Question Period Note: Greening Public Services and Procurement Canada’s portfolio

Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) Crown-owned building portfolio (excluding housing) is achieving results in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and towards becoming net-zero carbon, in response to the Greening Government Strategy (GGS). The department is also achieving results toward zero plastics.

• The Government is taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its buildings
  • In 2020-2021, Public Services and Procurement Canada reported a 57.6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its own buildings compared to the 2005 to 2006 baseline
  • These reductions came from actions to improve buildings’ energy efficiency, electricity grid improvements and the procurement of renewable energy credits

If pressed on how the remaining greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced in its Crown-owned portfolio:

• A decrease of 19% of the remaining emissions is expected by 2025 through the procurement of clean electricity (National Clean Electricity Initiative)
• A decrease of 40% of the remaining emissions is expected by 2025 by modernizing the heating and cooling system for up to 80 buildings in the National Capital Region (Energy Services Acquisition Program)
• Additional greenhouse gas emission reductions are expected as we right-size, recapitalize and modernize federal office space (National Office Long Term Plan)
• Target is over 82% greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2025 and net-zero carbon by 2030 for the Crown-owned portfolio
• These ongoing actions, in conjunction with achievements to date, are leading Public Services and Procurement Canada towards achieving over 82% greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2025 and in a very good position to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030 for its Crown-owned portfolio

If pressed on zero plastics:

• The 150 waste audits completed indicate that plastic waste makes up a small percent of the total waste produced per occupant per year
• Efforts to reduce the use of plastics from operations and divert plastic waste from landfill are guided through the implementation of a Plastics Action Plan which includes the delivery of sustainability awareness programs and engagement strategies for new hybrid workplace environments, new recycling infrastructure and services for hard to recycle plastics, and the reduction of plastics through green procurement initiatives

National Clean Electricity Initiative

PSPC has been working with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) - Centre for Greening Government to develop a strategy to procure 100% clean electricity where available, as was identified in the 2019 Minister of Public Services and Procurement Mandate Letter. PSPC will purchase electricity from new renewable infrastructure, in provinces where it is available, and will procure Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) to displace GHG emitting electricity in locations where new infrastructure development is not presently available.

In 2018 to 2019, the Government of Canada (GC) consumed approximately 2,692,500 MWh of electricity. Approximately 80% of the electricity procured for use in the Crown-owned building portfolio (excluding housing) comes from clean sources. The remaining 20% (532,000 MWh) will be addressed through the National Clean Electricity Initiative.

The National Clean Electricity Initiative includes provincial initiatives such as PSPC’s Atlantic Clean Energy (ACE) Initiative and the Alberta and Saskatchewan Clean Electricity Initiatives to purchase clean electricity locally in these provinces. It also includes the purchase of RECs to displace electricity generated from high carbon sources for participating federal departments;

Atlantic Clean Electricity (ACE)

PSPC’s ACE team is leading a whole-of-government effort in the Atlantic Region towards acquiring 100% clean electricity for federal Crown facilities. The ACE team is focusing its efforts in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, provinces which currently have significant fossil-fuel based electricity production. An “Agreement for Implementation to Purchase Net-New Renewable Electricity” was signed and announced between the Government of Canada (PSPC) and the Province of Nova Scotia in August 2019, leading to the introduction of a clean electricity procurement program for large electricity customers in Nova Scotia, including the GC. A competitive request for proposals process for this program is expected to be released before the end of 2022. The ACE team continues to work with the Province of New Brunswick and New Brunswick Power to finalize a clean electricity program for federal Crown facilities in that province.

The electricity grid in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador is considered to have low GHG. While most of P.E.I.’s on-island electricity is supplied by wind farms, the majority of its electricity is imported from New Brunswick, which generates electricity from a mix of emitting and non-emitting sources. As a result, next steps for federal facilities in P.E.I. will be influenced by the approach in New Brunswick. If in-province, renewable energy solutions are not deemed feasible in these provinces, PSPC will leverage the RECs to support the clean electricity commitment for federal facilities.

