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Environmental Strategy

2.2 The Canadian Experience

Overall, global and national organizations are recognizing that the health and quality of our environment is closely tied to our social and economic well-being. In response, many are making commitments to safeguard and enhance their environments.

A 2002 report by the United Nations on the state of the environment within North America notes improvements to our environment over the last thirty years, in such areas as:

• Protecting the ozone layer;
• Reducing emissions causing acid rain;
• Protecting parks and natural areas (11-13% overall land area);
• Slowing wetland losses;
• Reducing emissions from point sources (e.g. industries);
• Reducing pollution loading to the Great Lakes; and
• Expansion of plant cover in areas subject to soil desertification.
  

This report also identifies a number of environmental trends that are creating pressures at both a national level and within our community, including:

• A 31% increase in energy use between 1972 and 1997; and
• An increase in the number of automobiles and in the kilometres traveled, along with a trend towards heavier, less fuel-efficient vehicles that have more than offset improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency.
  Resource efficiency and waste reduction efforts have been negatively affected by a "consumer lifestyle based on the desire for mobility, convenience and product disposability" .

Resource efficiency and waste reduction efforts have been negatively affected by a "consumer lifestyle based on the desire for mobility, convenience and product disposability"¹.

Many Canadian government agencies have developed strategies and plans to address environmental issues, along with tools and processes to effectively manage their environmental resources. For example, at the Rio Conference in 1992, Canada committed to preparing sustainable development strategies for all federal departments. In evaluating the completed sustainable development strategies, the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development observed in 2002 that integration of sustainable development into planning and policies has been an important first step. However, the Commissioner recognized that strategy implementation will take some time and identified the following as crucial factors for success:

• strategic commitments must be clear, measurable, understandable and effective;
• implementation approaches should be simple and practical;
• the strategies should maintain a focus on outcomes and demonstrate how the departments will deliver their business differently to achieve sustainability;
• sustainable development principles must be integrated into all policy and planning documents, including business plans; and
• demonstrate that the long-term outcomes are the achievement of sustainable practices in all aspects of government business.
  

At the Provincial level, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario reviewed the Provincial environmental state of affairs in the 2001/2002 report on Ontario's environment. Mr. Gord Miller noted that "sustainable development has not been substantially incorporated into decision-making in Ontario" even though the approach has enormous potential to preserve capital - both the natural capital of our ecosystems and invested financial capital. When applying sustainable development principles, the requirement to conserve materials and energy inspires a level of efficiency and innovation that is characteristic of free enterprise. The Commissioner also noted that the resistance to sustainable development is likely due to people remaining with familiar approaches. To help change our focus, one suggestion is to reverse the term "sustainable development", and instead concentrate on "developing sustainability".

¹ United Nations Environmental Program. 2002. North America's Environment - A Thirty Year State of the Environment and Policy Perspective

Next: 2.3 Our Municipal Role