2018-2019 Departmental Results Report
Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
1. Context for the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
The 2016–2019 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS):
- sets out the Government of Canada’s sustainable development priorities
- establishes goals and targets
- identifies actions to achieve them, as required by the Federal Sustainable Development Act
In keeping with the objectives of the Act to make environmental decision making more transparent and accountable to Parliament, ACOA supports reporting on the implementation of the FSDS and its Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy, or equivalent document, through the activities described in this supplementary information table.
2. Sustainable Development at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
ACOA’s Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy for 2017 to 2020 describes the Agency’s actions in support of achieving low-carbon government, clean growth, clean energy and sustainably managed lands and forests. This supplementary information table presents available results for the Agency’s actions pertinent to these goals. Last year’s supplementary information table is posted on ACOA’s website. This year, ACOA is also noting which United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) target each departmental action contributes to achieving.
3. Departmental performance by FSDS goal
The following tables provide performance information on ACOA’s actions in support of the FSDS goals listed in section 2 above.
FSDS goal: Low-carbon government
| FSDS target | FSDS contributing action |
Corresponding Agency action |
Support for UN SDG target |
Starting point, target and performance indicator for Agency action |
Results achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from federal government buildings and fleets by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, with an aspiration to achieve this reduction by 2025 | Support the transition to a low-carbon economy through green procurement | Ensure and track the completion of Green Procurement training for all of the Agency’s acquisition cardholders. Ensure the integration of environmental performance considerations into the procurement process, including planning, acquisition, use and disposal. Monitor and analyze green purchase trends. |
12.7 | Reach 100% for the Agency’s acquisition cardholders who have completed the Green Procurement training by the end of fiscal 2017-18. | 100% of Agency acquisition cardholders have completed the Green Procurement training. |
| Maintain at 95% the proportion of toner cartridges relative to the total number of toner cartridges purchased in a given fiscal year. | 100% of toner cartridges are recycled. | ||||
| For paper usage, maintain at 95% the proportion of copy paper with a minimum of 30% recycled content. | 100% of copy paper purchased has a minimum of 30% recycled content. | ||||
| Prioritize the use of paper from responsible sources (i.e. certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council) for outsourced printing. | Forest Stewardship Council certified paper is used for all letterhead, business cards and envelopes. | ||||
| Promote sustainable travel practices | Continue to implement more robust video and teleconferencing capabilities, thereby reducing the need to commute and travel for in-person meetings. Ensure green fleet procurement by following the guide Step by Step: How to Buy Green Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. |
12.7 | Continue to upgrade video conferencing system in major boardrooms across regional offices and at head office. | Video conferencing system upgrades in major boardrooms have been completed. | |
| 100% of vehicle purchases for the Agency are supported by a strong rationale demonstrating that hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicles have been considered. | 100% of vehicle purchases (7) were supported by a rationale demonstrating that hybrid options were considered. |
FSDS goal: Clean growth
| FSDS target | FSDS contributing action |
Corresponding Agency action |
Support for UN SDG target |
Starting point, target and performance indicator for Agency action |
Results achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implement our Mission Innovation commitment to double federal government investments in clean energy research, development and demonstration by 2020, from 2015 levels | Invest in technologies to reduce GHG and air pollutant emissions | Support economic development projects that foster the development, commercialization, export and adoption of clean technologies. Where appropriate, ACOA will collaborate with regional and provincial stakeholders, including post-secondary institutions, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous communities and research centres, when making these investments. | 9.5 | ACOA annual spending ($) for economic development projects that foster the development, commercialization, export and adoption of clean technologies, and the scaling up of clean-tech firms. | Further to the Budget 2016 commitment that regional development agencies will double their collective annual support for clean technology to $100 million a year, ACOA is on track. The Agency spent over $34 million in 2018-19 for economic development projects that foster the development, commercialization, export and adoption of clean technologies, and the scaling up of clean tech firms. |
FSDS goal: Clean energy
| FSDS target | FSDS contributing action |
Corresponding Agency action |
Support for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) target |
Starting point, target and performance indicator for Agency action |
Results achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By 2030, 90% and, in the long term, 100% of Canada’s electricity is generated from renewable and non-emitting sources | Promote collaboration and work with partners on clean energy | Facilitate the development of the region’s renewable energy sector by fostering collaboration, common understanding and communication among governments, and between governments and the private sector, to maximize and expedite the development of clean and renewable energy resources in the region. This will be done through the Atlantic Energy Gateway initiative. | 7.2 | Number and type of Atlantic Energy Gateway meetings per fiscal year. | The Atlantic Energy Gateway did not hold any meetings in fiscal 2018-19. Instead, its process has evolved as a tool and forum for collaboration in the energy sector. This has led to Natural Resources Canada leading an Atlantic Clean Energy Power Planning initiative. The work that led to this planning initiative involved some 50 stakeholder meetings in 2018-19. |
| Number and type of collaborative joint initiatives per fiscal year. | In 2018-19, ACOA, along with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces, announced the development of a Clean Power Roadmap. Led by Natural Resources Canada, the roadmap will outline a collective vision of how jurisdictions will collaborate over the coming decades to build a clean power network across Atlantic Canada. |
FSDS goal: Sustainably managed lands and forests
| FSDS target | FSDS contributing action |
Corresponding Agency action |
Support for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) target |
Starting point, target and performance indicator for Agency action |
Results achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial areas and inland water are conserved through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures | Build capacity and provide support | In fiscal 2017-18, support intervention measures to prevent the spread of spruce budworm in the forests of the Atlantic provinces. | 15.2 | Annual ACOA expenditures ($) for the project. | *In fiscal 2018-19, ACOA spent $1.8 million on intervention measures to prevent the spread of spruce budworm in the forests of the Atlantic provinces. |
* ACOA transfers expenditures for this project to Natural Resources Canada, which is leading the initiative.
4. Report on integrating sustainable development
During the 2018-19 reporting cycle, ACOA had one proposal that required a strategic environmental assessment. This assessment formed part of a coordinated exercise led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. ACOA produced no related public statement.
Page details
- Date modified: