Competition Bureau Releases Draft Environmental Claims Guidance

In case you missed it just before the holidays, the Competition Bureau published detailed new draft guidance to guide the enforcement of the recently enacted prohibitions against greenwashing under the Competition Act. The purpose of this new guidance is to provide information on how businesses can be compliant and avoid the Bureau enforcement of these new greenwashing prohibitions. The Bureau will be accepting feedback from the public on the draft guidance until February 28, 2025.

In this newly issued draft guidance, the Competition Bureau sets out the relevant provisions of the Competition Act as well as related key concepts, their implications for environmental claims, and real-world examples under each of those specific provisions. The guidance then goes on to re-state its preliminary six principles for compliance, providing additional detail about each principle. It concludes with a series of Frequently Asked Questions, which are particularly helpful in providing additional context for the recent updates and suggestions as to what businesses can do to help ensure compliance.

Some examples of topics addressed in the FAQ section are:

• Whether the Bureau will grant a grant a grace period during which it undertakes not to bring matters forward under the new greenwashing provisions
• Whether there is a due diligence defence for environmental claims
• Whether adequate and proper substantiation is the same thing as testing in relation to environmental claims about a business or its activities
• Whether third party verification is needed in order to make environmental claims
• Whether the new provisions require businesses to follow any international standards
• How businesses can navigate differing internationally recognized methodologies that could be used for substantiation
• What to do in the absence of internationally recognized methodology

Finally, it is worth noting that in the draft guidance the Competition Bureau confirms that it will publish updated guidance on the new right of private access to the Competition Tribunal. As of June 20, 2025, this right of private access will allow individuals to apply directly to the Tribunal for permission to file an application “in the public interest” alleging misleading/false advertising, including allegedly misleading environmental claims.

Feedback on these draft guidelines can be sent via email to environmentalclaims-declarationsenvironnementales@cb-bc.gc.ca until February 28, 2025, and will be published on the Bureau's website unless marked confidential.

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.