Energy Services Acquisition Program

The Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP) is modernizing the National Capital Region (NCR) District Energy System (DES) which provides heating services to 80 buildings and cooling services to 67 buildings in the NCR (1.6M m2 of floor space), accommodating 55,000 occupants. Implementation of Smart Plants and Smart Buildings measures, along with the modernisation of the NCR DES infrastructure, will result in a 63% (67,000 tonnes) reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025, compared to the 2005 to 2006 baseline of 106 kt CO2e per year. Electrification of the heating plants, will further reduce the GHG emissions by an additional 29% by 2025. The residual GHG emissions of 8% (9,000 tonnes) will be addressed through a number of additional technologies. Altogether, these measures will allow the NCR DES to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2030.

Office Long Term Plan

PSPC’s 2021-2022 Office Long Term Plan is an aspirational plan that contains notional targets designed to right size, recapitalize and modernize the GC’s Office Portfolio over a 25 year planning horizon.

PSPC is a major contributor to the GC’s greening efforts and continues to embed sustainability considerations into day-to-day operations of its office portfolio, as well as investment decisions in accordance with the GGS. GHG emission reductions can be achieved through fit-ups that result in space optimization, base building investments, major rehabilitations, new construction, connection of buildings to ESAP, and the establishment of green clauses in lease agreements. Renewed mobility of federal public servants continues to be assessed to examine how the pandemic and adjusted realities could further green government operations, noting that remote working also contributes to GHG reductions through positive changes in commuting behavior. Finally, advancing the use of GCcoworking sites, offering workplaces closer to where public servants live, can provide opportunities to further reduce GHG emissions resulting from commuting.

With respect to specific portfolio greening objectives identified in the Office Long Term Plan, the following initiatives have been identified to continue to help achieve the GC carbon elimination priorities within our office portfolio:

• The National Clean Electricity initiative to procure clean renewable electricity
• The rigorous application of a PSPC developed and government approved GHG Options Analysis Methodology as part of all Business Cases. This methodology which is already in use, provides evidence base best environmental and financial value options so decision makers can make informed decisions
• The ESAP in the NCR and ESAP Stage 2 - Deeper Greening: PSPC plans to provide low carbon intensive energy to a significant portion of PSPC’s office portfolio; and
• An optimised portfolio size would generate an estimated reduction of 22 kt CO2e (kilotons emission of equivalent carbon dioxide)

Building on the success of the Roadmap to Low Carbon Government Operations in the NCR, PSPC is working on developing net-zero carbon neutral implementation strategies for each asset in its national portfolio. The information collected in the National Net-Zero Portfolio Plan will be used to generate short, medium and long term GHG reduction implementation plans for each individual building. This work is expected to position the department to meet the net-zero GHG reduction target before the 2050 target date. Key findings from this initiative will factor prominently into subsequent iterations of the Office Long Term Plan.

Major Projects

PSPC is ensuring that all new buildings and major building retrofits prioritize low-carbon and climate resilience with investment decisions based on total cost of ownership. Environmental impacts beyond carbon, such as waste, water and biodiversity are also considered. New buildings will be net-zero carbon while all major building retrofits require a GHG reduction life-cycle cost analysis to determine optimal GHG savings. To make sure these major projects are resilient, climate change risk assessments that incorporate both current and future climate conditions are considered in design development and construction.

Commuting and Teleworking

Presently, the GC does not track or report on indirect emissions resulting from an organization’s operations. The GGS states that TBS will track employee commuting emissions by the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year.

Green commuting includes changes to the mode of transportation used by federal public servants in the region; this means using less personal vehicles and more active modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, and the gradual electrification of personal vehicles.

The study “Roadmap to Low-Carbon Operations in the National Capital Region” was done to outline a pathway to net zero carbon emissions for GC operations in the NCR. This study estimates that green commuting (commuting, fleet electrification and teleworking) can contribute up to 190 kt CO2e of GHG reductions by 2050, compared to a business-as-usual scenario (over 45% reduction). This projection assumes that half of federal public servants in the NCR will telework from home four days a week, thus reducing GHG emissions from commuting.

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