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FINDING SUSTAINABLE PATHWAYS

OUR PROCESS

Our process helps Canada achieve sustainable development solutions that integrate environmental and economic considerations to ensure the lasting prosperity and well-being of our nation.

RESEARCH

We rigorously research and conduct high quality analysis on issues of sustainable development. Our thinking is original and thought provoking.

CONVENE

We convene opinion leaders and experts from across Canada around our table to share their knowledge and diverse perspectives. We stimulate debate and integrate polarities. We create a context for possibilities to emerge.

ADVISE

We generate ideas and provide realistic solutions to advise governments, Parliament and Canadians. We proceed with resolve and optimism to bring Canada’s economy and environment closer together.

Annual Report 2011-2012 – Letter from the Vice-Chair and President and CEO

July 2012

Dear Minister,

We are pleased to submit to you the 2011-2012 Annual Report of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE). This year’s report marks the final full Annual Report of the research and convening activities of the NRTEE given its elimination in the 2012 federal Budget.

The past fiscal year and the first quarter of the 2012-2013 fiscal year saw a significant set of accomplishments by the NRTEE, both in releasing original research reports and strengthening its brand as Canada’s unique public policy agency on sustainable development. In this period the Round Table released 9 reports, convened 44 events, and saw a doubling of visitors to its website.

Completing our ground-breaking Climate Prosperity series examining the risks and opportunities for Canada of climate change was a top priority. We released our fourth and fifth reports on the economic costs to Canada of a changing climate: Paying the Price: The Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Canada, and Facing the Elements: Building Business Resilience to Climate Change – a three report series which provided Canadian businesses and governments with a roadmap, advice, and case studies on how to cope and prosper through climate change.

Water sustainability and the natural resources sector was our other key priority for the year. The Table released its second report in this series called Charting a Course which analyzed water use by these important economic sectors and how it could be conserved. Our recommendations were the focus of a national water forum in January, 2012, which brought together government and non-governmental experts together to consider an action plan to move forward. A further report was published containing the results of the forum.

In March, 2011, the Minister of the Environment asked the NRTEE to undertake research on two priority issues and report back to him. The Round Table’s reports to the minister were released in May and June of 2012. The first was Canada’s Opportunity: Life-Cycle Approaches to Sustainable Development, which considered emerging trade and market access issues surrounding the increasing use of life-cycle considerations in natural resource and consumer products and markets. The second was Reality Check: The State of Climate Progress in Canada, which conducted original research on provincial and federal climate change actions and how these were contributing to Canada’s 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction target. Both of these reports received significant positive responses from stakeholders. 2012

In July 2011, the NRTEE fulfilled its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, undertaking a review and assessment of the government’s 2011 KPIA Action Plan.

During the fiscal year, the Table brought more and more Canadians together to our convening events including, for the first time, representatives of all provincial and federal governments to discuss climate policy. We held or participated in events across Canada and in every province demonstrating the national appeal and profile of the NRTEE and its work. These included events on water sustainability, low-carbon economy, climate policy, public engagement, energy and environment, carbon pricing, Canada-US climate policy issues, life-cycle approaches to sustainable development, and more.

The NRTEE continued to exercise strong financial and corporate policy discipline finishing the fiscal year under budget. We also received the highest score of twelve small departments and agencies audited for core financial controls performance.

For almost 25 years, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy has been a catalyst for original and look-ahead public policy thinking on how to integrate environmental and economic decision-making. It has sought to create sustainable pathways to reconcile these often competing interests. We are very proud of its history and its accomplishments.

Sincerely,

R.W. Slater, CM, Ph.D..
NRT Vice-Chair

 

David McLaughlin
NRT President and CEO