Global studies show that the process of greening our government contracts starts at the top, not the bottom. The government must require the addition of sustainable development criteria in government contracts. This can be done in a progressive and flexible manner. There can be short-term and medium-term goals. We don't want everything to be green tomorrow. However, the government must start requiring its own buyers to comply with environmental criteria.
In government contracts, the vast majority of bidding processes currently don't include any sustainable development criteria. It isn't right that this is the case in Canada, when we look at what happens in Europe, in Japan or in Tunisia, for example.
The government must impose obligations. We must develop a culture in our companies.
We know that small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, run on a day-to-day basis. If we don't impose obligations on them as well, they won't change their methods. This isn't because they don't want to. It's because they operate in the here and now. They must develop another culture and change their methods. The SMEs that already have green assets must start documenting them.
I work with the Aluminium Association of Canada and glass producers. They don't always have the data to show that they're greener than other companies. Aluminum companies are really an exception, because they're ahead of many other companies. The most important thing is to give buyers tools. We need to give them the tools to make things easy.