Transcript Sustainability Indicators and the Federal Sustainable

Sustainability Indicators and the
Federal Sustainable Development
Strategy
Canadian Sustainability
Indicators Network (CSIN) 2010
Conference
March 2010
Purpose
• To outline the Government of Canada’s new approach to
sustainable development governance which seeks to:
– Better reflect international best practices;
– Address issues noted in internal management reviews, research
findings and input from the Commissioner of the Environment and
Sustainable Development (CESD); and,
– Strengthen the science-policy connection through the strategic use of
indicator information.
• The presentation argues that the new approach has the potential to
be a step forward in transparency and public accounting on
sustainability for the benefit of Canadians, in part because of its
connection to indicators.
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Overview
• Best Practices for Governance in Sustainability
• Former Federal Practices
• Background: Federal Sustainable Development Act
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(FSDA)
Implementing the FSDA with Best Practices in Mind
The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
(FSDS)
Indicators and the FSDS
Bridging the Science-Policy Divide Through Indicators
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Best Practices for Governance in Sustainability
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The following elements are typically seen as key for
national or federal SD governance structures and
strategies:
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Legislative underpinning;
Top-level leadership and accountability;
Relevant and comprehensive strategy involving as many
departments as possible;
Connected into the fundamental planning & budgetary
processes;
Formalized involvement of a wide range of stakeholders;
and,
Connectivity with other governments.
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Former Federal Practices
• From 1995 to June 2008, the Auditor General Act required Ministers to table
departmental Sustainable Development Strategies every three years
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No overarching Federal strategy.
• The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD)
conducted 11 highly critical audits of this approach; last report tabled in Parliament
November 2008:
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Lack of clearly defined federal priorities, a common vision and ‘meaningful’ targets;
Poorly defined federal accountabilities and lack of senior level leadership;
Departmental compartmentalization discouraging horizontal collaboration;
Lack of a means to measure and report on federal progress as a whole; and,
Strategies were not the ‘drivers of change’ they were intended to be.
• Management Review of previous process (completed by Environment Canada in
November 2008), confirmed that:
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Clear direction setting and leadership must be established;
Strategies need to be focused, with clear goals and targets;
Sustainable development should be integrated into federal planning and reporting; and,
processes.
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Background Federal Sustainable Development Act
(FSDA)
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Very quick history
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Purpose
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s.3 “…to provide the legal framework for developing and implementing a
Federal Sustainable Development Strategy that will make environmental
decision-making more transparent and accountable to Parliament.”
Requirements
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Amended private members’ bill which gained all-party support. Received
Royal ascent in June, 2008.
Draft FSDS, Final FSDS, Progress Report.
CESD reports: 1) Whether targets and Implementation Strategies can be
assessed; and, 2) Fairness of info in Progress Report.
Consultation on Draft – Public, Parliament, SD Advisory Council.
Key dates
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FSDSs – June 2010 and every 3 years thereafter.
First DSDSs – June 2011 and every 3 years thereafter.
First Progress Report – June 2011 and every 3 years thereafter.
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Implementing the FSDA with Best Practices in
Mind
Material Secret – to come.
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The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
(FSDS)
• Structure & Contents
– The Act requires the establishment of Goals, Targets
(measurable objectives) and Implementation Strategies.
– [EC will be in a position to share this at the time of the
presentation, but is not presently able to do so]
▪ Goal themes
▪ Target lists
▪ Examples of implementation strategies
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Indicators & the FSDS
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For each element of the FSDS there will be indicators:
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Goals will strive to have high-level, State of the Environmenttype indicators;
Targets will have some state-of-the environment-type indicators
and some pressure-driver indicators; and,
Implementation Strategies will have lower-level, related
performance indicators.
Gaps and future work
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Indicators will largely come from CESI and existing performance
management frameworks.
Plan-do-check-improve cycle established.
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Strengthening the Policy-Science connection
through indicators
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How present governance structure gets closer to
recommendations & best practices:
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SDO formation & its roles;
Integration into mainstream planning;
TBS Management Accountability Framework (MAF);
Higher profile and connectivity to population through
consultation; and,
Greater meaning to Canadians through transparency,
accountability and indicator use.
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Thank You
• Please contact:
Sustainable Development Office
Environment Canada
10 Wellington Street, 25th Floor
Gatineau, QC, K1A 0H3
email: [email protected]
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