Sustainable Development Strategy 2011-2013

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The Douglas border-crossing facility and the ultra-compact vehicle pictured on the front cover demonstrate the CBSA's commitment to sustainable development by reducing the environmental footprint of its operations. The border crossing between Surrey, British Columbia, and Blaine, Washington, was completed in 2009 to LEED gold standards by incorporating features ranging from green energy technologies (i.e. geothermal and solar power) to a stormwater retention pond. The CBSA's new ultra-compact vehicles will also help the Agency minimize its environmental impacts by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from its fleet.

Table of Contents

• Message from the Office of Sustainable Development
• Introduction
• Sustainable Development Context
• Canada Border Services Agency: A Sustainable Vision
• Sustainable Development: An Approach
• Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Canada Border Services Agency Sustainable Development Commitments
  • Protecting Nature
  • Shrinking the Environmental Footprint - Beginning with Government
  • Canada Border Services Agency Sustainable Development Goal: Building Sustainable Development Capacity within the Agency
• Sustainable Development Planning and Reporting
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Appendix 1 – Glossary
• Appendix 2 – Sustainable Development Framework
• Appendix 3 – Hyperlinks

Message from the Office of Sustainable Development

I am pleased to present the Canada Border Service Agency's (CBSA) Sustainable Development Strategy 2011-2013. Our second strategy reflects the evolution of sustainable development within the federal government and the Agency.

With the passing of the Federal Sustainable Development Act in 2008, the new government-wide approach enhances transparency and accountability in environmental decision-making. It is intended to increase coherence in the planning, monitoring, measuring, and reporting of sustainable development throughout the federal community. The Act provides a legal framework for the first Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, which was tabled in Parliament on October 6, 2010. The strategy is based on four broad themes to foster greater environmental sustainability: Addressing Climate Change and Air Quality, Maintaining Water Quality and Availability, Protecting Nature and Shrinking the Environmental Footprint — Beginning with Government. The CBSA's strategy seeks to build employee capacity for integrating sustainable practices into our daily work, while at the same contributing to the larger federal themes, Protecting Nature, and Shrinking the Environmental Footprint — Beginning with Government.

Given our mandate to manage the access of people and goods to and from Canada, the CBSA is an important player in the protection of Canadian biodiversity, economic productivity and human health. With the growing volume of trade, travel and tourism, new invasive species are continually arriving at Canada's border by air, land and water. The deliberate or accidental introductions of these species can have severe and irreversible impacts on plant, animal and human health. Along with other key departments and agencies, the CBSA has a primary role of preventing, detecting, responding to and managing the risks associated with the movement of invasive alien species. These federal organizations are committed to Protecting Nature by coordinating a more rapid and effective response to invasive alien species.

Shrinking the Environmental Footprint focuses on making sustainability a more natural, easier choice for the federal government, thus making a difference through the daily choices we make. With the federal community working towards a shared vision of sustainable development, we will benefit from our collective approach to managing green buildings, greenhouse gas emissions, e-waste, paper consumption, printing, green meetings and green procurement.

Our Agency's commitments to embed sustainability in our workplace can improve the way we carry out our day-to-day operations and advance our sustainable development vision. We look forward to working with you as we combine our efforts to make sustainability second nature for all of us.

Sylvain St-Laurent
Office of Primary Interest, Sustainable Development

Introduction

Over the last 20 years, sustainable development has been defined in many ways, however the most common definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. The report, published in 1987, defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable development stresses the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental considerations and their entrenchment in decision-making. Worldwide, nations are striving to take on sustainable development to affect a change in culture.

In Canada, advancing sustainable development is about safeguarding our future and improving our quality of life and that of the world community. To improve the federal government's performance in putting sustainability at the heart of its policies and programs, the Federal Sustainable Development Act was passed in 2008. In accordance with the Act, the Government of Canada's first Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, tabled in 2010, focuses on strengthening the transparency and accountability of environmental decision-making. The strategy also establishes a set of government-wide goals and targets that ensures greater policy coherence and coordination within the federal government community.

In the CBSA, the path to sustainable development began with the Agency's first Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2009. We embraced sustainable development as a long-term commitment because we recognized the challenge and the importance of integrating this concept into our organizational culture. The Agency tailored its own definition of sustainable development in 2006 in recognition of its unique mandate. As Canada's gateway, the CBSA is the first line of defence with respect to national security and the free flow of people and goods. Consequently, the decisions we make have a direct impact on the lives of all Canadians, the worldwide economy and the global environment.

The Agency's continuing quest for sustainability is reflected in its 40-year framework, which provides a long-term direction to help us in achieving our sustainable development vision.

The CBSA's Sustainable Development Strategy 2011-2013 renews our pledge to integrate the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development into management and decision-making processes. The strategy provides employees and Canadians with an understanding of the federal environmental commitments as well as its own contribution to sustainable development. The CBSA will strive to meet the government-wide targets to reduce its overall environmental footprint and protect the country's rich and diverse natural heritage. Beyond this role, the Agency will create tools to facilitate the integration of sustainability into employees' way of thinking and work practices.

