Canada's competition watchdog publishes final greenwashing guidelines

National Observer

12 hours ago

Businesses can make environmental claims — only if they aren't false or misleading and have been properly substantiated, according to new Canadian anti-greenwashing guidelines.
The guidelines released Thursday by Canada's Competition Bureau are intended to help companies comply with anti-greenwashing laws introduced last June.
Businesses making environmental claims will require an assessment, not only of the literal wording of the claim, but also of the general impression created by the advertisement as a whole, including the words, images and layout, the bureau said.
The new rules elicited both praise and swift backlash.
'The bureau's guidance is important, but it is really just one piece of the puzzle, and it is not determinative,' said Keldon Bester, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, an Ottawa-based think tank focused on economic competition issues.
After the amended legislation came into force last summer, corporate Canada clamoured for clarity on how it would apply, so this guidance should answer some of their questions, but the real test will be the cases the bureau decides to pursue and how they fare in front of competition tribunals, Bester said. But it is encouraging to see the bureau 'matching the spirit of the law,' he said.
INSERT ALBERTA ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS MINISTER REBECCA SCHULZ STATEMENT
Canada's competition watchdog published finalized guidance to help corporate Canada navigate the new greenwashing rules that came into force last summer
'The new guidelines appear to get to the heart of the matter,' Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said in an emailed statement to Canada's National Observer.
"'Greenwashing' is just another form of untruthful advertising. We need enforceable 'truth in advertising' laws and these guidelines move in that direction,' May said.
The bureau's guidance explained that if a Canadian business claimed in its marketing that it was on its way to net-zero emissions by 2050 and 'had good intentions about reducing greenhouse gases' — but made the claim before making a clear, evidence-backed plan to reach net-zero — that would be inadequate.
Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada called this the 'Pathways clause,' in reference to the Pathways Alliance's ad campaign.
In 2023, the bureau launched an investigation into the oilsands lobby group's campaign, 'Let's clear the air,' after Greenpeace Canada filed a complaint alleging net-zero claims in the ads were false or misleading.
After the new greenwashing laws came into force last summer, Pathways Alliance removed all of the content related to its 'Let's clear the air' campaign from its website, social media and other public communications.
The Competition Bureau dropped the investigation a few months later, in December 2024, according to a letter Greenpeace Canada shared with Canada's National Observer.
'Given that the representations that were the subject of this inquiry are no longer publicly available, as well as the Commissioner's discretion with respect to the assignment of limited resources, the Commissioner has decided to discontinue the inquiry at this time,' reads the letter to Greenpeace Canada.
'You don't have to read very far between the lines … to see that Pathways was going to lose that case, which is probably why they took all those ads down so quickly,' Stewart said.
'I think the Competition Bureau essentially said, 'OK, we're going to give you a mulligan on this one. We're not going to go after you because you took all the ads down … and we're now putting it in black and white, clarifying the rules around what constitutes greenwashing on net-zero claims, so don't do it again',' he said.
'You'll notice Pathways no longer talk about being on the path to net-zero.'
The Pathways Alliance did not respond to a request for comment on the new guidelines.
Alexandre Boulerice, NDP critic for environment and climate change, said deceptive marketing practices, particularly greenwashing, are a major problem because it misleads consumers and 'hurts public trust in a genuine green transition.'
The new rules could be a step in the right direction, but consumers must know that they can report deceptive or false advertising and file a complaint, Boulerice said in an emailed statement to Canada's National Observer.
'Additionally, the Bureau requires the resources and capacity to carry out all those inquiries,' Boulerice said.
Boulerice said the next few months will tell whether the federal government is serious about this issue.
The Conservative Party and Bloc Québécois did not respond to a request for comment.
Although the legislation and guidelines could both be stronger, 'the new guidelines should quiet the trumped-up backlash from parts of corporate Canada,' said Emilia Belliveau, Environmental Defence's energy transition program manager, in a Thursday press release.