2018-2019 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, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board 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 in the Veterans Review and Appeal Board

The Veterans Review and Appeal Board’s Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy for 2017 to 2020 describes the organization’s actions in support of achieving the FSDS goal: low-carbon government. This supplementary information table presents available results for the departmental action pertinent to this goal. Last year’s supplementary information table is posted on the Board’s website.

3: Departmental performance by FSDS goal

The following table provides performance information on departmental actions in support of the FSDS goal listed in section 2.

FSDS goal: low-carbon government
FSDS target FSDS Contributing Action
 		 Corresponding
departmental actions		 Suppport for
UN Sustainable
Development Goal (UN SDG) target		 Starting points, targets
and performance
indicators for
departmental actions		 Results
achieved
Reduce greenhouse gas 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 environmental considerations are taken into account in procurement activities by including green procurement objectives in the Performance Management Agreements for key procurement staff.
     
  • Enhance capacity to incorporate environmental performance consideration into procurement decisions by requiring that all new acquisition cardholders take green procurement training within one year of hire.
     
  • Set a minimum of three green procurement targets to reduce the environmental impact of purchases.
     
    1. By March 31, 2018, 30% of accommodation stays will take place in establishments that have a high environmental rating based on an industry recognized tool.
       
    2. By March 31, 2018, 90% of purchases of imaging hardware will include criteria to reduce the environmental impact associated with the production, acquisition, use and/or disposal of the equipment.
       
    3. By March 31, 2018, 90% of toner cartridges are recycled at end of life.
 12.7 - Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
  • Percentage of key procurement staff whose Performance Management Agreements includes green procurement objectives.
     
  • Percentage of acquisition cardholders that take green procurement training within one year of hire.
     
  • Number of accommodation stays that meet the target objective relative to the total number of all accommodation stays in the given year.
     
  • Volume of imaging hardware purchased that meet the target objective relative to the total volume of all imaging hardware purchased in the year.
     
  • Volume of toner cartridges recycled relative to the total volume of toner cartridges purchased in the given year.
 100%







100%






95%







100%







100%

 

4. Report on integrating sustainable development

 

Green procurement practices

  • The Board receives procurement services from Veterans Affairs Canada under a Memorandum of Understanding. The Board does very little of its own procurement (approximately 10%).
  • As a small organization that does very little of its own procurement, it is more effective for the Board to leverage the benefits of existing green procurement instruments. The Board continues to maximize the use of green procurement instruments provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada, such as standing offers and supply arrangements, as environmental considerations are integrated into the planning process. These common use instruments are designed to meet federal government green procurement standards.
  • Where possible, the Board has put management processes in place to support the achievement of its targets to reduce the environmental impact of purchases.

Sustainable workplace practices

  • The Board has invested a significant amount of time and effort into redesigning its hearing process to reduce its reliance on paper by incorporating more technology. In 2018-19 the Board implemented green business processes. These processes included accepting evidence electronically and Board Members signing decisions digitally.
  • These processes have improved efficiency in operations and reduced time spent mailing documents between the Board’s administration office in Charlottetown and hearing locations across Canada.
  • Going paperless has made the Board’s process more green, efficient and reliable.
  • The Board also supports green meetings as a sustainable workplace practice. The majority of employees use laptops for notetaking and reference materials during meetings, which further reduces reliance on paper.

During the 2018-19 reporting cycle, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board had no proposals that required a Strategic Environmental Assessment and no public statements were produced.

 

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