Sustainable Development Context

Around the world, efforts are being made to advance the concept of sustainable development, which first emerged over 20 years ago at the World Commission on Environment and Development. Since then, the world community has been working towards integrating the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development into their decision-making processes to improve quality of life for present and future generations. The idea of sustainable development was embraced with the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, also known as Earth Summit. During this and subsequent conferences — such as the Earth Summit +5 in 1997 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 — Canada and other nations committed to integrating the concepts of sustainable development into government plans, policies and processes.

The first Canadian steps to sustainable development came through an amendment to the Auditor General Act in 1995. The amendment required federal departments and agencies to develop and table individual sustainable development strategies in Parliament every three years. Each strategy outlined the department or agency's goals, objectives and targets, which aimed to integrate the sustainable development pillars into their mandate. Through this process, some limitations were raised by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development regarding the lack of central direction and long-term focus for federal planning and reporting.

After four rounds of sustainable development strategies under the Auditor General Act, the Federal Sustainable Development Act received Royal Assent in June 2008. The Act provides a legal framework for developing and implementing federal sustainable development strategies that will ensure environmental decision-making is more transparent and accountable to Parliament. The first Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, tabled in October 2010, sets out the Government of Canada's long-term vision for sustainable development, and addresses four current high-priority themes:

1. Addressing Climate Change and Air Quality
2. Maintaining Water Quality and Availability
3. Protecting Nature
4. Shrinking the Environmental Footprint — Beginning with Government

Although these have been Canada's informal environmental priorities over the past decade, the federal strategy marks the first time the government has assembled them in a horizontal, integrated and government-wide manner.

Furthermore, environmental decision-making will be more transparent and accountable through linkages created between key drivers like the federal strategy, the strategic environmental assessment process, and the federal planning and reporting structure. In committing departments and agencies to strengthen the application of strategic environmental assessment, the government is ensuring that economic, social and environmental considerations, including goals and targets of the federal strategy, are taken into account when implementing policies, plans and programs. By integrating sustainable development in the core accountability processes of government, key documents like the Program Activity Architecture, Report on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Report enhance the alignment between environmental programs and departmental priorities.

To reflect federal environmental priorities, each department and agency conducted an issue scan throughout their Program Activity Architecture to identify their contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. As a result, the CBSA contributes to Protecting Nature under the Admissibility Determination Program Activity and Shrinking the Environmental Footprint – Beginning with Government under the Internal Services Program Activity.

Under the Admissibility Determination Program Activity, the CBSA contributes to Protecting Nature through its Food, Plant and Animal Program. This program activity relates to CBSA's duties to ensure that Canadians are safe and secure from border-related risks, including invasive alien species. The Food Plant and Animal Program is directly linked to the Program Activity Architecture's strategic outcomes, which is to 1) support Canada's national security priorities and, 2) facilitate the legitimate cross-border movement of people and goods, including food, plants and animals. The result is an agency that plays a key role in preventing the intentional and unintentional introduction of invasive alien species in Canada.

The Internal Services Program Activity outlines the whole-of-government perspective to provide a common approach that supports the needs of programs and other corporate responsibilities related to governance and management support, and resource and asset management services. The Government of Canada is dedicated to improving the environmental performance of its own operations by shrinking its environmental footprint in the following target areas: green buildings, greenhouse gas emissions, electronic and electrical waste, printing unit reduction, paper consumption, green meetings and green procurement. The CBSA is committed to incorporating each of these seven target areas into the Agency's organizational functions to enhance our sustainable corporate practices.

Departments and agencies are to prepare supporting sustainable development strategies outlining how their organization contributes to the federal targets. These departmental strategies are submitted through their Reports on Plans and Priorities tabled in Parliament annually. The CBSA is now tabling its Sustainable Development Strategy 2011-2013 — through its Report on Plans and Priorities 2011-2012.

• Theme III — Protecting Nature
• Theme IV — Shrinking the Environmental Footprint — Beginning with Government

Figure 1: CBSA's Program Activity Architecture

Canada Border Services Agency: A Sustainable Vision

In support of its responsibility for providing integrated border services to ensure the security and prosperity of Canada, the CBSA will manage the lawful flow of people and goods while contributing to environmental quality, a prosperous economy and a secure society.

The relationship that exists between the CBSA's mandate and the pillars of sustainable development places the Agency in a unique position to advance sustainability within the Government of Canada. The CBSA's sustainable development vision was introduced in the Agency's first strategy and reflects our responsibilities for managing the free flow of people and goods to and from Canada. Through this vision, the CBSA is not only striving to integrate sustainable development principles into our corporate culture, but is also working to create a sustainable Canada by balancing economic, social and environmental considerations in the way we conduct our business.

