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Table 7: Sustainable Development Strategy

The Department of Justice’s fourth Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), spanning from 2007 to 2009, has been developed by building on accomplishments and challenges from the three previous strategies, by responding to the government guidance for a more coordinated and consistent approach to implementing sustainable development efforts in the Government of Canada, and by linking sustainable development efforts in the Department to the key legal, policy and operational activities of the Department.

The Strategy has three objectives:

• Further develop the capacity of the Department to support the provision of legal services related to sustainable development (supports Strategic Outcome II – A federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services)
• Incorporate sustainable development principles and practices into the Department’s policy and program operations (supports Strategic Outcome I – A fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values)
• Improve the environmental sustainability of the Department’s physical operations (supports Program Activity C1 – Internal services)

These objectives, along with their respective targets and performance indicators, are aimed at improving the existing capacity and practices in the Department towards achieving sustainable development in its internal operations, as well as in its work with its client organizations.

The complete text of the Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2009 may be obtained at: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/sds-sdd/07_09/index.html

1. Further develop the capacity of the Department to support the provision of legal services related to sustainable development 

Department’s Expected Results for 2007-2008	Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007-2008
A minimum of 5 best practices and/or case studies will be identified, documented, and developed to support the enhancement of the Department’s capacity to include sustainable development in its legal services, where appropriate	Distribution of a framework for a Sustainable Development Checklist for Counsel in progress Considerations of adding sustainable development to the client impact statement of the Legal Risk management tool in progress Case study of the procedures developed and implemented for coordination of legal advice on Environmental Assessments Examination of Precautionary Principle in provision of legal advice under review Citizenship and Immigration Law Conference, November 2007 – presentations on the application of SD within immigration policy on migrant workers and the contribution of the Canada Border Services to promoting sustainable communities.
New areas for application of sustainable development will be identified	Application of  green procurement policy and environmental standards within Commercial Law practice and advice Exploring the connection between the harmonization of federal legislation with the civil law of the Province of Quebec initiative as a practical application of sustainable development principles Connection between sustainable development and Aboriginal law
Guidelines, learning and practical tools will be identified to support achievement of this goal, along with the relevant existing training tools	Distribution of a Framework for a Sustainable Development Checklist for Counsel in progress Sustainable development was one of the themes explored at the Legislative Services Branch Perspective Building Day (02/21/08) Enhancements to SD intranet site centred around the three SDS objectives SD is a component of a compulsory management training and three DOJ staff attended the CSPS one-day course on sustainable development.
A survey will be conducted to establish the baseline for raising awareness and knowledge of sustainable development among staff and to identify training needs	A department-wide online survey was completed for the end of the fiscal year.  The environment was identified as the number one priority, requiring more efforts in supporting recycling, public transit or carpooling, better user education on reducing printing. Energy consumption and waste management were top of mind. Better than 55% of employees felt that SD was relevant to their work.

2. Incorporate sustainable development principles and practices into the Department’s policy and program operations

Department’s Expected Results for 2007-2008	Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007-2008
A minimum of 5 case studies and/or best practices will be developed to demonstrate clear link to sustainable development	A process was established to select and document, in a systematic fashion, key examples of Best Practices that link the department’s policies or programs to sustainable development, with an emphasis on the social dimension of sustainable development.   Some key examples of Best Practices were identified and work was begun to document them.
Areas where sustainable development can be applied more rigorously will be identified	An assessment of actions to be undertaken to implement sustainable development in relation to policy and program work was conducted (examples include a sustainable development checklist for policy and program development; integration of sustainable development into the department’s policy structures, etc.). An internal working group developed an interpretation of sustainable development for use in the context of departmental policy and program work. The department’s Policy Committee, Policy Committee Working Group and Policy Cycle were identified as key mechanisms through which to apply sustainable development more rigorously in policy and program work. Sustainable development was taken into consideration in foresight, “access to justice” and emerging issues discussions involving the department’s policy community – for instance by considering the sustainability of the justice system as a factor for evaluating possible future policy initiatives.
Full compliance will be achieved with the Cabinet Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive	All MCs and TB submissions are subject to a preliminary scan in compliance with the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive and documents acknowledge this requirement.  sustainable development.
Policy research capacity will be enhanced to address sustainable development issues impacts on the Department’s work	A process for systematically building sustainable development into the department’s policy research capacity was identified - specifically to integrate sustainable development into the formal Research Review Committee process applied in the department. This will entail a revision to the formal template and protocol for evaluating research proposals with a SD lens.
SD activities will be re-grouped and linked to the Department’s Program Activity Architecture	This activity was not pursued because it is not aligned with Government standards for Program Activity Architecture.
Legal risk management will be linked to sustainable development	Analysis begun of the appropriateness of including sustainable development considerations in the assessment of client impact.
Sustainable development will be integrated into our corporate priorities	Analysis begun of how sustainable development can be integrated into departmental business planning and management performance agreements
Processes and systems will be developed to monitor progress of sustainable development activities	The SD Working Group established by the Policy Committee Working Group provided leadership with respect to the application of sustainable development in the context of policy and program work. Consultations within the Policy Sector resulted in a work plan which serves as a practical blueprint of activities for the SD Working Group and more broadly.

