Planning for a Sustainable Future:
A Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada
2013–2016 - Consultation Paper

Sustainable Development Office
Environment Canada

February 2013

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Conclusion

The second cycle of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) continues the approach to federal sustainable development planning and reporting that began with the introduction of the Federal Sustainable Development Act and the first cycle of the FSDS. In doing so, it advances the government’s long-term commitment to make environmental decision making more transparent and accountable to Parliament.

The second cycle builds on three key improvements made by Canada’s first FSDS, compared with previous federal sustainable development approaches:

1. An integrated, whole-of-government picture of actions and results to achieve environmental sustainability;
2. A link between sustainable development planning and reporting and the government’s core expenditure planning and reporting system; and
3. Effective measurement, monitoring and reporting in order to track and report on progress to Canadians.

The second cycle advances these improvements by, for example, ensuring that a broader range of federal actions are included, continuing efforts to align FSDS activities with departmental planning and reporting, and expanding the suite of indicators used to measure progress.

The second cycle maintains the first cycle’s framework of four priority themes: Addressing Climate Change and Air Quality, Maintaining Water Quality and Availability, Protecting Nature, and Shrinking the Environmental Footprint – Beginning with Government. Within each theme, progress has been made through, for example, adding a new target on climate change adaptation, including a broader range of relevant activities and responsible departments, and working towards better alignment of targets and implementation strategies with the SMART criteria. Goals, targets and implementation strategies have also been updated to reflect current federal programming.

Changes evident in the second cycle represent the initial results of the FSDS “Plan, Do, Check, Improve” model of performance management. The flexibility and transparency of the FSDS approach, combined with a clear vision of what the strategy can and should achieve, will continue to lead to future improvements.

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