In support of the environmental pillar, the CBSA strives to minimize environmental impacts. Our role is twofold: we are working to reduce environmental impacts associated with the Agency's activities, and we are guarding Canada's environment from harmful outside threats. Through our various environmental management programs, the Agency is finding ways to conduct business in a manner that does not negatively impact the environment. By ensuring the efficient delivery of services at the border, the Agency is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing the amount of time travelers wait in idling vehicles. The Agency also helps protect Canada's environment by preventing the entry of restricted goods, including hazardous wastes, illegal plants and animals, which may be harmful to the biological resources, food safety, as well as plant and animal health.

The Agency plays a fundamental role in maintaining Canada's economic prosperity. We promote trade and economic benefits by administering trade legislation and agreements. We enforce trade remedies that help protect Canadian industry from the injurious effects of dumped and subsidized imported goods, and we collect applicable duties and taxes on imported goods. Pre-approval programs — NEXUS, FAST and eManifest — allow low-risk goods and people to cross the border easily while keeping high-risk individuals out. By facilitating Canada's international business and trade, the CBSA contributes significantly to Canada's economic prosperity.

The CBSA contributes to a sustainable society by protecting the health and safety of all Canadians by enforcing legislation that ensures only those people and goods deemed admissible are granted entry into Canada. The Agency is responsible for detaining people who are a potential threat to Canada and removes those who are inadmissible as a result of their involvement in terrorism, organized crime, war crimes or crimes against humanity. We also help protect the health of Canadians by restricting the entry of hazardous products and goods that may have a negative impact on food safety, thus ensuring a secure society for Canadians.

In short, the CBSA is committed to carrying out our operations in a way that balances all three pillars of sustainable development — economy, society and environment. By doing so, the Agency is continually striving to achieve our sustainable development vision.

Sustainable Development: An Approach

In support of CBSA's Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2009 and to facilitate the integration of sustainable development thinking into our daily activities, the Agency implemented a management structure based on four elements:

• Sustainable Development Framework: a performance-based management framework that assists us in achieving our goals and providing long-term sustainable development direction.
• Sustainable Development Policy: aims to reinforce our commitment to sustainable development and complements our existing policies, programs and operations by integrating and communicating their link to sustainability.
• Sustainable Development Strategy: commitments expressed in terms of goals, targets and implementation strategies, which determine the sustainable development direction for a three-year cycle.
• Implementation Plans: internal documents describing the activities that will be undertaken to achieve specific targets, and demonstrate measurable results.

This approach is supported by a network of committees representative of the Agency that plays a key role in integrating sustainable development into the CBSA's planning, decision-making and management processes. It is the primary means for distributing and sharing information, and securing the participation of CBSA employees.

The overall governance structure was put in place to shape the way our information is gathered and shared, how our decisions are made and applied, and how resources are distributed in terms of sustainable development within the Agency. Through this structure, the CBSA is building capacity across the Agency to build values, abilities and relationships that will enable employees to initiate and sustain a process of individual and organizational change as well as a change in processes that enhance cooperation and long-term thinking. More specifically, we are engaging employees in applying the principles of sustainable development in a concrete manner and incorporating them until they become an integral part of all employees' work practices.

Most transformations fail because they are not embedded in efforts to change the organizational culture. Sustainability requires changing beliefs, norms and assumptions on which our organization is built. Everyone has the capacity to be an agent of change as a leader for sustainable development. Leadership is the key factor in shaping our culture, because it builds individual and organizational potential and can assist us in overcoming our challenges.

One great challenge of sustainable development is managing the interrelatedness of the economic, social and environmental pillars and their integration in our business over a long-term horizon. To ease its management, the Sustainable Development Steering Committee and the Sustainable Development Champion provide key leadership in building decision-making capacity that will sustain a constant process of change. Senior management is a key driver influencing decision-making with respect to our policies, programs and operations. For the first time, their performance management agreements include a leadership and management commitment to build employee capacity to integrate economic, social and environmental pillars into management and decision-making processes.

The Agency has, and will continue to create a wide range of approaches to build sustainable development capacity. This includes sustainable development online training, green procurement and green driver courses; multi-criteria analysis, such as a sustainable development lens and issue scan; programs for green procurement, e-waste, green buildings, etc.; and networking that includes meetings and communication with the Sustainable Development Champion, Sustainable Development Committees and Offices of Primary Interest.

Learning through multiple channels is a key strategy to establish a sustainable development knowledge base within the Agency. In addition, learning serves as a catalyst to share new and innovative ideas about sustainability by mobilizing and directing people's energy and creativity, thereby driving the Agency to achieve its vision.

In addition to the internal governance put in place within the Agency, the CBSA is an active participant in a number of interdepartmental committees and working groups. As a participant in these committees, the Agency is helping the Government of Canada move forward on its commitment to sustainable development as well as learning from the successes of other federal counterparts and building on best practices and lessons learned.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

For environmental decision-making to become more transparent and accountable to Parliament, the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy requires departments and agencies to strengthen their application of strategic environmental assessment.

