United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

SSC establishes enterprise data centres in LEED Silver certified facilities which may use less or no water for cooling and integrate other water conservation features (for example, re-use of rainwater for toilets)

Global target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity; and

Canadian Indicator Framework target “Promote the conservation and wise use of water to achieve a 30% reduction or increased efficiency in water use in various sectors by 2025”

3 of 4 EDCs at SSC already meet the minimum LEED Silver Certification. 2 of the 4 use waterless cooling. Using less water and reusing water supports sustainable water management.

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Through data centre consolidation, SSC is replacing aging data centres with new state-of-the-art enterprise data centres (for example, minimum LEED silver certified) that have built-in green technology and energy efficiency.

Global target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities

SSC has closed 53 small and medium legacy data centre. This means SSC has closed 359 of 720 legacy data centres. Closing older, legacy data centres and migrating workloads to enterprise infrastructure supports the goal of being climate resilient as workloads can be spread across several data centres can better adapt to climate disasters – building resilient infrastructure.

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SSC and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) launched the plastic and electronic waste recycling challenge under the Innovative Solutions Canada Program to find a solution that will enable recycling and repurposing of electronic waste (plastics and metals) in Canada while respecting domestic and international requirements and obligations.

Global target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per one million people and public and private research and development spending; and

Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) ambition: “Canada fosters sustainable research and innovation”

SSC has recently completed the first phase of this proposal which saw 5 companies develop proof of concepts for recycling e-waste. SSC is now working with PSPC to complete 3 contract awards so that companies can build a prototype and test them. This next contract is scheduled to take 24 months. SSC is also collaborating with ECCC to ensure that prototypes meet sustainability standards.

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SSC requires most workplace technology devices (for example, computers) it procures to be registered under the EPEAT^{Footnote 1} ecolabel, reducing environmental impacts and encouraging environmental stewardship.

Global target 12.6: Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

Consistent with previous years, SSC has continued to provide support for the Canadian Federal Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy’s Green Procurement requirements. SSC has continued to support, and be supported by, the comprehensive environmental and ethical supply chain stewardship standards of EPEAT, through which device manufacturers commit to:

The reduction or elimination of environmentally hazardous materials;

• Design for reuse and recycling
• Energy efficiency
• End of Life management
• Environmental stewardship in the manufacturing process and
• Packaging

SSC continues to promote the use of the EPEAT ecolabel throughout IT hardware purchasing where relevant, specifically through the EPEAT certified categories of:

• Computers and Displays
• Imaging Equipment
• Mobile Phones, and
• Servers

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SSC participates in the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) led Computer for Schools program, which refurbishes donated digital devices and distributes them to schools, libraries, not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous communities and eligible low-income Canadians. Equipment that cannot be reused is either sold on GC Surplus (which ensures reuse of the equipment) or recycled with the Electronic Product Recycling Association (EPRA), which operates across 9 provinces and ensures secure, efficient and ethical recycling of IT equipment.

Global target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse; and

to some extent, this initiative contributes to:

Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) ambition: “Canadians consume in a sustainable manner”

100% of electronic assets were divested through the re-use, sale or recycling.