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The State of Energy Efficiency in Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency Report 2005

Government Operations

The Government of Canada is committed to "getting its own house in order" by setting a target of 31 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its own operations by 2010.

Since 1990, through building retrofits, better fleet management, strategic "green power" purchases and the downsizing of operations, the Government of Canada has already achieved a 24 percent emissions reduction (see Figure 22).

The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) has played and will continue to play an important role in helping to achieve this reduction by providing programs targeted to improving the efficiency of energy use in government operations. The OEE's goal is to assist Government of Canada organizations to implement energy efficiency improvements, leading to reduced energy use, GHG emissions and operating costs. It offers two initiatives in this area – one for federal buildings and one for federal vehicles.

The OEE also contributed to the development and implementation of the Federal House in Order initiative. This initiative formally centralizes the Government of Canada's efforts to monitor, track and reduce its own GHG emissions. For more information, see the Federal House in Order Web site at www.fhio.gc.ca.

The Federal Buildings Initiative (FBI) is a voluntary initiative that helps Government of Canada departments and agencies improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. It provides them with a model framework for updating their facilities with energy-saving technologies and practices. FBI energy management service contracts with private-sector energy management firms have financed energy efficiency improvements in more than 7500 Government of Canada buildings, resulting in $240 million of private sector investment and $33 million in annual energy savings and approximately 200 kilotonnes of GHG emissions reductions. The energy intensity improvement has averaged more than 20 percent per project undertaken.The initiative's approach is being replicated by some provinces and municipalities in Canada. For more information, visit the Web site at oee.nrcan.gc.ca/fbi.

The Federal Vehicles Initiative assists Government of Canada departments and agencies to reduce operating costs by increasing the energy efficiency of their motor vehicle fleets and making greater use of alternative transportation fuels (see Figure 23). This initiative provides federal fleet managers with information and tools to improve the operational efficiency of their fleets and increase their use of alternative fuels. In 2003-2004, the Government of Canada acquired 377 "leadership vehicles," of which 293 were alternative fuel vehicles, in compliance with the Alternative Fuels Act (see Figure 23). For more information, visit the Web site at oee.nrcan.gc.ca/greening.

Government Operations Initiatives

Federal Buildings Initiative – The FBI provides project facilitation, planning advice and contracting help to secure energy management services for projects in federal facilities.

Federal Vehicles Initiative (FVI) – The FVI promotes life-cycle costing, best-in-class vehicle identification and greater use of alternative fuels. It also supports increased penetration of ethanol-blended fuels in the federal fleet.

Federal House in Order (FHIO) – The OEE, together with Environment Canada and Public Works and Government Services Canada, plays an important role in helping departments meet the Government of Canada's GHG emissions reduction target.

• Eleven key departments are responsible for 95 percent of Government of Canada GHG emissions. They have been assigned specific targets and must report annually on their progress.The task of target sharing entails assigning specific targets to these departments based on the emissions reduction opportunities identified within each organization.
  
  
• The FHIO's Leadership Challenge component, led by Environment Canada, encourages all Government of Canada departments and agencies to participate in emissions reduction efforts by engaging the active participation of the departments, agencies and Crown corporations that were not designated with a target.