2020/2021 Canada Environmental Release Notes

INTRODUCTION

Starting with Data Years 2020 and 2021, IMPLAN releases Environmental data in conjunction with the annual release of the Canada Provincial Product. The environmental data show Environmental Output (estimates of physical emissions, pollutants, or input use) by Industry and Region. Driving these estimates are ratios of physical emissions or inputs per dollar of Industry Output. IMPLAN applies these ratios to Output by Industry Region Data and Impact Results to generate estimates of physical emissions, pollutants, or input use.

The Canada Environmental data will be available annually, with each environmental dataset labeled in accordance with the data year from which the raw data originate (e.g. the Environmental Release Year).

The Canada Environmental Data is available for all Canadian models, including combined regions, aggregated industry models, and customized models.

DATA OVERVIEW

IMPLAN’s Canada Environmental Data consist of estimates of:

• Environmental Output: the total physical emissions, pollutants, or inputs for each detailed or broad Environmental Category, and
• Units per $ of Output: the physical units emitted or used per dollar of Output, with the unit of measurement varying depending on the detailed environmental category.

These data are available by Industry and are presented in summary format (grouped by 8 broad Environmental Categories) or in detailed format (by each pollutant, emission, or input Environment Name within a given Environmental Category).

The Environmental Categories in the Canada Environmental data include 8 broad categories:

• Air Releases
• Disposals
• Greenhouse Gases
• Mineral Extraction
• Point Source Releases to Ground
• Point Source Releases to Water
• Transfers
• Water Withdrawals

Within each Environmental Category, detailed data is also available for each pollutant, emission, or input as defined by the Environment Name.

Data is available for more than 200 substances, more than 35 minerals, and 18 greenhouse gases, with the unit of measurement varying depending on the data element of interest. The coverage of physical emissions, pollutants, or inputs can vary from year to year depending on the raw data. The complete list of pollutants, emissions, and inputs (and their units of measurement) included in the 2020 and 2021 Canada Environmental releases are available below.

ACCESSING CANADA ENVIRONMENTAL

Broadly, there are two different ways of viewing the Canada Environmental Data in the application: Region Environmental Data and Environmental Impacts. This data is available in summary format (grouped by 8 broad Environmental Categories) or in detailed format (by each pollutant, emission, or input Environment Name within a given Environmental Category). Read more about accessing the data in Using Canada Environmental Data.

DATA SOURCES

The physical emission, pollutant, or input use data in IMPLAN’s Canada Environmental Data come from several different data sources, including Statistics Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and OpenIO-Canada. These data are reported in the format of physical quantities (tonnes, kg, etc.) and are reported at the national level. IMPLAN allocates these to Industries, develops ratios of physical emissions or inputs per dollar of Industry Output (using the corresponding data year of the economic data), and applies those ratios to Region Data and Impact Results to generate estimates of Environmental Output.

With the exception of Water Use data, the physical emission, pollutant, or input use data is updated annually. The raw data source for Water Use is released every two years. Thus, units per $ of Output ratios are derived using the most recent Water Data Year and the corresponding Output values (e.g. Environmental Release Year 2020 uses the 2019 Water Data Year and 2019 Output values, Environmental Release Year 2020 uses the 2021 Water Data Year and 2021 Output values).

Read more about the data sources and methods in Canada Environmental Data Sources and Methods.

RELATED ARTICLES

IMPLAN Canada Provincial Data

2021 Canada Provincial Release Notes

Canada Provincial Data Sources and Methods

Written February 27, 2025