Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Strategy 1997

Safeguarding our Assets, Securing our Future

The Path Forward – SDS Now and for the Future

Departments are required to table sustainable development strategies
in Parliament every three years. At NRCan, preparations for the second
sustainable development strategy began immediately after tabling the first.

During the three year period since Safeguarding our Assets, Securing
our Future was launched, NRCan has:

revisited and evaluated departmental goals and objectives;
established time-bound, measurable targets;
identified natural resource reliant communities, in order to establish
a dialogue with representatives from these communities;
consulted with stakeholders on a performance measurement framework;
strengthened the Department's management system;
reported to stakeholders and Parliamentarians on progress;
conducted an internal review of the department's first SDS;
evaluated changing circumstances that have influenced the development
of the second SDS.

Central to these preparations has been an ongoing process of citizen
engagement. Indeed, over the three-year period, a broad range of participants
throughout the country have been involved in the process of implementing
and developing the Sustainable Development Strategy, providing NRCan with
valuable advice and information from each sector of society.

Review of Goals, Objectives and Targets

Early in 1998, senior management saw a gap in the performance measurement
framework introduced in the first SDS. The Department's efforts to
contribute to the safety and security of Canadians were not adequately
integrated into the goals structure. In response to this gap, a new goal
and associated objectives were developed in order to capture this important
social dimension of sustainable development. As well, the department's
performance measurement framework was amended to include these changes.
In addition, draft performance indicators were developed to respond to
the new goals and objectives while draft indicators for the existing goals
and objectives were revisited. Following these revisions, the department
consulted with stakeholders on the performance measurement framework,
to arrive at a meaningful set of indicators that would effectively communicate
progress and results. Performance indicators that were tabled over the
period of SDS 1997 under the new performance measurement framework can
be viewed here.

The Report of the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development,
in May 1998, recommended that departments establish clear targets to measure
progress towards sustainable development. NRCan addressed this recommendation
by establishing 125 time-bound, measurable targets for the 68 action commitments
within the first SDS. In addition, targets responding to the performance
measurement indicators were established.

Further to this recommendation, NRCan developed a Sustainable Development
Action Items Management System ( SD-AIMS ) in 1999. This system is a Web-based
tracking and reporting tool that has enabled the department to expedite
reporting of progress and performance on Sustainable Development Strategy
action commitments to senior management, staff and stakeholders.

A Continuing Dialogue with Stakeholders

In January 2000, a report entitled Sustainable
Development: From Commitment to Action was distributed from the
Minister of Natural Resources to the department's stakeholders, including
industry, academic institutions, communities, environmental groups, other
governments, aboriginal associations, Members of Parliament and Senators.
A message from NRCan's Deputy Minister was sent to all NRCan employees
to notify them of the document on the department's Web site.

This progress report was accompanied by a short questionnaire, Issues
and Expectations. It intended to gain feedback on progress made
to date on the first SDS, to understand the key issues and concerns of
Canadians regarding the sustainable development of natural resources,
and to gauge expectations for the Department's second SDS. The progress
report and questionnaire were also made available on the sustainable development
page of NRCan's Web site (http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sd-dd).

We received a total of 105 responses to the questionnaire, by e-mail,
fax and mail. Although over 80 percent of responses indicated that NRCan
is meeting or exceeding expectations with respect to progress, a number
of suggestions were made on ways to improve. The most common suggestion
was the need for more detailed reporting of progress.

Also in January 2000, a presentation was made to NRCan's management
committee on the progress made toward implementing the first SDS and the
path forward for developing SDS– Now and
for the Future. The committee provided direction on areas of focus
for the new strategy, including the need for an expanded focus on the
social dimension of sustainable development.

An independent Advisory Panel composed of thirteen representative stakeholders
was then assembled in the spring to review the results of
Issues and Expectations and to provide guidance for preparing SDS
– Now and for the Future. This advisory panel identified specific
areas where NRCan leadership is important, a number of domestic and international
changes that have influenced the issues and approaches that NRCan should
consider, themes to address in SDS– Now
and for the Future, and desired outcomes for 2003. The approach
to SDS– Now and for the Future was
then presented to key stakeholder groups, including the Minister's
Advisory Council on Science and Technology and the Environment Committee
of the Canadian Council for International Business, and other federal
departments. This approach described the outline for the discussion paper,
identifying the key areas for action that we would take as well as our
plan to distribute the document and to meet with stakeholders, and then
to develop the final document for tabling in Parliament.

Review of the 1997 Sustainable Development Strategy

In the spring of 2000, NRCan's Audit and Evaluation Branch conducted
a review of the implementation status of the department's first SDS.
The review concluded that NRCan has achieved much of what was committed
to in the first SDS, and that the Department was well positioned to develop
its successor.