Strategic environmental assessment is a key analytical tool to support sustainable decision-making. It evaluates the environmental impacts of proposed policies, plans and programs and their alternatives. It also informs strategic decision-making through a careful analysis of environmental risks and opportunities.

The Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals sets out clear obligations for federal departments and agencies to undertake strategic environmental assessments. They must consider the impacts on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy's goals and targets of all proposals submitted to an individual Minister or Cabinet. This consideration takes the form of a strategic environmental assessment.

Furthermore, the strategy commits federal organizations to report on the application of their strategic environmental assessment practices through their Departmental Performance Reports in order to demonstrate progress made in strengthening the application of the Cabinet Directive. By doing so, the CBSA demonstrates how the Agency takes environmental considerations into account during the development of proposed policies, plans and programs.

The CBSA employees responsible for the development of policy, plan and program proposals, such as memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions, are expected to undertake a strategic environmental assessment for each proposal seeking Ministerial or Cabinet approval. This process requires a preliminary scan of the proposal to determine whether it has the potential to cause significant impacts to the environment. Should the preliminary scan identify important environmental impacts or a high level of uncertainty or risk associated with the outcomes of the proposal, then a detailed analysis is required.

Identifying environmental impacts early in the planning process allows decision-makers to modify the design of policies, plans and programs to mitigate negative environmental impacts and enhance positive ones.

To strengthen the application of strategic environmental assessment within the Agency, the CBSA will:

• develop a policy on strategic environmental assessment to ensure compliance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals;
• develop a strategic environmental assessment handbook and other guidance materials to provide direction on requirements for undertaking strategic environmental assessment, including how to conduct an assessment and how to link to the federal goals and targets when completing one;
• deliver training on strategic environmental assessment to employees responsible for developing policies, plans and programs proposals; and
• identify resources to provide advice and guidance to employees responsible for completing the assessments.

By implementing these initiatives, the CBSA will provide its employees with a systematic approach that will ensure environmental and socio-economic considerations are taken into account for all proposed policies, plans and programs.

Plans and progress made on strengthening the Agency’s application of strategic environmental assessment will be reported annually through our Report on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Report.

Canada Border Services Agency Sustainable Development Commitments

The CBSA is an active participant in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy by contributing to an implementation strategy under Theme III, Protecting Nature, and meeting the targets set out in Theme IV, Shrinking the Environmental Footprint — Beginning with Government.

In addition to the federal strategy commitments, and in our efforts to move the Agency forward and beyond, we have undertaken additional commitments to further integrate the concept of sustainable development into the way we do business.

The following section outlines the Agency's contribution to the federal strategy by describing the targets the CBSA is responsible for achieving. Furthermore, it establishes our commitment to go beyond the federal strategy and work to further the integration of all three pillars of sustainable development into the Agency's management and decision-making processes.

The strategy has three goals which represent spheres of activity through which we will make a significant contribution to sustainable development. The goals are supported by 20 targets that translate the outcomes we are seeking, into clearer, more concrete actions. Implementation plans will identify key actions that will support Offices of Primary Interest in achieving their respective targets.

Protecting Nature

The Government of Canada recognizes that our country is home to a rich natural heritage and many significant ecosystems. Canada's abundant natural resources play a vital role environmentally, socially and economically. As a result, the government has committed through the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy to protect nature by establishing a number of goals and targets under Theme III, Protecting Nature.

The CBSA is contributing to this theme and is responsible for an implementation strategy under Goal 6, which commits the government to: Maintain productive and resilient ecosystems with the capacity to recover and adapt; and protect areas in ways that leave them unimpaired for present and future generations.

The CBSA is working with other federal counterparts participating in An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada to address Target 6.4: Threats of new alien invasive species entering Canada are understood and reduced by 2015. The Agency is the lead for the following implementation strategy 6.4.10: Prevent the introduction and rapid dispersal of invasive species and disease into Canada via land, air and marine ports of entry, thus reducing potential deleterious effects to ecosystems, economies and society.

Invasive alien species are harmful species of plants, animals and microorganisms whose introduction or spread outside their natural habitats threatens the environment, economy and society. The ways in which invasive alien species are introduced or spread are called pathways. The movement of species through global trade and travel is one of the fundamental causes of invasions.

Invasive alien species threaten sustainable development through their negative impacts by:

• threatening species at risk in Canada;
• decreasing biological diversity and ecosystem function;
• spreading diseases that are harmful to humans, animals and plants;
• degrading and eroding soil, water, habitats and ecosystems;
• altering land-use and natural disturbance patterns (e.g. fires, insects, outbreaks, diseases);
• reducing land and water recreational opportunities;
• reducing productivity in forestry, agricultural, hunting, fishing and aquaculture; and
• threatening international trade relationships.

