2018–2019 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

March 2018

1. Context for the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

Although the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) is not bound by the Federal Sustainable Development Act and is not required to develop a full departmental sustainable development strategy, the OIC adheres to the principles of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) by implementing the Policy on Green Procurement.

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 OIC supports sustainable development by integrating environmental performance considerations into the procurement decision‑making process through the actions described in the “FSDS goal: low-carbon government” table in section 2, below.

2. Commitments for the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

FSDS goal: low-carbon government

FSDS target	FSDS contributing action	Corresponding action(s)	Starting points where available and performance indicators for actions	Programs where the actions will occur
Reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from federal government buildings and fleets by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, with an aspiration to achieve it by 2025.	Support the transition to a low carbon economy through green procurement.	Ensure key officials include contribution to and support for the Government of Canada Policy on Green Procurement objectives in their performance evaluations Ensure decisions makers have the necessary training and awareness to support green procurement Integrate environmental considerations into procurement management processes and controls	Number and percentage of managers and functional heads of procurement and materiel whose performance evaluation includes support and contribution towards green procurement in the current fiscal year Percentage of specialists in procurement and materiel management who have completed training on green procurement Volume of toner cartridges recycled relative to the total volume of all toner cartridges purchased in the year in question. Ratio of copy paper that contains a minimum of 30% recycled content relative to the total dollar value or volume of all copy paper, commercial printing and/or envelope purchases in the year in question. Percentage of IT purchases that include criteria or clauses which reduce the environmental impact of the product or service being purchased.	Compliance with access to information obligations

3. Integrating sustainable development

The OIC will continue to ensure that its decision-making process includes consideration of FSDS goals and targets by promoting eco-friendly practices.

Support the transition to a low-carbon economy through green procurement

The OIC supports clean technologies and green products and services by taking environmental considerations into account in purchasing decisions. The OIC’s approach is to continue leveraging instruments established by Public Services and Procurement Canada designed to meet federal government green procurement standards.

Promote sustainable travel practices

The OIC promotes sustainable practices for employee travel—including business travel and commuting to work—such as teleconferencing, telecommuting, carpooling, and the use of hybrid and electric vehicles, and public transportation. When feasible, the OIC encourages the selection of offsetting options to reduce the impact of government travel. For example, the OIC uses video conferencing as an alternative to travel to reduce its carbon footprint.

Workplace 2.0

The OIC operates in a Workplace 2.0 environment. Workplace 2.0 allows for much smaller work areas with a more open and bright workspace by constructing fewer walls and locating offices and meeting rooms along the core—away from perimeter windows. As a result, the space has better natural light and air circulation for all occupants. In turn, this reduces the workload on the buildings’ heating/ventilation/air conditioning system.

Reduce, reuse and recycle

The OIC sets its multi-function devices’ to double-sided and black and white printing as the default. Purchased paper and toners contain recycled materials. Empty toner cartridges are also recycled. Currently, old computers are sent to Computers for Schools, while other surplus items are sent to GC Surplus.

Promote responsible disposal

The OIC continues to ensure that surplus electronic and electrical waste (e.g. batteries, networking equipment and electrical wiring) are handled in an environmentally appropriate manner.

All employees have recycle bins at their workstations and a recycling centre is located in the main kitchen.

The OIC will continue to ensure that its decision-making process includes consideration of FSDS goals and targets through its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process. A 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.

Public statements on the results of the OIC’s assessments are made public when an initiative that has undergone a detailed SEA is announced on the OIC website. The purpose of the 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.