The Government of Canada’s progress on greening procurement

Key results

• The proportion of green vehicles (hybrid-electric or zero-emission) in the Government of Canada’s light-duty conventional fleet continues to grow. The latest data show that the proportion of green vehicles in the light-duty conventional fleet has grown by 6.4% since 2019–20, reaching 14.1% in 2022–23. Of the green vehicles, 4.5% are zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and 9.6% are hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs).
• The Government of Canada is adopting green vehicles at a faster pace than the national average for the Canadian market, as the most recent Statistics Canada data shows that only 2.9% of registered light-duty vehicles were green at the end of 2022.
• The pace of fleet greening has been constrained by a number of factors, including the availability of suitable vehicles that meet operational requirements, supply chain constraints and delivery delays. In addition, the number of vehicles that have reached the end of their life cycle and need to be replaced varies from year to year.
• The Canadian green vehicle market is dominated by passenger and multi-purpose vehicles, with few options for vans and pickups. However, the federal fleet is dominated by vans and pickups, which make up almost 63% of the fleet. If vans and pickups are excluded, green vehicles would make up 31% of the remaining vehicles (passenger cars and multi-purpose vehicles).
• The proportion of clean electricity consumed by the Government of Canada as a percentage of the total electricity consumed has been stable at around 86%. This number will increase as in-process clean electricity procurements are completed and new generating facilities come online.

Key results

• As of March 31, 2023, 14.1% of the Government of Canada’s conventional light-duty fleet was green: 4.5% ZEVs and 9.6% HEVs. National Defence has the largest conventional fleet and the most HEVs and ZEVs. Transport Canada has the highest percentage of HEVs and ZEVs of any federal organization.
• In 2022-23, 90% of the Government of Canada’s new purchases of light-duty vehicles were green (26% ZEVs, 64% HEVs) in segments where suitable options were available. Federal organizations purchased and received a total of 210 ZEVs and 515 HEVs. Many additional orders for green vehicles were placed but some of the vehicles were not delivered before the end of the fiscal year. All federal organizations who reported to TBS met or exceeded the 75% annual target for the purchase of green vehicles.
• The pace of fleet greening has been constrained by a number of factors, including global supply chains and the limited availability of operationally suitable green options. There are currently only a few ZEV options for the larger vehicle types (vans, pickups) that make up the majority of the light-duty fleet (63%), and supply of these ZEVs is limited. ZEV purchases are expected to increase rapidly as more suitable options become available in the market over the next few years.

More information

The Centre for Greening Government continues to work with Public Services and Procurement Canada, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and federal fleet-owning organizations to improve the procurement and policy tools available to guide federal organizations in their actions to meet the targets outlined in the Greening Government Strategy. These improvements include:

• the development of tools for forward-looking market analysis and to calculate the total cost of ownership, which allow federal organizations to assess future availability and compare the total costs of purchasing and operating green vehicles to the costs for internal combustion engine vehicles
• enhanced green vehicle procurement options for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles
• reporting tools for GHG emissions and vehicle inventories that allow federal organizations to organize the data required to report progress toward purchasing ZEVs
• NRCan’s federal vehicles and fleets page, which provides information about fleet telematics analysis and assessments of the readiness of charging infrastructure
• Greening Government Fleets, which is a guide published by NRCan

Key results

• 86% of the electricity consumed by Government of Canada operations was generated from clean sources, including the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
• Before considering the impact of REC purchases, electricity consumed in Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador was the cleanest. Electricity in Nunavut, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan was the most emissions intensive given the high proportion of electricity generation from fuels that emit greenhouse gas (GHG).
• 80% of electricity consumed by the federal government was generated from clean sources, such as nuclear, hydro, and other renewables, excluding the impact of RECs.

More information

RECs are market instruments that certify ownership of one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from renewable sources in addition to the associated reduction in emissions. The purchase of RECs encourages renewable electricity generators to feed more power into the grid, which may displace the generation of electricity from sources that emit GHGs, such as coal and natural gas.

Shared procurement instruments

Shared procurement instruments, such as Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements (SOSAs), are key tools that the federal government uses to obtain best value for Canadians. Integrating environmental considerations into SOSAs ensures that organizations can easily make environmentally preferable choices. A key indicator demonstrating that the federal government is achieving greener procurement is the number of SOSAs that include criteria that address environmental considerations, including reductions in GHG emissions and plastic waste, as well as other environmental impacts. As of February 2024, 3,252 SOSAs are identified as green.

For more information, refer to:

• the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
• the Green procurement course
• the sustainable development strategies for each organization

Disclosure of emissions produced by suppliers

The Government of Canada will reduce its supply chain emissions by requiring suppliers to adopt a science-based target in line with the Paris Agreement, while also publicly disclosing their GHG emissions and environmental performance.

Effective April 1st, 2023, the new Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets under the Policy on Green Procurement came into force.

This new standard applies to all departments that are subject to the Policy on Green Procurement and requires that procurements over $25M induce suppliers to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and set reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement as part of participating in the Net-Zero Challenge or in an equivalent initiative or standard.

For more information, refer to:

• the Greening Government Strategy
• the Green procurement course
• the Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets

Construction materials

Under the Greening Government Strategy, the Government of Canada is committed to reducing the environmental impact of construction materials. The government has mandated the disclosure of the embodied carbon of structural materials in major construction projects. As of December 2022, the embodied carbon in ready-mix concrete used in major construction projects must be disclosed.

By 2025, the government also aims to:

• reduce the embodied carbon in structural materials by 30%
• conduct life-cycle assessments for major buildings and infrastructure projects

To address downstream impacts related to construction materials, the government has committed to diverting at least 90% of all construction and demolition waste from landfills. The goal is to divert 100% of such waste by 2030.

Data and estimates on the impact of low-carbon construction materials will be published on this page when the data and estimates become available after the 2023–24 reporting cycle.

For more information, refer to:

• the Greening Government Strategy
• the Green procurement course
• the Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction

Low-carbon fuels

The Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program:

• was launched with funding allocated in Budget 2021
• will start funding purchases of low-carbon fuel in 2023–24

The program is intended to support departments in the purchasing of drop-in, low-carbon-intensity liquid fuels for the federal air and marine fleets. The program will support the purchase of approximately 200 million litres of drop-in, low-carbon-intensity fuels by the end of 2030–31.

As the Government of Canada starts to use low-carbon fuels, data on the impact of the program will be published on this page.

For more information, refer to the:

• the Greening Government Strategy
• Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program

Office leases

The Government of Canada aims to:

• reduce the carbon footprint of its leased office space
• mitigate the impacts of climate change

To achieve these aims, the government has mandated that 75% of new leases and lease renewals must be for net-zero emissions, climate-resilient buildings starting in 2030. Reporting on energy use, GHG emissions, water use and waste generation will be mandatory for domestic spaces over 500 m2 in 2023, with more stringent reporting requirements coming into effect in the future.

Data and estimates on the impact of net-zero floor space in offices will be published on this page when the data and estimates become available.

For more information, refer to:

• the Greening Government Strategy
• Greener federal buildings