3. Improve the environmental sustainability of the Department’s physical operations

Department’s Expected Results for 2007-2008	Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2007-2008
All areas of significant impact will be identified	The following areas were identified: Paper consumption Solid waste management Energy conservation Technology use and funding Green Procurement Policy
A pilot area will be established and measures implemented to reduce environmental impact in one area by 20%	The Department is working with PWGSC and building property manager to implement the composting of its paper towels, which represents the bulk of DOJ’s solid waste.
Double-sided printing will be monitored and increased by 20%	Department is moving to double-sided printing as a default setting through user education and IT service agreement.
Paper consumption levels will be monitored and measures will be put in place to reduce consumption by 10%	Large litigation case files are increasingly being prepared in electronic form and copied to disk resulting in bulk paper savings. Analysis begun of how to track paper consumption through purchasing data.
Diversion of solid waste will be increased from 78% to 80%	Paper towels and battery recycling discussed with Headquarters Office facility manager.
Training will be developed for all appropriate managers on sustainable development practices	SD is a component of a compulsory management training  and three DOJ staff attended the CSPS one-day course on sustainable development.
Specific sustainable development targets will be developed and included in senior managers’ performance agreements, including targets on green procurement	Analysis begun of how sustainable development can be integrated into departmental business planning and management performance agreements
Specific sustainable development targets will be developed and included in senior managers’ performance agreements, including targets on green procurement	Analysis begun of how sustainable development can be integrated into departmental business planning and management performance agreements
Implementation of at least two recommendations from the energy and solid waste audits will be initiated	Reuse of surplus office items encouraged through Finance and Administration’s Web inventory Paper reduction campaign through double-sided printing and photocopying promoted through website and corporate newsletter The Information Management Branch has made changes  regarding standards for more energy efficient monitors and the associated renewal period, which were approved by BIT.COM; IMB undertook a comprehensive "Server Virtualisation and Consolidation" initiative, which should reduce the number of servers, and reduce power consumption;
All appropriate staff will have received training on Green Procurement Policy	All contract officers provided training on green procurement as part of their contract training
Increase in suppliers offering green products will be monitored	Clients will be encouraged to ensure that future supply arrangements and standing offers negotiated by PWGSC with suppliers address desired environmental criteria
Spending data will be assessed and baseline for future purchases established	Implementation of Green Procurement Policy is monitored and enforced As part of a redesign of the IM/IT Investment Proposals, information regarding how initiatives support SD objectives was added to the template for all IM/IT investment proposals (ref: new template). The information provided in these proposals was subsequently used in a new investment selection criteria which now takes into consideration SD objectives (ref: new evaluation sheet).
Other	IMB has worked towards improving the infrastructure to support tele-working (for example, the implementation of crypto cards, and enhancements to remote access)

The tabling of the current strategy provided renewed impetus to consider how sustainable development might be integrated into the operations of the department.  This resulted in the establishment of a departmental steering committee and departmental networks for each of the three SD objectives.  The SD secretariat was also reorganized to include a legal counsel to focus on the first objective relating to the provision of legal services.

During 2007-08, the Office of the Auditor General conducted an audit of the implementation of the department’s SD strategy.  The audit report and recommendations have had a significant impact on implementation activities, particularly resulting in a review of the strategy itself.  This review has led to the conclusion that, although the strategy is fundamentally sound, there are weaknesses in some of the performance indicators.  The current implementation plans accordingly focus on indicators involving activities that will produce clear results.  Activities related to indicators that cannot be accomplished or are not aligned with the business of the department are not being pursued.

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