Past Projects

Over the past thirteen years, the NDG has explored a wide range of sustainability issues with an ever-growing network of businesses and NGOs. Not all of these dialogues have resulted in formal reports and the principal value of many of them has been in networking and capacity-building. From time to time, participants in the NDG identify emerging issues that have the potential to divide the business and NGO communities. Where sufficient leading businesses and NGOs wish to tackle these issues directly, the NDG convenes project teams and facilitates their discussions. The reports available in this section have resulted from such processes.

For more information see the following pages:

• Life Cycle Assessment. Completed in the fall of 2006, this project examined the application of Life Cycle Assessment to the development of environmental policy.

• Environmental Performance Agreements. The NDG conducted an international workshop on negotiated performance agreements in February 2006. The background document for this workshop was rewritten to reflect the discussions at the workshop and provides comprehensive guidance in the development and application of a wide range of environmental performance agreements between government and industry.

• Business-NGO Partnerships. In 2006, the NDG adapted its criteria and principles for the design of voluntary or non-regulatory initiatives to the development of Business-NGO Partnerships. This report provides guidance in establishing partnerships and avoiding the major risks associated with various types of partnerships.

• Plant-based Biotechnology. Completed in the fall of 2005, this project examined issues associated with the release of plant-based biotechnologies in Canada, particularly the ability of the current policy and regulatory framework to address emerging technologies.

• Precaution. Completed in March 2004, this project considered how the precautionary principle or the precautionary approach ought to be applied in environmental decision-making in Canada.

• Climate Change. This 2001 initiative applied the NDG's criteria and principles for effective voluntary initiatives (see below) to the design of a model covenant for the management of greenhouse gas emissions.

• Voluntary Initiatives. The NDG developed Criteria and Principles for the Use of Voluntary or Non-regulatory Initiatives to Achieve Environmental Policy Objectives in 1997. Subsequently, the NDG's criteria and principles have been applied extensively, both domestically and internationally, in the design and evaluation of voluntary initiatives.

• Zero Discharge. This was the first issue the NDG tackled after its launch in 1990. Its inaugural report, Reducing and Eliminating Toxic Substances Emissions: An Action Plan for Canada led directly to the establishment of the Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET) program.