The implementation strategy is aligned with the Agency's Program Activity Architecture through the Admissibility Determination Program Activity — more specifically, through the Food, Plant and Animal Program. The aim of the program is to prevent the intentional and unintentional introduction of invasive alien species in Canada from other countries by developing CBSA's policies and procedures, coordinating the Agency's efforts with its counterparts and enforcing legislation, namely the Health of Animals Act and Plant Protection Act, at Canada's ports of entry. Commodities (e.g. live plants and animals) and pathways (e.g. wood packaging and goods contaminated with soil) are controlled, restricted or prohibited because commodities can be invasive alien species and pathways can harbour foreign animals, plant pests and diseases. By implementing the program, the CBSA contributes to the achievement of strategy Target 6.4.

To effectively monitor the program implementation strategy and its activities, the performance measures outlined in the table below are used. The CBSA is working internally to identify additional performance indicators to measure progress on this implementation strategy. The Agency is also working with the other government departments and agencies responsible for the government-wide invasive alien species strategy to collaboratively develop performance indicators.

Table 1: Invasive Alien Species Performance Framework

Shrinking the Environmental Footprint - Beginning with Government

The federal government is one of the largest employers in Canada, with over 40,000 buildings owned or leased, more than 30,000 vehicles and over 260,000 employees across the country. As a result of the size and nature of its operations, the government is a major consumer of natural resources, emitter of greenhouse gases and producer of various wastes. As such, the government has a significant environmental footprint, which is characterized as the relationship between its operations and their impacts on the environment.

In response to this, the Government of Canada is dedicated to leading by example and has committed to a number of targets that will help improve the environmental performance of its operations.

The CBSA contributes to these commitments through our Internal Services Program Activity. The Agency is responsible for achieving the targets set in the following areas: green buildings, greenhouse gas emissions, electronic and electrical waste, printing unit reduction, paper consumption, green meetings and green procurement. Details on the Agency's targets, including their associated performance measures and who is responsible for implementing them, are outlined below. By meeting these targets, the CBSA will continue our efforts to reduce the overall environmental impact of our operations and help the Government of Canada shrink its environmental footprint.

Green Buildings

Buildings have a direct impact on the environment, from the land and materials used during their construction, to the energy and water use during their operating life. Our green building targets focus on reducing the environmental impacts associated with our physical operations. Since 2003, the Agency has been working to minimize our environmental footprint by managing our building portfolio in an environmentally sound manner. To implement and maintain environmental considerations and standards (i.e. LEED, BOMA, Green Globes) in new construction and renovation projects, the Agency will develop a green building strategic framework.

 

 

 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Government of Canada is seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the severity and unavoidable impacts of climate change as well as to build a low-carbon economy. In support of this government-wide goal, the CBSA, since 2005, has been committed to taking steps to reduce our emissions. Our reductions are a result of implementing measures that balance the Agency's economic resources with smart investment in energy efficiency technology.

The CBSA has about 120 facilities and a fleet of 990 vehicles dispersed across the country, all of which are incorporated into our greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Under the federal strategy, our obligation to report was for fleet only. Nonetheless, we have included the building component into reporting to provide a more comprehensive representation of the Agency's performance.

Electronic and Electrical Waste

A large quantity of information technology, laboratory, security, telecommunication, audiovisual and office equipment can reach the end of its useful life and become electronic and electrical waste, also called e-waste. If this surplus equipment is not managed adequately, it can cause significant damage to the environment, human health and information security. With over 300 locations across the country, including border crossings, inland enforcement offices, headquarters and regional offices, the CBSA will ensure all of its e-waste is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. The Federal Electronic Waste Strategy and Treasury Board Secretariat Directive on Disposal of Surplus Materiel will be used by the Agency's key players as a practical guide on the availability, selection and use of appropriate disposal mechanisms for our surplus of electronic and electrical equipment.

Printing Unit Reduction

There are multiple environmental impacts associated with printers, including energy consumption and the waste generated by their use (e.g. paper, print cartridges, etc.) when operating them, as well as their disposal when they reach end-of-life. In 2009, the Agency conducted an assessment of our information technology equipment usage and identified an opportunity to reduce the number of these devices as well as the possibility of consolidating operational requirements in multi-use units (printer, scanner, photocopier and fax). By committing to reduce the overall number of printers used within our facilities, the CBSA will achieve greater value for money in the longer term (i.e. lower purchasing and maintenance costs) while at the same time reducing the environmental impacts associated with their use.

Paper Consumption

Paper use throughout the CBSA remains very high despite the increased use of information technology. We are progressively shifting towards a more paperless workplace; however, paper still remains necessary for the effective management of the Agency. Paper is still part of our daily operations in many ways: for administrative purposes, for preserving information generated by service delivery, for publishing, for disseminating information and for reporting purposes. Paper consumption has significant financial and environmental impacts and, as such, the CBSA is committed to reduce our dependency on it. The Agency will seek to manage our paper consumption by using a life-cycle approach (planning, procurement, use and disposal), taking into account the waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse and recycle) and using the national standing offer for paper to save time and money. As part of the same effort, we will also attempt to minimize wasteful practices by training employees on the benefits of paper reduction.

