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Environmental protection expenditures by businesses
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Canadian businesses spent almost $9.1 billion on environmental protection in 2008, a 5.3% increase from 2006. Operating expenses, as opposed to investment in new machinery and equipment (also known as capital investments), accounted for nearly all of the increase.
Operating expenses totalled $5.2 billion in 2008, up almost 10% from two years earlier, while capital spending was virtually unchanged at $3.8 billion.
Among 16 industry groups surveyed, the oil and gas extraction industry accounted for 32% of total spending on environmental protection, the highest proportion. It was followed by the electric power generation, transmission and distribution industry at 14% of the total.
Over one-third of all spending on environmental protection made by the oil and gas extraction industry went to pollution abatement and control.
Provincially, businesses in Alberta reported the highest spending on environmental protection, $3.1 billion.
Capital expenditures
Of the $3.8 billion in capital spending in 2008, the largest share (44%) was for pollution abatement and control activities, followed by pollution prevention (25%). In 2006, investments in pollution prevention technologies accounted for 40% of all capital spending.
The decline in pollution prevention investment was due partially to a drop in capital spending in this area by the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry. Its spending on pollution prevention declined from $533.1 million in 2006 to $42.5 million in 2008.
Conversely, spending on pollution abatement and control nearly doubled to $790.0 million in the oil and gas extraction industry. In the primary metal manufacturing industries, it increased more than four-fold to $290.5 million. In both cases, the majority of this spending went to reduce air emissions.
Operating expenditures
The largest share of operating expenses on environmental protection, $1.6 billion or 31%, went to spending on waste management and sewerage services. About $1.3 billion, or 24%, went to pollution abatement and control measures.
The oil and gas extraction industry reported the highest operating expenses for environmental protection, spending $1.2 billion in 2008.
Provincially, businesses in Ontario had the highest operating expenses at $1.6 billion in 2008.
Industry spending on energy-related processes and technologies
Businesses spent $1.7 billion in 2008 on energy-related processes and technologies, down by $302 million from 2006. This decline was the result of a 39% drop in capital spending on these technologies. Operating expenses rose by 6%.
The electric power generation, transmission and distribution industry spent over half a billion dollars on energy-related technologies, more than any other industry in 2008. Operating expenditures accounted for the largest share of these expenditures (77%).
Total spending by the oil and gas extraction industry on these technologies amounted to $393.4 million in 2008. Operating expenses reached $308.7 million, almost 80% of the total. Capital spending in this industry fell from $470.3 million in 2006 to $84.7 million in 2008. In 2006, this industry had reported a number of capital projects for energy-related technologies.
Note to readers
The Survey of Environmental Protection Expenditures is a biennial survey of selected primary industries and the manufacturing sector.
The survey underwent a thorough redesign for the 2006 reference year to improve the overall methodology and data quality for smaller businesses. The redesign also facilitated the production of data quality indicators. Because of the redesign, comparisons with survey estimates for years prior to 2006 are not recommended.
Measures of industrial spending on environmental protection are restricted to spending made in response to current or anticipated regulations. On the other hand, measures of spending on energy-related processes or technologies include all such expenditures, regardless of whether they were made in response to regulations or for another reason.
Energy-related processes or technologies either reduce the amount of energy used for a manufacturing process or reduce the amount of pollutants produced through the production and use of energy.
The most commonly reported energy-related processes or technologies were the use of an energy management or monitoring system, waste energy recovery technologies and the performance of an energy audit.
Available on CANSIM: tables 153-0052 to 153-0056.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 1903.
The publication Environmental Protection Expenditures in the Business Sector, 2008 (16F0006X, free) is now available. From the Key resource module of our website under Publications, choose All subjects, then Environment.
A data table is also available from the Key resource module of our website under Summary tables.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact the information officer (613-951-0297; environ@statcan.gc.ca), Environment Accounts and Statistics Division.
