Greening at SSC

What sustainable development means to the Government of Canada

Sustainable development in the Government of Canada involves the efficient use of natural, social and economic resources and includes environmental, economic and social factors in its decision making.

SSC’s Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

The Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2023-2027 highlights SSC’s many contributions to the implementation of the sustainable development goals of Canada’s Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. SSC’s strategy formalizes actions, targets and performance indicators to help improve environmental sustainability initiatives to act on climate change and its impacts. SSC is playing a leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste from GC IT operations and prioritizing the procurement of sustainable IT goods and services.

As the common service provider for IT services for the GC, SSC is working to:

reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout its operations; for example, we are moving data and applications from legacy data centres to more sustainable Enterprise Data Centres and investing in zero-emission vehicles
continue reducing electronic waste by considering sustainability throughout the lifecycle of its IT hardware, from procurement to responsible consumption, reuse, repair and recycling
assess the risks of climate change impacts, such as extreme weather events, to its assets, services, operations and finances in order to enhance climate resilience
integrate sustainable development into its planning and decision-making processes, including the addition of environmental criteria, such as EPEAT ecolabel certification, in procurement processes that support clean water, clean energy, waste reduction and climate action
collaborate with strategic partners, including vendors, central agencies and other GC organizations, to reduce the environmental impacts of GC IT operations

SSC’s 2024 to 2025 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy Report

SSC has tabled its 2024 to 2025 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy report. It highlights our progress and achievements in advancing the actions set out in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2023-2027, reflecting our commitment to sustainable development. Together, we are working to create a greener, more inclusive SSC—one that delivers lasting change across the Government of Canada.

Spotlight on green IT procurement

Shared Services Canada has earned industry recognition for sustainable procurement, including winning numerous awards, such as the Global Electronics Council EPEAT Purchaser Award, which we have won annually since 2015.

Environmental impact

Over their lifetime, compared to products that do not meet EPEAT criteria, the EPEAT-registered IT products purchased by Shared Services Canada in fiscal year 2024-2025 will result in environmental impact reductions including:

Environmental Impact Reduction - Text version

Total sustainability impact and cost savings for 364,994 products purchased in 2024

Cost savings in the amount of $5,189,756

GHG Reduction: 28,149,355 kg of CO2 equivalents = Taking 6,028 average passenger cars off the road for a year
Energy Savings: 124,773,497 kWh = The annual electricity consumption of 10,271 average households
Hazardous Waste: 4,349 kg = The weight of 36 refrigerators
Solid Waste: 2,931,438 kg = The annual waste generation of 1,576 average households
Primary Materials: 1,008,271 kg = The weight of 194 elephants
Water Consumption: 280,020,627 L = The fluid volume of 112 Olympic-sized swimming pools
Toxics: 22,337 kg = The weight of 9,849 bricks
Material Conversion: 176,527 kg = The weight of 5 18-wheelers

Source: Global Electronics Council

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2026-02-06

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