Green Meetings

Organizing and taking part in meetings, either small or large, has the potential to negatively impact the environment through the consumption of energy, and the production of waste and air emissions. One of many areas in which the Agency can reduce our environmental footprint is by hosting green meetings. The CBSA has committed to reduce our impacts by applying environmental best practices to waste management, resource and energy use, travel and local transportation, facilities selection, food provision and disposal, accommodations, as well as management and purchasing decisions. The Agency is developing and adopting our own green meeting guide to educate employees on how to host an environmentally friendly meeting. It can be used for any event, from small staff meetings to large national conferences.

Green Procurement

Each purchasing decision we make has an impact on the environment and beyond. Green procurement is a positive way to contribute to resource conservation, promote renewable energy and materials, minimize waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster a more sustainable economy. Green procurement means selecting goods and services based on more than just cost and quality. It also means taking into account the environmental, social and financial impacts of purchases throughout a lifecycle lens. By making sustainable purchasing decisions, we can help bring greener goods and services to markets, in turn influencing both their price and availability, thus producing a positive impact on our national economy. The CBSA is committed to managing the procurement decision-making process based on a life-cycle approach that will incorporate environmental considerations into the procurement process of goods and services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canada Border Services Agency Sustainable Development Goal: Building Sustainable Development Capacity within the Agency

The CBSA is seizing the many opportunities to innovate in the economic, social and environmental dimensions of our work. Building on the federal strategy, the Agency will continue to integrate sustainable development principles into management and decision-making processes as well as operationalizing them in day-to-day business functions.

The Agency's goal Building Sustainable Development Capacity within the Agency is supported by three targets. One of the three — the sustainable development lens — is a comprehensive target that encompasses all three pillars together. The other two targets — environmental risk profiling and environmental information management system — are aligned with the environmental pillar.

Through our own sustainable development commitments, we are seeking to create a workplace where employees are empowered and are taking ownership of sustainable development by transforming it into concrete action. To that end, it is essential that we create tools that will facilitate the integration of sustainability into their way of thinking as well as into their work practices.

Sustainable Development Lens

Although processes are in place to ensure proposals seeking Ministerial and Cabinet approval take environmental considerations into account, the Agency does not have a tool to integrate all three pillars of sustainable development into the overall decision-making process. One tool gaining ground throughout the federal government is the sustainable development lens. This tool is designed to support and strengthen sustainability analyses for policies, plans, programs and projects. More specifically, a lens is used to determine whether important sustainable development considerations are likely to arise at any stage of an initiative's lifecycle — from initial conceptualization, through to the development of a proposal, to implementation and even evaluation of an initiative.

Environmental Risk Profiling

The CBSA manages risk on a daily basis as it carries out its mandate. Given the volume, diversity and geographic dispersal of the Agency's border activities and the breadth of risks to which the Agency must respond, the CBSA will develop a risk-based evaluation tool to allow environmental risk profiling of our border crossings.

The CBSA manages many risks, including the possible entry into Canada of illicit drugs; terrorists; goods that could cause chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive events; illegal migrants; counterfeit good; firearms; and contaminated food, plants or animals.

The Agency requires a tool that will allow us to prioritize sites in terms of environmental risks based on typical operations and hazards. The risk prioritization will further provide the basis for contingency planning considerations and support strategic budget planning. This tool is intended to translate security threats into program delivery priorities and operational plans, identify program and operational gaps in high-risk areas, support risk-based and prudent resource allocation, and identify reporting mechanism for performance.

 

Environmental Information Management System

Integrating technology into the Agency's business has been beneficial in many ways in terms of increasing levels of efficiency, productivity and communication. We aim to increase the use of technology to enhance our environmental performance and retain the corporate knowledge necessary to effectively manage environmental aspects of the Agency's operations. Under the previous sustainable development strategy, we achieved Phase I of the environmental information management system, creating a web-based solution that captures and manages environmental aspects and real property information. The system is a tool to facilitate the management of internal environmental data, planning and reporting requirements among headquarters, regions and other government departments. In this current strategy, we are moving towards Phase II to further advance its functionalities and enhance its workflow in terms of tracking, monitoring, retaining and reporting on environmental information.

Sustainable Development Planning and Reporting

Planning and Reporting

To effectively plan, implement, evaluate and report on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, the Government of Canada has established a planning and reporting framework. The purpose of this framework is to ensure a consistent approach across government in achieving and reporting on the goals and targets outlined in the strategy. This is done by linking the federal strategy to the Expenditure Management System, the system used to provide financial planning procedures for federal operations.

