ARCHIVED - National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy - Report

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Message from the President and CEO

The year was an exceptionally busy and successful one for the Round Table. The NRTEE published more reports, held more consultations, received more visits to its website and more downloads of its reports than ever before, beginning with the April, 2009, release of Achieving 2050: A Carbon Pricing Policy for Canada. This was followed by four separate policy publications, including last July’s annual requisite assessment of the government’s Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act Action Plan and two other major reports in the spring of 2010.

The Round Table marked the fall by releasing True North: Adapting Infrastructure to Climate Change in Northern Canada. The report offered practical advice on how Northern Canada can adapt its infrastructure to the potential effects of a changing climate. This report is being utilized by government officials. Later, the Round Table wound up its Achieving 2050 policy report with an electronic report highlighting key outcomes from a series of outreach sessions with stakeholders that took place in the late spring and summer of 2009.

Throughout the year, the Round Table also continued with its work on two major policy research programs: Climate Prosperity: The Economic Risks and Opportunities of Climate Change for Canada and Water Sustainability and Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors.

The Climate Prosperity series was unveiled to the public in April, 2010, with a brochure outlining the scope of the program. The first report in the series, Measuring Up: Benchmarking Canada’s Competitiveness in a Low-Carbon World, was released in May, 2010. In June, the NRTEE released the first of two reports as part of its water program, Changing Currents: Water Sustainability and the Future of Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors.

In early 2010, the NRTEE produced, in conjunction with the Public Policy Forum, a report examining the need for new collaborative governance approaches to achieve the goals of sustainable development. Entitled Progress Through Process: Achieving Sustainable Development Together, this joint report was the culmination of meetings and consultations with 20 experts in the field of sustainability and governance.

The Round Table also took a leading role in preliminary discussions on a clean-energy strategy for Canada, which included nine other public policy organizations.

The NRTEE is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible way by reducing its carbon footprint and greening its operations. In January, 2010, the NRTEE adopted a new Environmental Code of Practice and formalized a comprehensive set of policies and practices to guide its greening activities.

Last year marked the beginning of the Round Table’s third decade of providing the Government of Canada and Parliament with policy advice on achieving sustainable development. We look forward to continuing to do so.

 

The original version was signed by
_________________________

David McLaughlin
NRTEE President and CEO

 

Section 1: Agency Overview

1.1 Summary Information

Raison d’Être and Responsibilities

The raison d’être, or purpose, of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE or Round Table) is to play the role of catalyst in identifying, explaining, and promoting, in all sectors of Canadian society and in all regions of Canada, principles and practices of sustainable development.

The NRTEE interprets this broad mandate through a strategic focus on issues of national interest at the intersection of the environment and the economy. It examines the environmental and economic implications of priority issues and offers independent advice on how to address them.

Through its work, the NRTEE strives to influence policy development and decisions on issues pertaining to the environment and the economy. These promote economic prosperity for all Canadians while striving to preserve the environment for current and future generations.

Legislative Purpose research and gathering information and analyses on critical issues of sustainable development; advising governments on ways of integrating environmental and economic considerations into their decision-making processes and on global issues of sustainable development; advising those sectors and regions on ways of incorporating principles and practices of sustainable development into their activities; promoting the understanding and increasing public awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and policy changes required to attain sustainable development; and facilitating and assisting cooperative efforts in Canada to overcome barriers to the attainment of sustainable development. National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy Act, Section 4

Created in 1988 by the Prime Minister, the NRTEE is an independent national advisory body reporting to the federal government and Parliament through the Minister of the Environment (see Figure 1 for the agency’s internal organization and relationship to the federal government). The Round Table had its status formalized in a 1993 Act of Parliament, Bill C-72, An Act to establish the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE Act).

The NRTEE is a departmental corporation (Financial Administration Act, Schedule II).

The work of the NRTEE is directed by the Round Table members drawing on their expertise and insight. The members are part-time Governor-in-Council appointees. They represent different regions of Canada and are distinguished leaders from business, labour, universities, public service, and environmental organizations. A complete list of the NRTEE’s members can be found in section 4.2.

The Round Table normally meets four times each year in plenary sessions where members discuss priorities and review and approve the work of the Secretariat. A Secretariat in Ottawa, headed by a President and CEO, supports the members. In this context, the Secretariat provides program management, policy and research analysis, communications, and administrative services to the NRTEE members.

General information about the NRTEE and its membership can be found on the agency’s website at www.nrtee-trnee.ca

Figure 1: NRTEE internal organization and relationship to the federal government

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1.2 Strategic Outcome

As approved by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) in June 2007, the NRTEE has a single Strategic Outcome and a key program activity, which the NRTEE strives to achieve in the effective pursuit of its mandate. It is as follows:

Federal policy development and decisions in other key sectors are influenced by advice on sustainable development issues pertaining to the environment and the economy.

In addition, the NRTEE has the standard Government of Canada Internal Services program activity.

Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

Figure 2 illustrates the NRTEE’s framework for its program activity, contributing toward the Agency’s single Strategic Outcome.

Figure 2: Program Activity Architecture (PAA) — National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy

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1.3 Performance Summary

Financial Resources

Table 1: 2009-10 Financial Resources Summary
($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
5,134.0	5,450.9	4,920.5

Human Resources

Table 2: 2009-10 Human Resources Summary (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
31	29	2

Planning Summary

Table 3: 2009-10 Planning Summary ($ thousands)

Strategic Outcome: Federal policy development and decisions in other key sectors are influenced by advice on sustainable development issues pertaining to the environment and the economy.

Performance Indicators	2009-10 Performance
The extent to which NRTEE’s advice is considered in federal policy decisions and its research results are used in developing policy recommendations	Stakeholder feedback indicates NRTEE research to be generally high quality, timely, relevant and useful, which supports the Strategic Outcome

Program Activity	Actual Spending 2008–09	2009–10 [1]				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Advisory program on environment and economy issues		2,932.7	2,933.0	3,119.5	2,971.5	Strong economic growth
Internal Services		2,200.8	2,201.0	2,331.4	1,949.0
Total	5,051.6	5,133.6	5,134.0	5,450.9	4,920.5

1.4 Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

Table 4 illustrates the contribution of the NRTEE to its two key areas of priority as identified in the NRTEE’s 2009–2010 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) (one operational and one management) toward its single Strategic Outcome.

Table 4: Contribution of Organizational Priorities toward Strategic Outcome, 2009–2010

Priority 1: Operational Priorities	Type	Status	Linkage to Strategic Outcome
Produce and promote advice to decision makers on environment and economy issues	Ongoing	Mostly met. Operational initiatives outlined in the 2009-10 were achieved  with minor exceptions. For specific details see section 2.2	The production and promotion of high quality research and advice contributes to progress towards the Round Table’s single Strategic Outcome: ‘Federal policy development and decisions in other key sectors are influenced by advice on sustainable development issues pertaining to the environment and the economy’.

Priority 2: Management Priorities	Type	Status
Apply sound management practices in operations	Ongoing	Mostly met. Management initiatives outlined in the 2009-10 RPP were achieved with minor exceptions. For specific details see section 2.2

1.5 Risk Analysis

Context

The NRTEE strives to influence the government’s approach to important sustainable development issues. To accomplish this, the NRTEE must produce and promote relevant, neutral, and credible advice in a timely manner. Its ability to do so is affected by both external and internal factors.

Changes in operating environment have been, and will continue to be, a challenge for a small agency such as the NRTEE and the agency expects to experience continuing pressures to adapt and respond over the next few years. Key risk factors are discussed below.

Risk Factors

Concern about the environment—and climate change in particular—have put the Round Table’s work in the spotlight. However, the emergence of the economy as the primary issue of national interest poses a potential risk for the NRTEE as it may make it more difficult to get the attention of the decision makers whom the Round Table seeks to influence. In order to be credible in this situation, the NRTEE needs to achieve a balance between generating advice that is relevant and useful to the government in the short term, and yet is also relevant and sustainable for the future. The NRTEE understands this complex environment well and manages the associated risks by producing advice that is fact-based, objective, and sound, and by consulting on an ongoing basis with its stakeholders both inside and outside government. Its communications strategy is also crafted to address this challenge.

The timing of the appointment of new members to the Round Table has, in the past, posed challenges for the NRTEE in terms of ensuring continuity for its work. Recent appointments approaches by the government have helped address this.  Ensuring balanced representation of members is an ongoing goal.  The NRTEE mitigates risk in this regard by broadly consulting with stakeholders to ensure that representation from all sectors and regions of the country is reflected in its work.

Small agencies such as the NRTEE are often vulnerable to employee turnover, since there is not the same depth in staff resources as in larger organizations.  Internally, the NRTEE faced particular challenges in 2009–2010 due to the departure of some employees that affected project deadlines. The NRTEE attempts to pro-actively address these risks on an ongoing basis through cross training and a matrix approach to its policy projects.

1.6 Expenditure Profile

In 2009–2010, the Round Table’s spending was $4.9 million. In this period, there were no transfer payment programs or significant shifts in spending.

1.7 Voted and Statutory Items

Table 5 illustrates the way in which Parliament approved the NRTEE’s resources, and shows the changes in resources derived from Supplementary Estimates and other authorities, as well as how funds were spent.

Table 5: Voted and Statutory Items ($ thousands)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	Actual Spending 2007–08	Actual Spending 2008–09	2009-10 Main Estimates	2009-10 Actual Spending
20	Operating expenditures	4,517.7	4,695.6	4,732.1	4,512.8
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	339.1	356.0	401.5	407.8
(S)	Expenditures pursuant to Paragraph 29.1 (1) of the Financial Administration Act	0.9	-	-	0
Total		4,857.7	5,051.6	5,133.6	4,920.5

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