Greening Government

The Government of Canada has a fleet of more than 23,000 vehicles. If the government improves the management of its fleet, it will reduce energy consumption and vehicle emissions. It will help cut by-products and waste from vehicle use, decrease costs and reduce the overall risk to human health and the environment.

Greenhouse Gases

One of the main objectives of improving vehicle fleet management is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants and to meet legislation and policy objectives, including climate change commitments.

Transportation accounts for approximately 25 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, including ground-level ozone (O₃), nitrous oxide (N₂O), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM).

Under the Sustainable Development in Government Operations initiative, all 25 departments and agencies that are required to prepare Sustainable Development Strategies (SDSs) and three organizations that voluntarily submit SDSs are encouraged to reduce their greenhouse gases.

The Federal House in Order (FHIO) initiative is the federal government's plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations. It is aimed at eleven federal government departments which account for 95% of greenhouse gas emissions. The FHIO initiative is also challenging other federal entities to take action to reduce GHGs through the Leadership Challenge. Please consult the Federal House in Order web site for information and tools on the reduction of GHGs in government operations.

Alternative fuels/Hybrid and energy efficient vehicles

Increasing the use of alternative fuels is an important step in reducing vehicle emissions. Alternative petroleum fuels (natural gas, propane) and alcohol fuels (such as ethanol and methanol) are cleaner-burning fuels, producing smaller amounts of some pollutants and comparable amounts of others. Alcohol fuels have the added advantage that they can be produced from sources other than petroleum, including some that are renewable.

Another possibility is to purchase smaller, more energy efficient vehicles that have less environmental impact throughout their life cycle. Green vehicles, such as hybrid vehicles, have lower greenhouse gas emissions. The hybrid vehicles, already in use by some Government of Canada departments, combine the internal combustion engine of a conventional vehicle with the battery and electric motor of an electric vehicle, resulting in twice the fuel economy of conventional vehicles.

Leadership actions

To improve the performance of its fleet, federal government departments and agencies should consider:

• reducing the number of vehicles in their fleet;
• choosing vehicles that best-fit the needs of their department;
• using low-sulphur gasoline (cars that use low sulphur gasoline pollute less) - in Canada, sulphur in gasoline will be reduced by more than 90%. Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act have been approved, setting a limit of 30 parts-per-million of sulphur content in gasoline starting January 1st, 2005;
• promote anti-idling around federal departments and agencies and their surrounding streets.

Sound fleet management also offers a substantial opportunity for reducing oil consumption. Federal facilities generate a large amount of used oil, which may contain substances which could threaten air, soil and ground water quality. Used oil is often reused or discarded in ways that are both wasteful and harmful to the environment. Managing the federal fleet in a more environmentally responsible fashion would include minimizing the amount of oil wasted and ensuring that used oil is disposed of, or recycled, properly.

New technologies may lead to uses for discarded tires; changing their status from waste to resource. Researchers are now exploring the incorporation of rubber from waste tires into plastics and asphalt. However, considerably more research will be needed before such uses will be accepted as operationally, economically, and environmentally feasible.

Off-road vehicles

Federal departments and agencies are not yet required to report on emissions from ships/boats or aircraft. Also excluded are snowmobiles, four wheel trailbikes, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), and equipment such as backhoes and graders.

Environment Canada intends to proceed with the development of emissions control programs for off-road engines, under Division 5 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999), aligned with the corresponding federal emissions control programs in the United States.