Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-2010

Our Commitments

Results-based contributions

CSC realizes that the concept of sustainable development is constantly evolving, even though the principles, which are based on the integration of social, economic and environmental issues, remain unchanged. In developing new commitments for our SDS 2007-2010, we placed particular emphasis on contributions that support the federal government’s objectives while still being geared towards achieving results that are consistent with the following key issues:

• Protecting the health of Canadians and ecosystems;
• Pollution prevention;
• Respecting natural resources and environmental capacities;
• Promoting intra­- and intergenerational equity;
• Improved communication of SD issues in organizational decision-making processes to properly integrate environmental considerations with economic and social considerations.

Although we would have preferred a long-term perspective for all the commitments set out in our SDS 2007-2010, our experiences with the three earlier SDSs indicate otherwise. In this SDS, we considered a number of future requirements, such as the inevitable shifting of priorities, uncertainty regarding the level of human resources dedicated to advancing our SDS and our ability to implement more monitoring tools or improve existing ones. We believe that most of our targets should be in a three-year framework if we want to continue to give each target the attention it deserves in terms of management.

While establishing our commitments, we also reviewed the targets that were kept from the last SDS in relation to the progress made to date and the level of resources required. Accordingly, certain targets were dropped or reduced, while others were added.

Although SDS Revision 2003 allowed for some significant progress, the work must continue to meet our SDS commitments. To this end, we have revisited what is important and what we can reasonably accomplish in setting new goals, objectives and targets for SDS 2007-2010. Our commitments are largely consistent with those set out in SDS Revision 2003.

Components of the Logic Model

The CESD has repeatedly identified the need to link targets with long-term objectives and goals. The Guide prepared by the Interdepartmental Network on Sustainable Development Strategies (INSDS) again suggests the use of a logic model to clearly illustrate these links. We have used a logic model to help us link our commitments in a concise and consistent manner so that outcomes can be pursued in ways that will show long-term progress.

The components of the logic model can be defined as follows:

Goal: Sets a general direction and parameters for action.

Objective: The general purpose of each goal.

Target/Commitment: The actions/activities/projects that the organization plans to implement within a certain time frame to contribute to the federal government’s outcomes.

Performance Measure: A qualitative or quantitative method of measuring an outcome or result in order to evaluate the performance of a program, policy or initiative. These measures are established at the organizational level as a way of determining whether commitments have been met.

The logic model on the following page (see table below) presents the new CSC commitments, while the related action plan and performance measures are found in the subsequent section.

Logic Model – Sustainable Development Strategy 2007–2010 of the Correctional Service of Canada

STRATEGIC OUTCOME Contribute to a just, peaceful and safe Canadian society, respectful of natural resources and ecological capacities.

NOTE:

1. For assessment purposes of progress achievements and performance measurement during the SDS 2007-2010 cycle, all targets and commitments come into effect as of April 1, 2007.
2. All our departmental commitments support the sustainable development goals of the federal government.