- A commitment to green government
- The areas of operations
- Departments and agencies targeted
- The Co-champions of the Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiative
- A bit of history
- Get involved, everybody has a part to play
GreeningGovernment is an electronic information system developed by the Government of Canada for the World Wide Web. It is designed to provide a one-window access to sustainable development in government operations knowledge in the Government of Canada.
This web site was developed to support the Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiative, whose purpose is to coordinate the federal effort to green government operations and encourage the report of concrete results among the departments and agencies that prepare Sustainable Development Strategies (SDSs).
This web-based guide to information about greening government operations is especially helpful for Government of Canada employees involved in key operations such as Fleet Management, Real Property Management and Environmental Management Systems. Moreover, this site has important environmental advice for all federal employees where you can:
- find information you need to carry out your own duties in support of green government;
- make contacts with experts in all aspects of sustainable development and environmental protection; and,
- access documents - sustainable development policy, how-to guides, technical documents, and success stories.
A Commitment to Green Government
The Government of Canada is committed to preventing pollution and protecting the environment as it carries out all its activities. The Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiative supports this commitment by:
- integrating sustainable development principles in all federal government operations;
- coordinating and reporting the federal government's effort to green its operations;
- sharing knowledge on sustainable development tools.
The Areas of Operations
There are seven priority areas of operations: Energy Efficiency/Buildings, Human Resources Management, Land Use Management, Procurement, Vehicle Fleet Management, Waste Management as well as Water Conservation and Wastewater Management.
Departments and agencies targeted
The Sustainable Development in Government Operations initiative targets the 25 departments and agencies required to prepare Sustainable Development Strategies. In alphabetical order, they are:
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Canada Revenue Agency
- Canadian Heritage, Department of
- Canadian International Development Agency
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
- Environment Canada
- Finance Canada, Department of
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Department of
- Health Canada
- Human Resources Development Canada
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- Industry Canada
- Justice Canada, Department of
- National Defence
- Natural Resources Canada
- Parks Canada Agency
- Public Works and Government Services Canada
- Solicitor General Canada
- Transport Canada
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Western Economic Diversification
The Sustainable Development in Government Operations initiative also targets three organizations that voluntarily prepare Sustainable Development Strategies:
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
- Correctional Service of Canada
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Co-champions of the Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiative
Three departments lead the SDGO initiative: Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Public Works and Government Services Canada. Each of the three has a key role:
- Environment Canada has been tasked to facilitate access to information, practices and tools through the greeninggovernment.gc.ca web site.
- Natural Resources Canada is responsible for generating government-wide reports on greening operations.
- Public Works and Government Services Canada is responsible for building capacity in the regions for coordinated greening of operations and for coordinating guidance for the next Sustainable Development Strategies.
A Bit of History
1990 - Release of the Government of Canada's Green Plan.
1992 - Government of Canada announces the Federal Environmental Stewardship initiative, a policy under which departments and agencies are required to develop environmental action plans indicating how they would apply the Code of Environmental Stewardship in their day-to-day operations.
1995 - Government of Canada establishes the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the Office of the Auditor General. Amendments to the Auditor General Act require that ministers prepare a Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). Strategies are to be updated every three years.
1995 - Government of Canada releases A Guide to Green Government to assist departments and agencies in preparing their SDS.
1995 - Environment Canada releases Directions on Greening Government Operations, containing policy advice for federal departments and agencies.
1995 - The Federal Committee on Environmental Management Systems is created.
1996 - Release of the first Federal House in Order Emissions Reductions from Federal Operations (ERFO) report.
1997 - The first Sustainable Development Strategies are tabled in Parliament.
1999 - Deputy Ministers' Sustainable Development Coordinating Committee (SDCC) agrees that departments would prepare cooperative plans on government-wide themes including Sustainable Development in Government Operations.
1999 - SDCC launches the Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiative. Assistant Deputy Ministers from Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Environment Canada (EC) are appointed co-champions.
2000 - Sustainability in government operations is one of eight issue areas of shared responsibility discussed by senior government officials at the Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development. The seven other issue areas are: knowledge and information/sustainable development indicators and reporting; productivity through eco-efficiency; sustainable development in the international context; federal sustainable development strategy for the North; sustainability at the community level; social and cultural aspects of sustainable development; sustainable development and healthy Canadians.
2000 - Sustainable Development in Government Operations: A Coordinated Approach, published to assist departments in setting consistent targets in their Sustainable Development Strategies, identifies the seven priority areas of operations.
2001 - Launch of Federal House in Order, the Government of Canada’s initiative for reducing greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations in line with Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change (AP2000).
2001 - Co-champions - Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Public Works and Government Services Canada - adopt Sustainable Development in Government Operations, A Proposal for Moving Forward. This document and its associated Action Plan identify ways to coordinate greening of government operations. A Director Generals' Coordinating Committee (DGCC) serves as Steering Committee for the SDGO initiative.
2002 - Establishment of the Greening Government web site.
2002 - Creation of the Sustainable Development in Government Operations Director General's Coordinating Committee (SDGO DGCC).
2002 - Expansion of the mandate of Federal House in Order under the Climate Change Plan for Canada. As part of this plan, the Government of Canada announced that all new government facilities will be built to 25% better than the Model National Energy Code and that all new federal housing units will meet R2000 guidelines. It was also announced that the government would work towards completing energy efficient retrofits in a further 20% of its buildings and that all of the goods and equipment purchased for federal operations will meet the energy-efficient ENERGY STAR® standard. Additional commitments were made to increase the proportion of low-emitting vehicles in the federal fleet, and for the government to be a first purchaser of next generation power technologies and energy sources.
2003 – Creation of the Assistant Deputy Minister Sustainable Federal House in Order (ADM SFHIO) Committee, the new direction-setting body for greening government operations and the governance body for both the Federal House in Order (FHIO) and the Sustainable Development in Government Operations (SDGO) initiatives. It was also agreed in 2003 that the Director General’s Coordinating Committee for both initiatives will be merged into a single direction-setting body.
2003 – Publication of the first report under the SDGO initiative, Greening the Federal House.
2003 – Launch of the Leadership Challenge, the Federal House in Order vehicle for encouraging all federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations to undertake a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program of their own design and voluntarily report on results.
For further information, consult Sustainable Development Strategies, Evolution of the Federal Approach.
Get involved, everybody has a part to play!
Each of us has an environmental impact. We drive cars that pollute the air; we consume natural resources; and we produce waste. The Government of Canada, the largest landowner and employer in Canada, also has an impact. The federal government manages more than 50,000 buildings and operates more than 23,000 vehicles in more than 500 communities across Canada.
The responsibility to make the environment sustainable rests on all of us, from British Columbia to Newfoundland to the Northwest Territories. Each of us can adopt sustainable development practices to reduce our ecological footprint. We can recycle; we can carpool or take public transit; and we can buy green products. Together, we can achieve important results. And we can set an example.
Important work is underway. Since 1997, a number of federal departments have prepared Sustainable Development Strategies with targets to improve the government’s environmental performance. There has been concrete action in a number of areas but much remains to be done. A well-informed federal workforce is key to further progress in sustainable development. All employees should be aware of their departments’ sustainable development commitments, and each of us needs to know his or her obligations to meet these commitments. This web site will guide you to the necessary information.
