Performance Report on Sustainable Development April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009

4.0 Other SD Program Results

4.1 CRA Contribution to Government-wide SD Priorities

The CRA SD Strategy 2007-2010 was designed to contribute to progress on the Government of Canada's priorities for SD. This includes those priorities stated in the June 2006 document Coordinating the Fourth Round of Departmental Sustainable Development Strategies.

The CRA Sustainable Development Action Plan for 2007-2010 identifies 15 activities that contribute directly to the priorities established in the coordinating document. Of those 15, a total of 10 were scheduled for implementation during fiscal year 2008-2009. We completed six of the ten activities, and remaining four activities were on average 70% complete. Progress of each activity is outlined in Appendix B.

4.2 New Federal Directions for Sustainable Development Accountability

The Federal Sustainable Development Act (2008)

The CRA continued interdepartmental liaison, much of which focused on departmental preparations to comply with the new Federal Sustainable Development Act that became law in June 2008. Among other things, the Act requires that a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) be tabled in Parliament by June 2010. One year later, departments and agencies will be required to table their respective sustainable development (SD) strategies as part of their Report on Plans and Priorities (RPPs). These strategies must both comply with, and contribute to the FSDS.

The intent of the Act is to shift SD accountabilities from parallel planning and reporting processes, into the mainstream of government planning and reporting processes. SD accountabilities would be identified in Departmental Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) - through the Main Estimates process - and reported on through Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs). The main implication is that from a planning and reporting perspective, departments and agencies will no longer be required to table stand-alone SD strategies and reports.

The CRA will continue interdepartmental and Agency liaisons in 2009-2010 to:

1. Input into finalizing the federal goals and targets; and
2. Pepare the CRA for the changes to SD planning and reporting; as well as, to pursue the federal goals and targets that will apply to the Agency.

4.3 SD Program Costs and Benefits

During fiscal year 2008-2009, the Agency invested approximately $1.76 million in direct costs (personnel and operating) for the SD Division in Ottawa and regional offices to implement the Sustainable Development program (see Table 2).

Many of the initiatives in the CRA SD Strategy, while aimed at environmental improvement have the added benefit of improving the Agency's operational efficiency, and confer benefits to other areas of society. Examples include:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by improving fleet fuel efficiency also reduced fuel expenditures;
• The CRA No Waste program help to extend the life of municipal landfills and contribute to local recycling programs; and
• Increased use of electronic forms and internal paper reduction initiatives reduced the Agency's paper costs.

An example where measurable results have been achieved is the Agency's use of office paper. Table 3 shows that, since the implementation of our paper reduction strategy, we have reduced the amount of paper used per employee, as well as, reduced expenditures on office paper.

Table 3: Reduction in Annual Office Paper Consumption and Cost [Footnote 7]

Paper consumed by the Agency to deliver its individual (T1) program has also been substantially reduced through the implementation of online tax filing options. While offering Canadians enhanced convenience and efficiency, these programs have had a positive impact on the Agency's environmental bottom line. During the period from 1990 to 2008, the use of electronic filing (EFILE and NETFILE) in the individual (T1) Tax Program has resulted in the following paper savings:

This is equivalent to savings of:

• Paper: 20,240 tonnes - a pile 460 km high, if stacked;
• Wood: 70,165 tonnes - the equivalent of about 535,000 trees;
• Energy: 8.67 billion BTUs - the equivalent to heating about 9,411 homes/year;
• GHGs: 57,585 tonnes - the equivalent to emissions from about 11,528 cars/year;
• Wastewater: 1.62 billion litres - the equivalent volume of about 644 swimming pools;
• Solid waste: 23,057 tonnes - the equivalent of about 1,815 full garbage trucks.[Footnote 8].

Other areas where benefits of the CRA's SD program accrue to the Agency include staff recruitment and employee morale. While benefits such as these are difficult to quantify, and have not been measured directly, the CRA will continue to examine opportunities to assess the benefits associated with the delivery of our SD program.

4.4 SD Program Assessment

Assessing the Agency's performance on SD helps the CRA to examine and address deficiencies in the SD program. In 2008-2009 the CRA Board of Management examined the SD program for sound overall administration, and integration in CRA business. Specifically, the Board asked whether the CRA has a reliable reporting framework

Date modified:

2010-04-12