4th E Practice Guide
Appendix 2—Glossary
Environment
According to subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act,
Environment refers to the components of the Earth, and includes
- land, water and air, including all layers of the atmosphere,
- all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and
- the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).
Similar definitions can be found in other related federal legislation. Inherent in all of them is the idea that environment encompasses the natural surroundings or conditions in which an organism or individual lives. According to a still broader interpretation, environment encompasses the social and economic dimensions of the world in which we live.
Environmental Effect
Subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act defines "environmental effect" as any change that a project may cause in the environment, including any effect of any such change on health and socio-economic conditions, on physical and cultural heritage, on the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposes by Aboriginal persons, or on any structure, site, or thing that is of historical, archaeological, paleontological, or architectural significance.
Due Regard for Environmental Effects of Expenditures
The Office'sPerformance Audit Manual explains "due regard" as: "The audited entity is obligated to be prudent in its use of resources, that is, to consider all reasonable and practical actions in its decision making."
Under this definition, due regard is to be determined by assessing the basis on which decisions were made. Auditors must determine whether the entity considered all reasonable and appropriate actions for addressing environmental effects of expenditures in its planning and decision-making process. The analysis should be logical and transparent.
Sustainable Development
The Auditor General Act includes the classic definition of sustainable development that appeared in the 1987 report of the World Commission on Sustainable Development, Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:
Sustainable development means development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (section 2 of the Act)
Section 21.1 of the Act expands on this definition:
Sustainable development . . . is a continually evolving concept based on the integration of social, economic and environmental concerns, and which may be achieved by, among other things,
- the integration of the environment and the economy;
- protecting the health of Canadians;
- protecting ecosystems;
- meeting international obligations;
- promoting equity;
- an integrated approach to planning and making decisions that takes into account the environmental and natural resource costs of different economic options and the economic costs of different environmental and natural resource options;
- preventing pollution; and
- respect for nature and the needs of future generations.
Improving quality of life and well-being, integrated decision making, and equity are three of the foundations of sustainable development.
Sustainable development is defined in more detail in the federal government's Guide to Green Government, and also in the Office's Sustainable Development Strategy (2003–06).
Excerpt from the Office's Sustainable Development Strategy (2003–06)
Progress toward sustainable development requires an integrated approach to planning and decision making. By integrated decision making we mean that before key decisions are made, their potential economic, social, and environmental consequences are considered. Any conflicts that may emerge are dealt with openly.
[. . . ]
To promote sustainable development, it is helpful to understand why unsustainable development occurs:
- Development that is environmentally unsustainable often stems from an organization's failure to assess and manage ecological risks. This can happen at several stages—when the organization plans, carries out, or eventually winds up its key activities.
- Development that is socially unsustainable reflects a similar failure to assess and manage the broad societal consequences.
- Development that is economically unsustainable results from a failure to assess and manage economic risks.
Activities that are unsustainable in any one of these areas can lead to unsustainable conditions in one or both of the others.
An organization committed to sustainable development must be firmly committed to an integrated approach to planning and decision making. It also needs to review which aspects of its business support or could support sustainable development and which aspects, if any, undermine it.