Question Period Note: Sustainability in Government of Canada procurement processes

Senator Deacon will be asking the following question in today’s Question Period:

“Despite Treasury Board's Policy on Green Procurement, in October of this year, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the department responsible for leading Canada’s national sustainability strategies, failed to incorporate detailed sustainability criteria in a $8 Million dollar purchase of laptops. The department opted for the lowest cost solution despite the availability of green alternatives. I've found this to be far from the only case where the criteria are simply the lowest cost.

The absence of sustainability criteria and consideration in government procurements is prevalent across all departments. For example, an ongoing bid for computer hardware and accessories initiated by Shared Services, or pharmaceutical refrigerators at National Defense, also does not have sustainability criteria listed on the bidder requirements.

Procurement can be a powerful tool in reducing our scope 3 carbon emissions all the way down the supply chain. Why did ECCC, the lead department responsible our national sustainability goals, fail to set an example by not including these criteria in these bids?”

• SSC supports commitments made in the GC’s Greening Government Strategy, including the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 and the transition to a net-zero circular economy through green procurement
  • Sustainability and environmental requirements represent key considerations in procurement of goods and services at SSC
  • ECCC purchases its laptops using SSC’s microcomputer procurement vehicle, the National Master Standing Offer
  • SSC’s Standing Offer includes several environmental criteria built into it by design, including Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registration
  • When departments purchase laptops from that Standard Offer, environmental criteria are already included

If pressed on other SSC positive environmental impact:

• The Department’s efforts to include environmental considerations in procurement vehicles, including standing offers and authorisations, directly reflects SSC’s commitment to environmental sustainability as stated in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• SSC has a direct positive environmental impact in several areas including greener procurement:
  • SSC buys IT products that meet the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) ecolabel to help reduce environmental impacts. EPEAT is the premier global eco-label for electronics and technology products
  • SSC includes Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction target language in procurements such as the Government of Canada Network Services Request for Supply Arrangements, in accordance with the Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets
• The Dell Latitude 5430 laptops purchased by ECCC are rated EPEAT Gold, which is the highest tier of sustainability currently available for laptops

If pressed on GHG emissions:

• At SSC, incorporating environmental criteria means that procurement processes include solicitation or contract clauses which require or request that suppliers participate in a GHG emissions disclosure and target-setting initiative
• This is recommended for procurements over $1 million CAD and mandated for procurements above $25 million CAD in line with the the Government of Canada Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets (the GHG Disclosure Standard)
• In 2022/23 SSC established that 18% of contracts by volume are with vendors that have greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets

• SSC is undertaking a refresh of the microcomputer procurement vehicle which is on-going and is in an early phase of Invitation to Qualify (ITQ). The ITQ aims to help establish a refreshed contract vehicle to allow acquisition of servers and storage devices and related commodities
  • Paragraph 1.7.2 of the ITQ indicates that “ Through the various stages of the solicitation and subsequent supply arrangement SSC intends to apply/implement Green procurements initiatives such as but not limited to:
  • Registration and participation to Canada’s Net Zero program or equivalent initiative
  • Reduction plans in greenhouse gas emissions targets
  • The application of EPEAT certifications for relevant commodities
  • As a Type 1 eco-label managed by the Global Electronics Council, EPEAT is based on criteria that evolve as sustainability evolves, measuring the social and environmental impacts of products from mineral extraction to end of life
  • In 2023, SSC received its 7th consecutive EPEAT award from the Global Electronics Council in recognition of its accomplishments in green IT procurement

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