Performance Report on Sustainable Development April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Structure of the Report

The purpose of this report is to provide stakeholders with information on the Agency's performance in implementing CRA Sustainable Development (SD) Strategy 2007-2010. It addresses the period from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 and provides a summary of the overall performance of the three-year strategy.

The report provides background information on the context for the CRA SD Strategy. It addresses the legal requirement for the Agency's SD program and outlines our strategic approach to SD. It continues with a briefing on the Agency's compliance with applicable legislation and regulations. This is followed by highlights of results achieved through the implementation of the SD National Action Plan and the Environmental Management Programs (EMPs). It also describes CRA contributions to Government-wide SD priorities, identifies SD program costs and benefits, and summarizes the results of the SD Program assessment.

1.2 Background

The term "sustainable development" attained global prominence with the publication of Our Common Future a report published by the United Nation's World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. The document defined sustainable development as:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Sustainable development calls for an approach to decision making that balances the needs of the environment, society, and the economy. The approach also recognizes the importance of environmental protection in sustaining both society and the economy. Some have likened sustainable development to living off nature's interest, while leaving the principal intact for future generations.

From 1995 to June 2008, the Auditor General Act required certain departments and agencies to table sustainable development strategies and to update them at least every three years. The Act also empowered the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) to audit and report on the extent to which departments meet their SD commitments.

In June 2008, the mandate for departments and agencies to table SD strategies was superseded by the Federal Sustainable Development Act. Until the tabling of the first Federal SD Strategy, departments and agencies may continue to pursue the commitments in their current SD strategies, while preparing to align to the requirements of the Act.

1.3 Sustainable Development at the CRA

With a workforce of approximately 40,000 employees, working in over 135 facilities across Canada, the CRA has a large operational footprint. Managing the environmental impacts of our operations is therefore a key focus of our SD Strategy. By optimizing the delivery of our services; the CRA protects the environment, conserves natural resources, and reduces operating costs.

To move us towards achieving our SD vision, the 2007-2010 SD Strategy established four primary goals. These goals are:

1. Reduce the effects of our operations on land, air and water;
2. Demonstrate sustainable service delivery of tax and benefit programs;
3. All employees apply sustainable development in their jobs; and
4. Use modern systems that support and maintain sustainable development.

The four SD Strategy goals are supported by nine key objectives,which include 16 concrete targets. These targets are then supported by 65 activities that are outlined in the 2007-2010 SD National Action Plan.

The figure below shows how the strategy is organized into a hierarchical structure of six levels.

To support the environmental protection aspects contained in Goal 1, we continued to maintain and improve our Environmental Management System (EMS) that is modeled after the ISO 14001 EMS standard. The CRA EMS includes nine distinct Environmental Management Programs (EMPs) that address key environmental aspects concerning the CRA. The nine EMPs are: energy conservation; fleet; hazardous waste; halocarbons, outside emissions, paper, procurement, solid waste, and storage tanks. The EMPs are detailed annual operational plans that support the objectives of Goal 1 of the SD strategy. Both the SD National Action Plan and the EMPs are updated annually to reflect new priorities and opportunities.

The main business of the CRA is to deliver tax, benefits, and related programs on behalf of the governments across Canada. Therefore Goal 2 of our SD strategy is dedicated to pursuing more sustainable delivery of these programs.

People are also key considerations in our SD Strategy because they are vital partners and agents of change in our organization. Goal 3 seeks to engage CRA employees - from entry level to senior management - in the practices of SD. And finally Goal 4 addresses processes and controls and is dedicated to developing and improving the necessary infrastructure (e.g., tools, systems) to support the implementation of the SD program. See Appendix A for information on the CRA governance structure for sustainable development.

Date modified:

2011-03-16