Partners for a Green Hill

Partners for a Green Hill is a Canadian environmental partnership which united Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament and Public Works and Government Services Canada in an environmental partnership. The partnership enables the four institutions to combine their efforts, standardize existing programs, share expertise, develop new programs and continue to play an environmental leadership role for all Canadians.
A steering committee consisting of one representative from each institution was created. Its mandate is to review and approve all environmental activities for the Parliamentary Precinct.
History
Senate
The Senate Green Committee (SGC) was established in 1990. In 1993, the Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration recognized the environmental impact of its activities and adopted an environmental policy. The SGC was tasked with developing and implementing new environmentally sound procedures for the Senate.
The SGC quickly established its priorities: first, to reduce the quantity of waste; and second, to adopt ecologically sound methods for handling and eliminating hazardous materials used or produced in the workplace.
In terms of procurement, the Senate integrated environmental considerations into the procurement process by buying environmentally friendly products and services from suppliers that promote a safe environment in their manufacturing practices.
There are a number of aspects to environmental stewardship: ensuring that management practices comply with international, federal, provincial and local legislation, regulations, standards and guidelines on the environment; making employees aware of environmental issues, encouraging them to act in environmentally friendly ways and acknowledging their efforts; and reducing costs and alleviating the environmental impact of Senate activities by using water, energy and materials more efficiently. The SGC suggested making senators, their staff and Senate employees more environmentally aware by providing them with the tools and information they need to make ecological concerns an integral part of their activities.
House of Commons
Greening the Hill (GTH) sprang from a desire among federal parliamentarians, led by the Honourable John Fraser, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1986 to 1993, to act on their concern for the environment. As the central legislative body in Canada, it made sense for the House to take a leadership role in environmental management.
In 1989, a Task Force on the Environment carried out a systematic review of House policies and practices, and prepared an action plan for the House of Commons.
The GTH program was officially launched on June 12, 1990, with the establishment of a Senior Management Committee on the Environment (consisting of representatives from House and Library of Parliament staff) and the Office of the Environment. A communications program was put in place to encourage "greening" among employees.
A number of highly successful GTH initiatives got up and running, including:
* Better Papersave, a paper recycling program
* In 1996, composting food waste from House Food Services preparations and operations
* A multi-material recycling program for newspapers, glass, cans and waste upholstery
* A procurement policy of screening contracts to ensure contracted companies have environmentally sound practices and products
* A Task Force to encourage employees to bike to work
* A hazardous waste management plan to identify, store and dispose of hazardous materials
* Dry cell battery collection and disposal, and toner cartridge refilling and recycling programs
* The conversion of fleet vehicles to natural gas
* A refilling and recycling program for ink printer cartridges
* The implementation of an ecological procurement policy that encourages subcontractors to be environmentally aware and to use eco-friendly products.
In 1998, ethanol fuel was introduced for some fleet vehicles, so as to reduce toxic gas emissions, such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
In 1998, the House Administration adopted the principles of Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), with a view to including resource management decisions in the House's business planning cycles.
In 1999-2000, the House Administration decided to adopt the international standard of the Environmental Management System (EMS), ISO 14001. A House-wide environmental policy was developed, applying not only to the Administration but also to MPs and their parliamentary staff. The Board of Internal Economy (BOIE) approved the policy in December 1999.
This policy led to the Environmental Policy and Procedures Manual, published in February 2000 and updated in October 2001 by the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Office.
The Clerk's Management Group (CMG) gave its full support to the Greening the Hill program by authorizing the formation of the House of Commons Task Force on the Environment, made up of representatives from all sectors.
In December 2001, the implementation of the Environmental Management System (EMS) was reviewed to determine its compliance with the requirements of ISO 14001.
The analysis found that the environmental practices established as part of the Greening the Hill program gave the House the tools and mechanisms to reduce known environmental risks. The policies, programs and procedures, as written, respected the majority of the ISO 14001 requirements. However, because the EMS was not launched officially, the expected results were not achieved.
Senior management will continue to respect environmental management principles and support a system tailored to the unique context of the House. The House of Commons will continue to use ISO 14001 as a reference point for good management practices and due diligence. However, given the special status of the House, management must show flexibility so as to tailor management processes to the House context.
In 2002, the Task Force on the Environment developed an implementation strategy for the next three years. Managers of the various House branches incorporated the environmental priorities into their business plans.
In January 2002, a pilot project to compost used paper towels from the washrooms was implemented. Two years later, the project was extended to the other House buildings.
In the spring of 2002, a double-sided printing program was officially launched for MPs parliamentary offices and for House Administration offices.

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