Competition Bureau Issues new Greenwashing Guidance

22 Jul Competition Bureau Issues new Greenwashing Guidance

Kelly Harris + Jane Huang

Hot off the press is a new issue of the Competition Bureau’s Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest, which focuses exclusively on how to avoid deceptive environmental claims. This timely guidance follows last month’s historic changes to the Competition Act, introducing a specific prohibition against greenwashing and requiring adequate testing or substantiation to support environmental claims. Read our previous article for more details on these new greenwashing laws and the other significant changes to the Competition Act.

Part of an ongoing series providing regulatory guidance, Volume 7 of The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest provides the Bureau’s perspective on environmental advertising claims, the types of greenwashing complaints received by the Bureau, the specific laws enforced by the Bureau, the Bureau’s powers, and tips for businesses to avoid deceptive environmental claims.

The Bureau has provided some helpful tips for businesses that may use environmental claims in its advertising and marketing practices, for example:

• Businesses should ensure advertising is truthful and avoid claims that are false or misleading.
• Many environmental claims are performance claims, meaning that they are claims about the performance, efficacy or length of life of a product. Businesses making performance claims must ensure that those claims are properly and adequately tested.
• Businesses making comparative green claims should be specific about what is being compared and the extent of the difference between what is being compared.
• Businesses should avoid exaggerating environmental claims. While even small changes can add up when it comes to the environment, this doesn’t mean that small changes should be marketed as big ones.
• Businesses should avoid vague environmental claims like “eco-friendly”, and instead make claims clear and specific to the product or business.
• Businesses should avoid making aspirational claims about the future. Before making forward-looking claims, the Bureau recommends that businesses have a clear understanding of the steps they need to take in order to achieve those claims, create a realistic and verifiable plan to accomplish its objectives, and ensure that there are meaningful steps underway to accomplish the plan.

The Bureau has also launched a public consultation seeking feedback for how the new greenwashing laws should be interpreted and enforced. The feedback will inform more detailed guidance about how and when the Bureau will take action under the new greenwashing laws. The consultation is open until September 27, 2024, and submissions will be published on the Bureau’s website unless providers request confidentiality.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Companies are encouraged to seek legal counsel to ensure compliance with applicable laws.