The reason for linking the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy to the Expenditure Management System is to provide a strong mechanism by which to demonstrate the transparency and accountability of environmental decision-making. The system is a planning tool that allows the government to match its budget with priorities, oversee spending and establish the policies that federal departments will use to manage and deliver their programs. To link the strategy to the system, all departments and agencies are required to use the existing government-wide planning and reporting system to plan, monitor and report on their sustainable development activities. Under the Expenditure Management System, these functions are captured in two key documents that are tabled in Parliament on an annual basis: the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report.

Beginning in fiscal year 2011-2012, the CBSA's Report on Plans and Priorities is including the federal and the CBSA commitments. On a yearly basis, it will provide an overview of the Agency's sustainable development priorities and what resources will be required to meet those commitments.

In addition to using the Report on Plans and Priorities as a planning tool, the CBSA will also manage its sustainable development commitments through implementation plans. The implementation plans will be used to outline the elements and activities required to achieve each target of the strategy — both federal targets and our own. The plans will also provide the Agency with a useful tool to track and report on the progress made on each target.

At the end of each fiscal year, the Departmental Performance Report will provide an overview of the accomplishments against the targets outlined in the given Report on Plans and Priorities. The Agency will use this report to demonstrate its progress on the implementation of the federal and the CBSA targets as well as how it has strengthened the application of strategic environmental assessment.

To better illustrate how the federal commitments are incorporated into the planning and reporting framework, the Agency has identified the program activities that are contributing to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, using visual tags on the Program Activity Architecture diagram in the Sustainable Development Context section.

Reporting on the results achieved on the federal strategy will also occur through the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy Progress Report. The Federal Sustainable Development Act requires the Minister of the Environment to prepare and table a report every three years. The first report, due in the spring of 2011, will focus on the government's processes and systems developed to meet the requirements of the Act, as well as provide recommendations on addressing gaps and opportunities to strengthen the federal strategy. The task of preparing the progress report will be undertaken by Environment Canada in consultation with other government departments.

Monitoring

Since the 1980s, the Government of Canada has been reporting regularly on the state of Canada's environment. However, a lack of consistency across organizations in the approach to reporting inhibited the government's ability to demonstrate trends. Since the reports were not linked to core management planning and reporting processes, they did little to facilitate decision-making on environmental issues. Since 2004, the Government of Canada has made significant progress in developing reliable environmental indicators as well as collecting and tracking information.

Readily available and reliable information is required to effectively monitor and measure progress made on the goals and targets of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. To do so, complementary systems are in place that identify and establish a number of indicators that will be used to track and report progress. These are providing the basis for a consistent source of information that measures change in the state of the environment.

One of these systems is the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators, which serve as an basis for collecting government-wide information, measuring progress on the implementation of the targets under Themes I to III (respectively Addressing Climate Change and Air Quality, Maintaining Water Quality and Availability, and Protecting Nature). The program provides data and information to track the long-term trend on environmental issues of importance to Canadians, such as air and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions and nature. In addition, the Agency has developed its own performance measures to be used for our invasive alien species implementation strategy under Theme III, Protecting Nature.

Another system, based on a performance measurement framework, has been developed for Theme IV targets (Shrinking the Environmental Footprint). This framework establishes common performance measures across government that departments and agencies will report on through Departmental Performance Reports to track progress on the seven target areas.

Conclusion

The Government of Canada has adopted an approach to environmental decision-making that is more integrated, transparent, accountable and supportive of continuous improvement of sustainable development. Strengthening the federal sustainable development process will help achieve government-wide performance on common sustainable development commitments, focus and stimulate activity in key areas and, over time, create a culture of achievement.

Although the approach may have changed, our Agency's commitment hasn't. The CBSA will continue to integrate sustainable development in its core business, bridging it to our management and decision-making processes. Thus, in this strategy, our emphasis is on building capacity among employees to integrate economic, social and environmental principles into their everyday work. Through their leadership, each footstep brings us closer to a more sustainable Agency.

Along with our federal counterparts, our future challenge now lies in strengthening the federal approach to address sustainability from an economic, social and environmental perspective to embrace it as a whole. In the meantime, the CBSA will continue to move towards our sustainable development vision of carrying out our mandate while contributing to environmental quality, a prosperous economy and a secure society.

Let's continue our culture change towards sustainability — an evolving path to build an innovative and modern border.

Bibliography

Canada Border Services Agency. Environmental Information Management System: Application Manual. Ottawa, 2010.

Canada Border Services Agency. Report on Plans and Priorities 2011-2012. Ottawa, 2011.

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Managing Sustainable Development: A Discussion Paper. Ottawa, 2010.

Convention of Biological Diversity. Invasive Alien Species: A Threat to Biodiversity. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2009.

Environment Canada. Planning for a Sustainable Future: A Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada. Ottawa, 2010.

Stantec. Environmental Risk Profiling of CBSA Ports. Ottawa, 2011.

United Nations Environment Programme. Ways to Increase the Effectiveness of Capacity Building for Sustainable Development. United Nations Environment Programme, 2006.

World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future. Oxford University Press, 1987.

World Summit on Sustainable Development. Government of Canada, 2006.

