invested $2.5 billion 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 programs that contribute to both the CAA and the FSDS. Click on any element of the PAA below to access a description of the program, how the department measures the results of that program, and how that program contributes to sustainable development and the Clean Air Agenda.

NRCan Sub-programs that Contribute to the Clean Air Agenda

SO1 Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors are Globally Competitive	P 1.1 Market Access and Diversification	SP 1.1.2 Forest Products Market Access and Development	CAA Theme – International Actions
SO 2 Natural Resource Sectors and Consumers are Environmentally Responsible	P 2.1 Energy-efficient Practices and Lower-carbon Energy Sources	SP 2.1.1 Renewable Energy Deployment	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
		SP 2.1.2 Support for Clean Energy Decision-making	CAA Theme – Clean Energy CAA Theme – International Actions
		SP 2.1.3 Alternative Transportation Fuels	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
		SP 2.1.4 Energy Efficiency	CAA Theme – Clean Energy
	P 2.2 Technology Innovation	SP 2.2.1 Materials for Energy	CAA Theme – Adaptation
		SP 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	P 3.1 Protection for Canadians and Natural Resources	SP 3.1.3 Forest Disturbances Science and Application	CAA Theme – Adaptation
		SP 3.1.4 Climate Change Adaptation	CAA Theme – Adaptation