Industry Canada's Sustainable Development Strategy 1997

3. Industry Canada's Sustainable Development Strategy

Industry Canada will promote sustainable development in pursuing its overall mission for a growing, competitive, knowledge-based Canadian economy.

Marketplace Climate	Foster a marketplace climate in Canada that promotes sustainable development
Innovation	Enhance the ability of Canadian firms to develop and use innovative technologies and tools which contribute to sustainable development
Trade and Investment	Encourage trade and investment flows which contribute to sustainable development in Canada and abroad
Stewardship and Management	Continue to improve the capacity of Industry Canada to manage and deliver departmental policies, programs and operations which contribute to sustainable development

Industry Canada has articulated four objectives - marketplace climate, innovation, trade and investment, and stewardship and management - to achieve its sustainable development goal. These objectives are founded on, and aligned with, the department's broader strategic objectives as outlined in the 1997-98 Main Estimates, Part III (see Annex 1). For each strategic objective, the department has established priorities and action plans to incrementally integrate sustainable development into key areas of departmental activity within committed resource levels. This allows the Strategy to build on a strong foundation of existing activities.

The Strategy concentrates on pragmatic aims such as making eco-efficiency and environmental management systems work, finding means to diffuse sustainable development technologies and using the most appropriate mix of policy instruments. However, given that the department is in the early stages of advancing sustainable development, the Strategy also emphasizes improving understanding, the importance of creating a substantive knowledge base on sustainable development matters, and strengthening partnerships to share the knowledge.

The Strategy includes a range of actions to operationalize and promote progress on the departmental priorities identified for each strategic objective. Some actions are ongoing and are integral to the department's current foundation supporting sustainable development. A challenge will be to track and measure the results of these activities. Other actions are more discrete and have a clearly defined output such as a study or publication.

Measurable results are important. The performance evaluation framework for the Sustainable Development Strategy is explained in more detail in Section 4. This framework plays a role in integrating the Strategy into the broader departmental business plan and will provide an essential tool for ongoing assessment by senior management.