2018-2020 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

   Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (PDF)

Section 1: Context for the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

The Policy on Green Procurement supports the Government of Canada’s effort to promote environmental stewardship. In keeping with the objectives of the policy, the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) supports sustainable development by integrating environmental performance considerations into the procurement decision making process through the activities in this Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS).

Although the ATSSC is not required to develop a departmental sustainable development strategy, the ATSSC adheres to the principles of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) by implementing the Policy on Green Procurement.

Section 2: Sustainable Development in the ATSSC

The ATSSC is responsible for providing support services and facilities to 11 federal administrative tribunals by way of a single, integrated organization. These services include the specialized services required by each tribunal (e.g. registry, research and analysis, legal and other mandate or case activities specific to each tribunal), as well as internal services (e.g. human resources, financial services, information management and technology, accommodations, security, planning and communications).

The ATSSC is committed to maximizing service delivery through strengthened capacity and modernized approaches that meet the needs of the tribunals, ultimately benefitting those seeking access to justice. The ATSSC’s DSDS identifies how it will contribute to the federal goal of achieving a low-carbon government and has identified a number of measures to support sustainable development.

FSDS Goal: Low-Carbon Government

Procurement practices are being reviewed to align with green procurement and where possible, the implementation of green technologies. The ATSSC will continue to demonstrate sustainable environmental stewardship by embedding environmental considerations into procurement practices and ensure environmentally-responsible acquisition, use and disposal of goods and services.

The ATSSC will continue to identify and implement, to the extent possible, opportunities to innovate and modernize business practices and functions that benefit sustainable practices across the organization (e.g. telework, teleconferencing, etc.). It will ensure its organizational investments support sustainable development and take into account environmental considerations during planning processes.

The ATSSC will look at reducing its space footprint to improve energy efficiencies, support efficient operations, and improve capacities. This contribution to a low-carbon government will support the organization’s effort to reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The ATSSC will promote sustainable development through employee training and awareness in areas such as sustainable development and green procurement. One component of this will be the inclusion of sustainable development considerations in the development of ATSSC corporate planning activities, internal policies, investment planning, Memorandum to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions.

Section 3: Commitments for the ATSSC

Low-Carbon Government: The Government of Canada leads by example by making its operations low-carbon

Responsible Minister: All ministers

Low-Carbon Government FSDS target(s)	FSDS Contributing Action(s)	Corresponding departmental action(s)	Contribution by each departmental action to the FSDS goal and target	Starting point(s) where available, and your choice of performance indicators for departmental actions	Program(s) in which the departmental actions will occur
Reduce GHG emissions from federal government buildings and fleets by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, with an aspiration to achieve this reduction by 2025	Improve the energy efficiency of our buildings/ operations	Reducing the ATSSC’s space footprint, including piloting activity based workspaces, modernizing workspaces to Workplace 2.0 standards and using alternative work arrangements	A decrease in the space footprint using innovative and collaborative methods supports ATSSC’s efforts to reduce its overall GHG emissions	Percentage change in density of use, i.e. FTE/M2, for the ATSSC accommodations program between January 2017 and January 2019	Internal Services
	Support the transition to a low-carbon economy through green procurement	Integrate environmental considerations into procurement management processes and controls Ensure decision makers have the necessary training and awareness to support green procurement Ensure key officials include contribution to and support for the Government of Canada Policy on Green Procurement objectives in their performance evaluations Set targets to reduce the environmental impact of specific goods or services Use of existing procurement instruments available through Public Services and Procurement Canada that include environmental considerations	Green procurement incorporates environmental considerations into purchasing decisions and is expected to motivate suppliers to green their goods, services and supply chain. GHG reductions are one area of consideration in green procurement	Percentage of specialists in procurement and materiel management who have completed training on green procurement Number and percentage of managers and functional heads of procurement and materiel whose performance evaluation includes support and contribution towards green procurement Percentage of the total value of furniture purchases that include criteria to reduce environmental aspects	Internal Services
	Understand climate change impacts and build resilience	Climate change and sustainable development considerations will be formally incorporated into the development of corporate planning activities, policies, and submissions Ensure service disruptions are avoided by incorporating climate change considerations and adaptation measures into corporate risk and business continuity planning	Planning processes will prompt the organization to incorporate impacts and considerations; further strengthening its understanding of its role and work to build on environmental resilience In addition, factoring climate variability and change into Emergency Management planning is consistent with the government’s risk management approach of enhancing the protection of public assets and resources and strengthening planning and decision-making	Corporate planning processes integrate considerations of sustainable development measures Investment plan incorporates consideration of sustainable development measures Corporate risk and business continuity plans integrate an all hazards approach to emergency management, including considerations related to climate change mitigation and adaptation	Internal Services
Additional departmental sustainable development activities and initiatives				Starting point(s) where available, and applicable performance indicators for each departmental action	Program(s) in which the departmental actions will occur
The promotion of energy efficient work practices further supports the ATSSC’s efforts at reducing its overall GHG emissions based on day-to-day workplace activity, such as: Engaging heavy paper and printing users in dialogues on how to change their practices Using electronic documents instead of paper documents (e.g. change processes so that documents are sent, received, reviewed and approved electronically when possible) Increasing the use of multi-function devices (photocopiers, printers) that are Energy Star qualified				Number of engagement actions undertaken	All Programs

Section 4: Integrating sustainable development

The ATSSC will continue to ensure that its decision-making process includes consideration of FSDS goals and targets through its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process. An SEA for policy, plan or program proposals includes an analysis of the impacts of the given proposal on the environment, including on FSDS goals and targets. Statements on the results of the ATSSC's assessments will be made public when an initiative is announced. The purpose of a public statement is to demonstrate that the environmental effects, including the impacts on achieving the FSDS goals and targets, of the approved policy, plan or program have been considered during proposal development and decision making.