Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations. It is about improving standard of living by protecting human health, conserving the environment, using resources efficiently and advancing long-term economic competitiveness. It requires the integration of environmental, economic and social priorities into policies and programs and requires action at all levels - citizens, industry, and governments. 

Environment Canada released the first Progress Report on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) on June 16, 2011. This first Progress Report describes actions taken to implement the requirements under the Federal Sustainable Development Act since the tabling of the FSDS in October 2010. It focuses on progress made on setting up the systems needed to implement the FSDS and lays the foundation for future reporting by outlining how results will be measured and shared using the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators. Like the FSDS itself, progress reports are part of a long-term 'plan, do, check, and improve' management approach geared to making environmental decision-making more transparent and accountable over time.

The FSDS was tabled on October 6th, 2010. For the first time, Canadians will see, all in one place, the Government of Canada’s environmental sustainability priorities and our progress in achieving them. The FSDS presents a detailed description of federal government activities to achieve environmental sustainability. The Strategy also commits to strengthening the guidelines for strategic environmental assessments by federal departments which help integrate environmental considerations related to economic and social decision-making. The Office of Greening Government Operations provides a series of guidelines to help departments and agencies implement and report progress on the Greening Government Operations targets for Theme IV of the Strategy.

The FSDS is mandated by the Federal Sustainable Development Act (the Act), which received Royal Assent on June 26, 2008. The Act responds to a number of international commitments Canada has made to produce such a strategy, including at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 and at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The purpose of the Act is "to provide the legal framework for developing and implementing a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy that will make environmental decision-making more transparent and accountable to Parliament".

Public consultations were undertaken by the Sustainable Development Office at Environment Canada from March 15, 2010 to July 12, 2010.  Find information here regarding the Public Consultation on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (PDF; 29 KB).

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