However, the review identified five areas that would further enhance
NRCan's ability to respond to its sustainable development goals:

NRCan would benefit from complete reporting of progress made against
all of its SDS commitments, by providing explanations in cases where
commitments have not been fully completed at the time of reporting,
in addition to reporting on targets that have been met. The process
for completing status or progress reports should also include clarification
of the criteria used to determine whether commitments have been completed.
NRCan should ensure that there is a framework in place to document
the progress made against commitments, using consistent measurement
criteria and documentation standards throughout the department.
NRCan should ensure that officers responsible for implementation
are identified for future SDS commitments, and that the SDS-related
accountabilities are clear and accepted by these individuals. This
includes ensuring that such accountabilities are transferred to other
individuals subsequent to staff changes and that the accountabilities
are clearly documented.
In developing the second SDS, NRCan should ensure it integrates the
lessons learned from this exercise. This exercise would help managers
draw from experiences of the first SDS. In turn, this knowledge could
help ensure an appropriate balance between achievability of commitments
and the need to "push the envelope" in terms of the department's
response to the goal of sustainable development.
NRCan's electronic system for reporting on SDS commitments,
SD-AIMS, should ensure that the system responds to users' requirements.

As continuous improvement is key to advancing sustainable development,
these suggestions will strengthen NRCan's ability to implement the
SDS. The recommendation to report on all commitments of the SDS in status
or progress reports will be addressed through an upgrade to the department's
Sustainable Development Action Items Management System ( SD-AIMS ).

We recognize the need to ensure consistent measurement standards and
documentation, across all sectors, on the status of work against each
commitment. We also recognize that individual sector coordinators and
accountabilities could be more clearly documented. This will be addressed
in the enhancement to SD-AIMS, and in the implementation of SDS
– Now and for the Future.

Gearing up for SDS – Now and for the Future –
Discussion Paper and Consultations

In the Spring of 2000, NRCan took the preliminary input from
Issues and Expectations and the Advisory Panel to develop a discussion
paper that would be used to conduct further consultations with stakeholders.
The department's Sustainable Development team reviewed the action
commitments from the first SDS with a view to building on existing commitments.
In this regard, actions were analyzed to assess strategic opportunities
for SDS– Now and for the Future.

The Path Forward to SDS 2000 – A Discussion
Paper was distributed from the Minister to NRCan stakeholders in
August, 2000. The discussion paper proposed areas where
NRCan could best make a difference, and laid out proposed actions that
described how NRCan would make a difference.
This enabled us to engage in a more complete discussion with our stakeholders
– to determine what had really changed over the first three years,
to propose actions that would address the most important sustainable development
issues, and to evaluate these proposed actions with our stakeholders.

The discussion paper was accompanied by a short questionnaire, Actions
and Expectations, intended to gather input from stakeholders on
the actions that NRCan proposes to undertake for SDS
– Now and for the Future. A message from NRCan's Deputy
Minister was sent to all NRCan employees to encourage them to read the
document and to participate in the development of the new SDS. A second
Advisory Panel was held to review The Path Forward
in advance of distribution.

In summer/fall 2000, consultations with external stakeholders were held
in Calgary, Halifax and Ottawa to obtain input on The
Path Forward and proposed actions. Individuals representing academic
institutions, private companies, industry associations, non-government
organizations, aboriginal groups, municipalities, and provincial and federal
departments attended the three sessions. Consultations were also held
with NRCan staff in Edmonton, Dartmouth and Ottawa. NRCan's sustainable
development team met with other federal departments to identify proposed
actions that may be undertaken jointly. As part of the consultation sessions,
NRCan distributed the results of a review undertaken by the department's
Audit and Evaluation Branch of the first Sustainable Development Strategy.
The results of the consultations were published in a summary document
entitled What You Said 2000 and distributed
to participants. The Advisory Panel reviewed the final draft SDS
– Now and for the Future in January 2001 to provide input
prior to the document being tabled in Parliament.

Progress Toward Sustainable Development in the North

NRCan has been an active participant in the development of a federal
Northern Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS), led by the Department
of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Representatives of Environment
Canada, NRCan, INAC, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Health Canada met with northerners
in Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit. These consultations gave these
departments an opportunity to present their departmental sustainable development
strategies, and to seek guidance on how to develop the NSDS.

The Path Forward

Sustainable Development Strategy - Now and for
the Future was tabled in Parliament on February 14, 2001. The strategy
is framed in the context of the department's vision for a sustainable
future, followed by a framework for advancing the vision, and concludes
with NRCan's commitment to measure progress toward the vision by
developing and reporting on national indicators regarding the sustainable
development of natural resources. SDS- Now and
for the Future builds on the strengths and successes of NRCan's
first strategy and aims to push the sustainable development agenda a little
further.

The framework for advancing the vision includes strategic actions that
focus on six themes: climate change; corporate stewardship and accountability;
innovation; knowledge and information; leadership and partnerships; and
sustainable communities. Each strategic action presents: the issue or
problem NRCan will address; NRCan's leadership and partnership approach
to addressing the issue; time-bound and measurable targets; and anticipated
outcomes in the context of advancing sustainable development.

NRCan will report annually on its progress to stakeholders, and provide
on-line access to the department's reporting system for sustainable
development commitments on the department's Web site (www.nrcan.gc.ca/sd-dd).

Sustainable Development