Leading by Example

Greening the Way We Purchase

Sustainable procurement is an approach to purchasing that considers the environmental, societal, and economic value of each purchase. Government is committed to developing and implementing a sustainable procurement policy by 2009. Learn more about the policies, path and progress toward this goal at: http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/sp/

Climate Change

Nova Scotia's Climate Change Action Plan sets out 68 actions the province will take to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare for changes to our climate that are already inevitable. NIne of them directly involve the government of Nova Scotia. For details, please go to http://climatechange.gov.ns.ca/ActionPlan and click on "leadership by example".

Supporting Other Sectors

Below are some of the ways government supports Nova Scotians who are working to make our province more sustainable.

ecoNova Scotia
The provincial ecoNova Scotia for Clean Air and Climate Change fund is helping municipalities, businesses, and community groups reduce harmful air emissions. In 2008, the fund invested $15.5 million in 43 environmental projects that increase energy efficiencies, develop renewable energy technologies or reduce energy use. It’s estimated they’ll reduce greenhouse-gas emission by 161,000 tonnes per year. And that’s just the beginning. Find out more in the annual report: http://www.gov.ns.ca/ecoNovaScotia/ .

Eco-efficiency Centre
In many places around the world, environmental concerns are influencing how businesses manufacture, design, package, and take responsibility for a product’s end-of-life requirements. The Eco-Efficiency Centre is helping Nova Scotia businesses understand that improving environmental performance can also mean reducing costs, remaining competitive, and reducing financial risk. It may also influence new markets.

An extension of Dalhousie University with support from the Nova Scotia Government and other sources, the Centre advises businesses on how to generate less waste in their design and manufacturing processes, to reduce their energy and water consumption, to reduce the use of toxic materials, and to use natural resources more efficiently and effectively.

Since its inception, the Centre has identified more than $5,500,000 in potential savings for Nova Scotian businesses, enabled hundreds of thousands of dollars in new business opportunities, found tens of thousands of kilowatt hours of energy savings, and developed ways for businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by thousands of tonnes.

For more information, go here.