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A fundamental first step in the integration of sustainable development into business operations is to identify all aspects of WD operations, policies and programs that have or may have an impact on the environment or sustainable development. This section outlines the methodology that WD uses to identify and prioritize its environmental aspects and presents the issues that WD currently considers to be a priority for action under the current SDS.

Methodology
WD formed an initial list of issues reflecting federal government priorities and consulted with internal and external stakeholders as to which sustainable development issues WD should address. E-mails and a learning event were used to raise awareness and a discussion paper with a questionnaire was distributed. The questionnaire asked participants to identify and rank sustainable development issues for WD to consider (such as reducing consumption of natural resources, increasing productivity through technological solutions, focusing on healthy Canadians and so forth) and the level of involvement WD should undertake. The SD Team then reviewed the questionnaire results to determine appropriate areas for action. A summary of the survey results and comments have been posted on the WD website.

As part of our EMS, a procedure has been developed to identify aspects of WD activities which may impact the environment and sustainable development and over which WD can exert some control (please refer to EMS SDS Procedures Manual, Identification of Significant Environmental Aspects and Impacts). This procedure also provides a process by which these aspects are evaluated for their significance and prioritized for action. The procedure will be performed on a regular basis in order to ensure that the Issue Scan is up-to-date and relevant to the current WD operations, policies and programs. See Table 2: Initial Identification of Environmental Aspects and Impact for a sample of the type of issues identified during this procedure.