Commissioner's Message

I am proud to present this Performance Report on Sustainable Development April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. It highlights our achievements for this period and for the three years of the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) Sustainable Development Strategy 2004-2007.

At a time when the environment is foremost among the issues that concern Canadians, the CRA has made tangible progress in reducing the effects of our operations and programs on the environment. We completed 78 percent of our planned commitments for 2006-2007, and 85 percent of our commitments in the three-year strategy. Our accomplishments for 2006-2007 included:

• Diverting from landfill 79 percent of the solid waste generated by the CRA, saving tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions;
• Achieving a 1.5 percent reduction in the amount of office paper used per employee;
• Increasing the percentage of green products purchased from 7.4 percent to 16.9 percent; and
• Achieving a 50.6 percent take-up rate for the electronic filing of individual tax returns as opposed to 49.4 percent in the previous year.

As legislated, we tabled our fourth Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2010 in Parliament in December 2006. With input from employees, management, and stakeholders, we used the lessons learned to expand our commitment to integrating sustainable development into our operations and business decisions.

While we have accomplished much, I encourage each CRA employee to do more to reduce any negative effects on our environment. Opportunities remain for employees to choose sustainable options in the areas of business travel and commuting, program delivery, energy use, and solid waste generation. Individual efforts may seem negligible, but 40,000 committed employees all working toward a common goal can have a major impact.

For more information on our Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2010, I invite you to visit the CRA website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/sds.

William V. Baker
Commissioner

Date modified:

2008-03-27