Table 1
| Total capital expenditures | Share of total capital expenditures | Total operating expenditures | Share of total operating expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ millions | % | $ millions | % | |
| Industry | ||||
| Logging | F | F | 30.3 | 0.6 |
| Oil and gas extraction | 1,640.4 | 42.8 | 1,235.9 | 23.6 |
| Mining | 351.7 | 9.2 | 401.9 | 7.7 |
| Electric power generation, transmission and distribution | 641.2 | 16.7 | 646.7 | 12.3 |
| Natural gas distribution | 52.6 | 1.4 | 20.8 | 0.4 |
| Food | 92.4 | 2.4 | 357.3 | 6.8 |
| Beverage and tobacco products | 13.7 | 0.4 | 19.0 | 0.4 |
| Wood products | 18.1 | 0.5 | 93.0 | 1.8 |
| Paper manufacturing | 60.0 | 1.6 | 440.1 | 8.4 |
| Petroleum and coal products | 206.2 | 5.4 | 338.5 | 6.5 |
| Chemicals | 115.7 | 3.0 | 286.6 | 5.5 |
| Non-metallic mineral products | 92.6 | 2.4 | 83.0 | 1.6 |
| Primary metals | 375.2 | 9.8 | 796.7 | 15.2 |
| Fabricated metal products | 29.7 | 0.8 | 132.7 | 2.5 |
| Transportation equipment | 43.0 | 1.1 | 118.7 | 2.3 |
| Other manufacturing | 85.2 | 2.2 | 240.2 | 4.6 |
| Total | 3,828.6 | 100.0 | 5,241.4 | 100.0 |
| Province or territory | ||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 18.5 | 0.5 | 163.9 | 3.1 |
| Prince Edward Island | 1.8 | 0.0s | 5.4 | 0.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 58.0 | 1.5 | 70.2 | 1.3 |
| New Brunswick | 76.8 | 2.0 | 213.4 | 4.1 |
| Quebec | 439.0 | 11.5 | 1,002.9 | 19.1 |
| Ontario | 579.5 | 15.1 | 1,580.5 | 30.2 |
| Manitoba | 364.3 | 9.5 | 83.3 | 1.6 |
| Saskatchewan | 347.5 | 9.1 | 231.8 | 4.4 |
| Alberta | 1,677.4 | 43.8 | 1,430.1 | 27.3 |
| British Columbia | x | x | 428.5 | 8.2 |
| Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut | x | x | 31.4 | 0.6 |
| Total | 3,828.6 | 100.0 | 5,241.4 | 100.0 |
Table 2
| Operating expenditures | Capital expenditures | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ millions | |||
| Industry | |||
| Logging | x | x | 0.6 |
| Oil and gas extraction | 308.7 | 84.7 | 393.4 |
| Mining | 14.7 | 20.2 | 34.9 |
| Electric power generation, transmission and distribution | 402.0 | 121.0 | 523.0 |
| Natural gas distribution | x | x | 2.2 |
| Food | 11.0 | 24.9 | 35.9 |
| Beverage and tobacco products | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Wood products | 45.1 | 14.8 | 59.9 |
| Paper manufacturing | 136.0 | 104.2 | 240.2 |
| Petroleum and coal products | x | x | 26.0 |
| Chemicals | 107.2 | F | 183.4 |
| Non-metallic mineral products | x | x | 6.9 |
| Primary metals | F | x | 112.5 |
| Fabricated metal products | 1.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 |
| Transportation equipment | 3.3 | 2.9 | 6.2 |
| Other manufacturing | 7.0 | 16.9 | 23.9 |
| Total | 1,072.7 | 584.8 | 1,657.5 |
| Province or territory | |||
| Atlantic provinces2 | x | x | 53.6 |
| Quebec | 54.8 | 44.8 | 99.7 |
| Ontario | 119.4 | 236.7 | 356.1 |
| Manitoba | x | x | 11.3 |
| Saskatchewan | x | x | 314.2 |
| Alberta | 591.1 | 73.6 | 664.7 |
| British Columbia and the territories3 | 89.5 | F | 158.0 |
| Total | 1,072.7 | 584.8 | 1,657.5 |
