1.0 Background to the Evaluation

Sustainable development has been a focus of the federal government since 1990 and was formalized in law in 1995 through amendments to the Auditor General Act. These amendments created both the position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) within the Auditor General's department and the requirement that each department develop a Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) to be updated, reported on, and tabled in Parliament every three years, beginning in 1997.

Sustainable development was defined in the Brundtland Report as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For Western Economic Diversification (WD), sustainable development will be achieved when full consideration is given to economic development, the preservation of the environment and the social well being of Canadians (WD SDS 2000). According to WD's 2000 Strategy, broad positive change in the areas of economic growth and job creation; sustainable, self-reliant communities; the development and diversification of local economies; healthy vibrant communities; and the safeguarding of natural resources and the environment will be indicators of the achievement of this goal.

WD's first SDS was tabled in December 1997 and provided WD with the experience necessary to make a meaningful contribution to Canada's sustainable development goals. Based on the lessons learned from that strategy, WD developed SDS 2000 with three main goals:

To facilitate the integration of sustainable development into the business practices of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Western Canada through network partners;
To integrate sustainable development into the programs, services and activities that WD delivers directly and in partnership; and
To foster a sustainable development culture within WD.

Two teams were formed to implement the action items related to these goals, the Green Team and the Sustainable Development Implementation Team (SDIT). The Green Team is mainly comprised of officers responsible for procurement and administrative office operations, and has taken the lead on "greening" internal operations. The SDIT is made up primarily of project officers for WD, and is responsible for promoting sustainable development to external partners, clients, organizations and stakeholders with whom WD works.

WD developed an action plan that specified objectives, targets and activities that addressed their goals. They also made three major commitments to improve their accountability for sustainable development:

Implementation of SDS using an ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS);
Development of a performance measurement framework; and
Participation of WD senior management.

WD is now in the process of developing their third SDS, known as SDS 2003. This report, which will be tabled in Parliament in December 2003, will need to include a thorough evaluation of WD's SDS 2000 as well as a broader discussion of the suitability of the SDS and its management and implementation process.

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