Appendix 1 – Glossary

Departmental Performance Report: Overview of the accomplishments achieved by the organization compared to what it proposed in the Report on Plans and Priorities.

eManifest: Government of Canada initiative to get the right information at the right time to enhance the ability of the CBSA to identify potential threats to Canada, while facilitating the movement of low-risk shipments across the border.

Environmental footprint: Environmental impacts from federal operations ranging from the energy used to heat and cool buildings and operate the vehicle fleet, to the goods purchased to deliver services to Canadians and the disposal of electronic equipment at the end of its useful life.

Expenditure Management System: Processes and procedures by which the central agencies of government support Cabinet in allocating and managing government spending. They are designed to help align resources with priorities, oversee spending, and establish the policies that departments will follow to manage and deliver their programs.

Free and Secure Trade (FAST): Joint initiative between the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection that enhances border and trade chain security while making cross-border commercial shipments simpler and subject to fewer delays.

Implementation strategy: Means of reaching the targets set out in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. The implementation strategy should meet the SMART criteria, take a short-term view, fit within the reporting and planning structures of the federal government, identify resources and activities, and, contribute to the related target.

Invasive alien species: Plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health. In particular, they impact adversely upon biodiversity, including decline or elimination of native species - through competition, predation, or transmission of pathogens - and the disruption of local ecosystems function.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): Third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It provides building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance.

NEXUS: Binational program jointly administered by the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expedite the border clearance process for low-risk, pre-approved travelers into Canada and the United States.

Pathway: Means by which a species travels from its natural habitat into a new one. A pathway can be either natural or man-made. Natural pathways like wind and water currents account for very few of the new species introductions. The vast majority of new species introductions are caused by humans (i.e. cargo transport, planting, and wood movement).

Performance management agreement: Mutual understanding between the executive and the executive's immediate supervisor as to what is expected in the performance cycle. The agreement consists of commitments related to the executive's mandate area/core responsibilities (i.e. what you do) and to being a leader within the organization (i.e. how you do your job).

Program Activity Architecture: Departmental roadmap of business functions and accountability that work to achieve an organizational mandate.

Report on Plans and Priorities: Overview of an organization's priorities and where it will get the resources to act on those priorities.

SMART: Method used to help set well-defined targets. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

Strategic environmental assessment: Systematic and comprehensive process of evaluating the environmental impacts of a policy, plan or program and its alternatives.

Appendix 2 – Sustainable Development Framework

Our performance-based management framework will assist us in achieving our goals and will provide long-term sustainable development (SD) direction.

SD Vision

In support of its responsibility for providing integrated border services to ensure the security and prosperity of Canada, the CBSA will manage the lawful flow of people and goods while contributing to environmental quality, a prosperous economy and a secure society.

SD Strategic Direction

Increase awareness, understanding and necessary skills to meet SD challenges; integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of SD into our decision-making process.

SD Policy Statement

The CBSA will strengthen its mandate by contributing to the well being of the environment, economy and society. The CBSA will integrate the SD principles into its decision-making processes, policies, programs and operations.

Influencing Factors

• Demonstrated leadership from the government and senior management
• Committed financial and human resources
• Clear accountability
• Shared SD responsibility
• Support from CBSA employees
• Continuous learning and improvement through self-assessment
• Simple and effective SD tools and processes
• Life-cycle approach
• Effective communication and cooperation throughout CBSA

Immediate Outcomes – over the next 10 years

• Level of employee awareness with the goal of increasing SD knowledge, skills and application are raised;
• Leadership and commitment to SD is demonstrated;
• Practice of balanced decision-making in our policies, programs and operations is increased;
• Integrating SD principles into our decision-making processes has begun;
• Federal environmental legislation and best management practices are met or exceeded;
• SD best management practices in program delivery and operations are implemented;
• New partnerships to support shared SD objectives are developed and enhanced;
• Our SD commitments to our employees, partners, public and visitors of Canada are communicated.

Intermediate Outcomes – 10 to 20 years

• Our people are enabled to contribute to SD;
• Effective systems are in place for SD;
• SD is entirely integrated into our decision-making processes;
• Our programs demonstrate sustainable business delivery;
• Our operations are managed sustainably and diligently;
• CBSA is an employer of choice and good corporate citizen with an enhanced corporate image.

Ultimate Outcomes – 40 years

• SD is part of our corporate culture and employees are dedicated to think and act in a sustainable manner;
• Sustainable, efficient and innovative policies, programs, and operations are in place;
• Modern comptrollership and triple-bottom line reporting on social, economic and environmental performance, allowing for transparent management of results are achieved;
• Conservation of natural resources through sustainable practices;
• Security of Canadians (personal, community and national) is increased;
• Knowledge, innovation and technology to international partners are shared;
• Quality of life, equity and respect for diversity are integrated into decision-making processes.

Appendix 3 – Hyperlinks

Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Office of Greening Government Operations

United Nations – Sustainable Development Division