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DPR – 2002-2003 – Section 1

National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy

Performance Report

I am pleased to present the Performance Report of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) for the year ended March 31, 2003.

The NRTEE exists to encourage Canadians to incorporate a more balanced concern for the environment and the economy in policy and decision making. We do this by providing new information, insight and analysis in areas of critical importance to decision makers in the federal government, the private sector and civil society.

Much of what we offer is based on pioneering research. Last year we commissioned new work in five program areas: brownfield redevelopment, the conservation of natural heritage, urban sustainability, ecological fiscal reform, and environment and sustainable development indicators.

As with all of our work, this research was ground-truthed in our unique national multistakeholder processes. In 2002–2003, more than 250 people from diverse sectors and regions of the country generously volunteered their time as part of our steering committees, task forces and working groups. Attracted by the timely issues on the table and supported by the guarantee of a neutral process, these stakeholders fully examined the issues and jointly designed solutions and recommendations.

The NRTEE also worked last year to create broad support for change. We made sure that key decision makers and opinion leaders across Canada were aware of our work, and reached out to all Canadians through the media and our Web site. There were more than 100,000 downloads of reports and research documents from our Virtual Library, including 10,000 downloads of Cleaning up the Past, Building the Future: A Brownfield Redevelopment Strategy for Canada in the two months following its release in February 2003.

The federal government is often the primary audience for our work, and this year more than ever we succeeded in developing excellent lines of communication with senior officials and ministers.

Our work is increasingly having an influence on the shape of sustainable development in Ottawa: in 2002–2003, federal organizations that drew on our research and analysis in developing priorities, policies and programs included Environment Canada, Parks Canada, Statistics Canada, Treasury Board, the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister’s Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues. A recent analysis of the 57 Greening of the Budget recommendations we’ve made since 1996 showed that 19 percent were consistent with items included in the relevant federal budgets — a remarkable achievement.

From an operational perspective, we significantly increased our transparency by introducing more rigorous contracting, hospitality and human resources policies. In response to the Modern Comptrollership Initiative, we drafted a Modern Management Action Plan and have been leading the small agency community in the creation of frameworks for measuring performance. We’ve already benefited from the partial implementation of our own performance measurement framework, and will report on the final design and operation of the framework in our next Report on Plans and Priorities.

These are the kinds of efforts and results that give meaning to the work of our staff, our members, and all those who volunteer their time, experience and expertise to building a more environmentally and economically sustainable future for all Canadians.

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