Environment Canada's Sustainable Development Strategy 2001-2003

A Guide to a Green Government

Background

A Guide to Green Government (1995) was designed as a framework to guide and assist federal departments in the preparation of their sustainable development strategies. The Guide, signed by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, helps departments to identify their sustainable development objectives and develop the action plans to achieve them. The framework acts as a guide rather than a prescription, since federal departments differ greatly in their mandates. At the same time, the Guide is designed to ensure a degree of consistency in the way that departments approach the preparation of strategies. The aim of the framework is to integrate sustainable development into the workings of the federal government right across the board and to see that environmental and economic signals point the same way.

A Guide to Green Government Provides Guidance in Three Key Areas:

1. The Sustainable Development Challenge What are we trying to achieve?
2. Planning and Decision-Making for Sustainable Development What are the key instruments?
3. Preparing a Sustainable Development Strategy How should we go about it?

Sustainable Development Objectives Presented in the Guide:

• Sustaining Our Natural Resources - Sustainable Jobs, Communities and Industries
• Protecting the Health of Canadians and of Ecosystems
• Meeting Our International Obligations
• Promoting Equity
• Improving Our Quality of Life and Well-being

Key Government Commitments in A Guide to Green Government

"The Government of Canada firmly believes that our economic health depends on our environmental health. We firmly believe that the federal government can help shape a better future for all Canadians, a future characterized by sustainable development."

"The Government of Canada believes that sustainable development is not only a desirable but an essential goal of public policy. Achieving sustainable development requires an approach to public policy that is comprehensive, integrated, open and accountable. It should embody a commitment to continuous improvement."

"By taking this approach to sustainable development, the Government recognizes that responsibility for sustainable development is shared across government and that each Minister is accountable for making measurable progress on sustainable development within the sphere of his/ her mandate." "The Government of Canada is committed to getting government right by making government greener. This is our commitment to Canadians."