OGGO director general Margaret Kenny. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Local businesses that sell to government may have to rethink the goods and services they offer thanks to a new federal emphasis on sustainable development.

The federal government has created the Office of Greening Government Operations (OGGO) to centralize a number of "greening" initiatives announced in recent years that have a direct bearing on the massive revamp of procurement processes by Public Works dubbed the "Way Forward."

Margaret Kenny, OGGO director general, says one of OGGO's main responsibilities is to bring together the different departments who have been working on sustainable development initiatives over the years, such as Transport Canada and Environment Canada. Some of the initiatives include expanding direct deposits to reduce paper consumption equivalent to 45,000 trees, purchasing alternative or hybrid fuel vehicles and becoming members of OCTranspo's EcoPass program to encourage public transit.

"We're pulling these people together on this file, making sure we're working together and all moving in the same direction," she says. "There's really a heightened awareness by doing this because one of the objectives is to make this issue much more visible and develop an appreciation of how important it is for the federal government to be doing this."

As Canada's largest employer, providing office space for 210,000 public servants and operating a fleet of about 23,000 vehicles, the federal government's commitment to "green" purchasing will help build the market, says Bob Davidge, Public Works special advisor to OGGO.

"The federal government currently spends about $13 billion a year, so that's over $1 billion a month," he says. "It's our hope that as we move forward to green the federal government's purchasing, it won't mean more money into the economy, but it will mean when we do spend money that we're going to be looking for environmentally friendly qualities in what we buy. In that way, we'll be using our purchasing power to really encourage companies that sell green products."

One business already specializing in this area is The Healthiest Home and Building Supplies on Richmond Road. Founder Rodney Wilts says after opening in 2003 as Canada's first green building supply store, HHBS has been helping to set the trend.

"I know Public Works was recently doing a green procurement course and they highly recommended that the participants come down and check out our store," he says. "We haven't seen a huge upsweep (in government sales) yet, but we're hopeful and optimistic and it's definitely a step in the right direction."

Mr. Wilts says his residential customers are interested in the store's stylish but still environmentally friendly supplies. HHBS is also working with a number of green condominium and commercial ventures in the city, including The Currents condo project on Wellington Street by Windmill Developments.

"I think in the future green design will just be considered good design and the new standard as we continue to raise the bar," he says.

OGGO's mandate will also create many opportunities for businesses specializing in green technology, says Ms Kenny. As the past director general of Environment Canada's Environmental Technology Advancement Directorate, she has experience working with the environmental technology industry.

"You can imagine with an initiative like this, it's very helpful in allowing those companies that have developed and demonstrated the proven technologies with environmental benefits to bring those technologies forward into the marketplace."

She says OGGO is currently working on a number of projects, including the development of a green purchasing policy for 2006 and the government commitment to achieve the gold standard in all new building construction under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

"The federal department also has sustainable development strategies that they develop every three years and there's a new round of those strategies that need to be developed for 2006," she says. "We will be developing the guidance and standards for those departments to use in this year."

Mr. Davidge says another important area of focus is the remediation of contaminated sites. The federal government has committed $3.5 billion to accelerate the ongoing cleanup of federal contaminated sites over the next 10 years, such as the Sydney tar ponds in Nova Scotia.

"In the real property area, we're currently putting about $50 million a year into the private sector, money that flows through us, mostly from other departments to help green their operations," he says. "I expect that's going to increase substantially as the contaminated sites program kicks in."

Mr. Davidge says there is an excitement at Public Works about OGGO's formation and how it will go a long way in demonstrating the government's commitment to sustainable development.

"What's new is the policy and direction setting aspects and figuring out where government ought to be going as a whole," he says. "Then the government can be seen to 'walk the talk' and do the sort of things it is suggesting of others while documenting and proving it, so we can show people we're following through."

By Kristin Harold

kristin.harold@transcontinental.ca