OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE — The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Ecojustice participated in the Competition Bureau’s public consultation by making a joint submission proposing clear standards for assessing and combatting greenwashing in Canada.
In a submission made yesterday, the groups proposed a set of recommendations for the Competition Bureau — the federal watchdog responsible for competition in Canada — to consider when drafting guidelines to help reduce greenwashing in the Canadian economy. The guidelines will outline what standards the Bureau expects businesses and advertisers to meet when making claims about the environmental and climate impacts of their products and services.
In June 2024, amendments to the Competition Act established stronger legal prohibitions against businesses making false or misleading green claims. This serves to protect consumers and genuinely green businesses alike. The fossil fuel industry has been particularly vocal in opposing these amendments, which would curb their efforts to greenwash the dangerous impacts of this highly polluting industry. CAPE and Ecojustice urge the Bureau to resist industry pressure and set strong standards that match international best practices, highlighting that guidelines are necessary to help Canadian companies interpret this law.
Canada’s trading partners, including the US, Europe, and Australia already have strong prohibitions against greenwashing. Canada stands to lose a competitive edge if it fails to tackle greenwashing and integrate environmental sustainability into its economic policy. Strong and clear guidelines will provide a roadmap for Canadian companies and financial institutions to be honest and transparent about their green claims. There is no reason consumers and investors in Canada should have less information and protection from greenwashing than others around the world.
Recent polling shows that Canadians overwhelmingly support the new truth in advertising amendments in the Competition Act. A September 2024 survey conducted by the Angus Reid Forum and commissioned by Greenpeace Canada found that 93% of Canadians believe companies should face penalties for making environmental claims that they can’t prove are true.
The CAPE and Ecojustice submission calls on the Bureau to take a hard line against common deceptive practices, including generic claims such as “green” and “clean,” the use of gratuitous green imagery to mislead the public, and claims of carbon neutrality based on dubious carbon offsets. The groups also ask the Bureau to require businesses and financial institutions that publicly promote their climate commitments to have credible plans to meet their targets.
In addition to strong guidelines, the groups say the Bureau must bolster its environmental expertise and capacity so that it can more effectively enforce the law and protect Canadians from systemic greenwashing that ultimately harms the planet, human health, and our economy. Currently, the Bureau is investigating several complaints of false and misleading environmental, climate, and health claims, including complaints against the Royal Bank of Canada, the Canadian Gas Association (a lobby group for the gas industry), and Pathways Alliance (a coalition of oil sands companies).
“Canada has made some progress on tackling greenwashing, but we can’t stop now,” said Leah Temper, Director of Health and Economic Policy at CAPE. “The fossil fuel industry has been getting away with lying for decades and stand to benefit the most from lax greenwashing laws. We need stronger rules to make sure companies are telling the truth about their environmental claims. People in Canada deserve the same protection from greenwashing as consumers in other parts of the world. It’s time for Canada to step up.”
Tanya Jemec, Ecojustice lawyer said: “Canada is long overdue for robust green marketing rules that require businesses to prioritize truth in advertising. The Competition Act amendments, paired with strong guidance from the Bureau, mark a pivotal moment where clear standards can be set that require transparency and accountability from companies making environmental claims.”
“Canada has been lagging behind other jurisdictions on its greenwashing rules. Greenwashing hinders consumer trust, sustainable investment, entrepreneurship and innovation by undermining the efforts of genuinely green companies. Businesses who choose to make environmental claims need to do the work to back them up — they cannot dupe consumers with vague, meaningless claims just to gain profits. In a global economy where polluting industries are increasingly recognized as a liability, putting in place clear, strong greenwashing standards now will ensure our businesses are able to compete in global markets in the long-term.”
Background
- In March 2023, Ecojustice and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) made recommendations to the federal government that the Competition Act should be modernized to integrate sustainability and tackle greenwashing in response to an open consultation on competition law.
- In November 2023, the federal government introduced Bill C-59, the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, which introduced an amendment to the Competition Act that would require green product claims to be backed up by adequate and proper testing.
- In December 2023, Ecojustice and CAPE, together with Equiterre and the Quebec Center for Environmental Law, proposed amendments to Bill C-59.
- On March 1, 2024, in a letter to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, the commissioner of competition requested stronger legal tools, including broadening the law beyond products to include the business as a whole and making it reverse onus, meaning those making claims are responsible for proving that they are true.
- On April 30, 2024, with cross-party collaboration between the Liberals, NDP and Bloc, Bill C-59 was amended by the House of Commons to broaden the scope of environmental claims and to also require adequate and proper substantiation for green claims about businesses and business activities.
- On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 passed through Parliament and important changes to the Competition Act became law. Bill C-59’s amendments introduced new language to strengthen the rules around false or misleading environmental claims (i.e. greenwashing).
- The Competition Bureau is prioritizing creating guidelines on these amendments. The Competition Bureau asked for stronger and clearer legal tools to help it better respond to the growing number of greenwashing complaints it faces.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is a physician-directed non-profit organization working to secure human health by protecting the planet. Since its founding in 1994, CAPE’s work has achieved substantial policy victories in collaboration with many partners in the environmental and health movements. From coast to coast to coast, the organization operates throughout the country with regional committees active in most provinces and all territories.
Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
