Sustainable Development Strategy 2012-2015: Our Commitments for 2012-2015
This section presents our new commitments and targets for the next three years.
Recognizing the progress we have made with respect to Sustainable Development and environmental performance since 1997, the lessons learned indicate that we can further improve our achievements toward expected results and be able to meet our renewed commitments. Hence, in developing commitments for our SDS 2012-2015, we considered initiatives that support the Federal SDS GGO objectives while achieving results that are consistent with the following key issues:
- Respecting natural resources and environmental capacities;
- Protecting the health of Canadians and ecosystems;
- Pollution prevention;
- Promoting intra and intergenerational equity; and
- Adopting management practices consistent with Sustainable Development principles.
Although Sustainable Development usually suggests a long term planning process, all the commitments set out in our SDS 2012-2015 follow a three-year cycle. In this SDS, we considered a number of future requirements, such as shifting of priorities, uncertainty regarding the level of human resources dedicated to advancing our SDS and our ability to implement more monitoring tools or improve existing ones. We believe that most of our targets should be managed in a three-year framework if we want to continue to give each target the attention it deserves.
While establishing our commitments, we also reviewed the targets from the last SDS in terms of progress made to date and the level of resources required. Accordingly, certain targets were dropped or modified, while others were added. For the most part, the concept of SMART targets – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Bound – was adopted in the development of the current SDS.
Although SDS 2007-2010 allowed for some significant progress, work must continue to meet our commitments. To this end, we have revisited what is important and what we can reasonably accomplish in setting new or renewed goals, specific objectives, realistic commitments and meaningful targets for SDS 2012-2015. Our commitments are largely consistent with those set out in SDS 2007-2010 and in line, to the extent possible, with the Federal SDS GGO goals as well as with our main SDS goal: Contribute to the Protection of the Environment and the Conservation of Natural Resources by Minimizing the Ecological Impacts of Government Operations.
Summary of Consultations
CSC recognizes that the credibility of our strategy relies on meaningful dialogue with stakeholders. Such dialogue enables CSC to develop a common understanding of the issues among stakeholders, as well as a sense of shared ownership of the strategy. Consultations for SDS 2012-2015 began with analyzing the lessons learned from the previous SDSs, possible areas for action and articulating new priorities to pursue over the next three years. In order to gain an understanding of how we may better align the SDS with the corporate business lines, we consulted various groups, including contracting and materiel management, fleet management, information management systems (IMS), comptroller’s office (Finances), and the facilities and technical services divisions at our national and regional headquarters.
Detailed meeting notes from each of the consultations were considered in the bulk of this document and influenced the overall direction and structure. Additional internal consultations were held with managers and operational groups across CSC, including at the institutional level, to ensure commitments were both significant and achievable.
Furthermore, for some specific commitments (e.g. energy and GHG reduction measures, renewable energy projects, boiler optimization and NOx emission reduction initiatives), subject experts (such as Natural Resources Canada) were also consulted to ensure feasibility of the proposed targets.
Finally, since 2008, CSC has been participating – on a voluntary basis – in the interdepartmental consultation process chaired by Environment Canada and Public Work and Government Services Canada’s Office of Greening Government Operations, which lead to the promulgation of the Federal SDS in October 2010. Hence, the results of these consultations enabled the development of Theme IV of the Federal SDS: Shrinking the Environmental Footprint – Beginning with Government, i.e. Goal 8: Greening Government Operations.
Components of the Summary Table – SDS 2012-2015
For our SDS 2012-2015, we had developed a summary table of targets to help link our commitments in a concise and consistent manner so that results can demonstrate long-term progress.
The components of the summary table are defined as follows:
Goal: Sets a general direction and parameters for action.
Objective: The general purpose of each goal.
Commitment/Target: The actions/activities/projects that the organization plans to implement within a certain time frame to contribute to Sustainable Development.
OPI: The Office of Primary Interest (OPI) is the responsibility centre for a given commitment/target.
The following section (including the summary table) presents our goals, objectives, commitments, targets and the OPIs. In addition, performance measures and rationale are introduced. A performance measure is a qualitative or quantitative method of measuring an outcome or result in order to evaluate the progress of a program, policy or initiative. These measures are established at the organizational level as a way of determining whether commitments have been met.
Page details
- Date modified: