The federal government is a significant purchaser in Canada. As such, its activities impact the national economy and can influence both the price and the availability of goods and services, including construction services, in the marketplace. Through the increased promotion of environmental sustainability, and by integrating environmental considerations in its procurement process, the federal government is in a position to influence the demand for environmentally preferable goods and services, the ability of industry to respond to the escalating use of environmental standards in global markets, and the resiliency of Canadian assets to climate change.

As part of its ongoing commitment to improve the environment and the quality of life of Canadians, this policy seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of government operations, promote environmental stewardship, and adapt to climate change by integrating environmental considerations in the procurement process.

Green procurement is set within the context of achieving value for money. It requires the integration of environmental considerations into the procurement process including planning, acquisition, use and disposal. In this context, value for money includes the consideration of many factors such as cost, performance, availability, quality and environmental performance. Green procurement also requires an understanding of the whole lifecycle of goods and services being acquired from resource extraction through to disposal, including the total cost of ownership, the relevant risks and opportunities, the environmental and economic costs or benefits to society, and any environmental or economic non-monetized positive or negative impacts to society. In addition, the supporting administrative processes and procurement methods can also offer opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts of government operations.

This policy is issued pursuant to section 7 of the Financial Administration Act, the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, section 4 of the Department of the Environment Act and section 5 and 6 of the Department of Natural Resources Act.

The policy also supports the federal government in targeting specific environmental outcomes where procurement can effectively be used to mitigate the impact of – or adapt to – environmental issues such as climate change and can support the protection of biodiversity, natural areas, air, soil and water. Where decisions are made to move forward on realizing specific environmental outcomes through procurement, it is expected this will:

• demonstrate environmental leadership and influence industry and citizens to use environmentally preferable and climate-resilient goods, services and processes;
• stimulate innovation and market development of, and demand for, environmentally preferred goods and services, making these available and mainstream for other sectors of society;
• and support emerging environmental technologies.

Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (2022). Policy on Green Procurement.