Whether it is the melting of the Arctic ice or the rising number of health issues associated with increased air pollution in Ontario, the science is clear – we know that climate change affects us all.
As we look at greening the province, the Ontario Public Service (OPS) needs to “walk the talk” by reducing the environmental impact of our own operations. With 68,000 employees across 1,800 locations, we have the ability to demonstrate environmental leadership and make a difference in the lives of Ontarians.

The Green office
Greening is not new to the OPS. While there have been many worthy initiatives that have helped to make valuable progress, we need a more focused, integrated approach to greening internal government operations.

The recently created OPS Green Office is designed to play a strategic leadership role in this integrated approach by identifying priorities, setting targets for reduction and coordinating existing green initiatives. The office also identifies and champions sustainable policy options, leads tracking and reporting of sustainability initiatives and engages employees – all with the goal of reducing the OPS environmental footprint.

As a small core group of employees, our office works closely with key business areas and OPS staff across all ministries. We recognize that collaboration is vital to the success of the work we do.

Green transformation
Operations
Our multi-year Green Transformation Strategy focuses on targeted reductions to the OPS environmental footprint, creating sustainable business practices and building a green organizational culture.

We are examining our day-to-day operations and looking at targeted reductions to our footprint in areas such as vehicle use and fuel consumption; business air travel; packaging and waste; electronic waste (e-waste); and paper, water and energy consumption. While it is important to set these targets, we recognize that new business practices are needed to enable any desired changes and permanently capture the benefits of those changes.

For example, our office is strongly promoting videoconferencing, telecommuting and web collaboration to make it easier for employees to take fewer flights while ensuring that ministries can continue to deliver critical services to the province.

We also want to ensure that the green transformation can be rigorously measured and reported. Comprehensive tools are being developed so that our effectiveness can be measured successfully and accurately to provide critical feedback on our performance.

To promote collaboration, I am chairing a Green Government Task Force (GGTF) that provides directional support and leadership for the green transformation agenda. The GGTF brings together senior executives representing key business areas across the OPS including fleet management, facilities and information technology.

Employees
It is essential that green is embedded into the day-to-day work and culture of the OPS. We know that strategies, structures and targets are important, but it is our employees who are critical to the success of our green transformation agenda.

We are leveraging the enthusiasm and interest of our employees to develop and implement green solutions in the workplace. The OPS Green Office acts as a focal point for employees to learn more, share ideas and become engaged so that they can begin the change, starting in their own offices.

For this reason, the OPS Green Office organizes and implements educational events, activities and challenges to build awareness of our commitment to go green and to get employees interested and involved. Some events have included Earth Day, Earth Hour, Energy Conservation Week, the Clean Air Commute Campaign and the OPS Think Green Art Show.

The Ministry of Government Services (MGS) recently piloted MGS Unplugged, a challenge focused on unplugging non-networked office devices, such as stand-alone printers, fax machines and electronic sharpeners, to reduce standby power consumption. This pilot will soon be expanded to an enterprise-wide challenge.

Employees often know what needs improvement in their respective workplaces and they have many innovative ideas. For this reason, we are providing opportunities for employees to provide their input and collaborate with one another on ways to green the organization.

An OPS Green Office wiki has been launched on an internal government-wide collaboration tool and we have a blog to connect staff interested in greening their workplaces. We are also leveraging green ideas from employees who have submitted suggestions through the corporate OPS Ideas Campaign.

The OPS Green Office has also established Think Green, an OPS intranet site. It is a one-stop source for green information to increase environmental awareness and promote employee participation. The site highlights ministry and enterprise-wide green initiatives along with green facts, tips and events.

We want to share with OPS employees what other staff and ministries across Ontario are doing so they can see the positive changes we are making and learn about ways to reduce the environmental impact of their business practices.

Employee-led environmental initiatives are happening in OPS offices including battery and cell phone recycling, green kitchens (e.g., reusable dishes, cutlery and eco-friendly cleaning products), vegetable gardens, composting and tree planting. Specific local examples include:

  • Ministry of Transportation employees at the Summer Beaver Airport in Northern Ontario led the installation of solar equipment and wind generators to power the airport;
  • Ministry of the Environment employees in Ottawa went carbon neutral by calculating their carbon footprint for the year, tracking avoided emissions from alternate travel and commuting initiatives, and then planted trees with Scouts Canada to offset their emissions; and
  • Ministry of Natural Resources employees worked with the City of Peterborough to post anti-vehicle idling signs in front of their office building.

OPS employees are eager to learn about ways to improve. They want to make positive contributions and are organizing their own efforts as we succeed at creating an interest in environmental responsibility.

To date, 44 percent of 14 ministries have established “green teams” with energetic and environmentally-aware employees who are volunteering to green their workplaces in support of building a green organizational culture. The OPS Green Office recently brought together team representatives from across the organization, allowing them to meet face-to-face and network.

Environmental leadership
Greening internal government operations is a key priority for the OPS. We are showing that change can be driven by collaborative networks and effective governance without the need to build large organizations. We are also showing that going green can drive efficiencies and permanently reduce the cost of government operations.

We realize that greening the government isn’t going to happen overnight – it will evolve and grow over time. We are continuing to push forward with strategies in place and initiatives under way to support the sustained green transformation of the OPS and the Ontario economy.

Neil Sentance is Assistant Deputy Minister of the OPS Green Office in the Ministry of Government Services (opsgreenoffice@ontario.ca).