Canada’s Competition Commissioner, who regulates misleading marketing, wants more powers for the federal government to tackle claims about companies’ environmental practices.
Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell recently sent In a letter to congressmen and senators, they are asking them to consider ways to strengthen the rules governing greenwashing. Greenwashing refers to companies making misleading or unsubstantiated statements to appear more environmentally friendly than they actually are.
Building C-59The bill, introduced last November and currently moving through Congress, would require companies that claim their products have environmental benefits to back up their claims with “appropriate and appropriate testing.” .
Boswell suggested the proposal could be expanded to include “environmental claims about companies or brands as a whole,” not just products, to reflect many of the more common greenwashing complaints the agency receives. did.
As an example, he cited companies that claim to be “net zero” or “carbon neutral by 2030.”
He said such claims may be difficult to verify, but companies “should at least be able to substantiate them if they are challenged.”
The 12-page letter contains a number of proposals to improve competition law and was first reported by national observer.
The commissioner’s comments reflect concerns from climate activists who say the proposed changes to Bill C-59 do not go far enough to regulate environmental claims.
They cited the European Union as an example of a jurisdiction that has gone further. Under the proposed EU law, terms such as “green,” “natural,” “biodegradable” and “climate neutral” would be banned unless companies can provide evidence.
“The focus is too narrow.”
Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating multiple cases of alleged greenwashing by Canadian companies.
They include: One for Enbridge Gasfor introducing Ontarians to natural gas as a low-carbon, cost-effective way to heat their homes, and another company, Pathways, a lobby group representing major oil producers. to the alliance, “Let’s clean the air” advertising campaign.
These were launched in response to complaints from advocacy groups Environmental Defenders and Greenpeace, respectively.
Enbridge said in a statement that it is “committed to working with the Competition Bureau” but declined to comment on further details. Pathway Alliance did not respond. Both cases remain unsolved.
Critics argue that the current process is inefficient and slow. Matt Hulse, an attorney with the environmental law nonprofit Ecojustice, said Boswell’s recommendations “recognize that he recognizes that greenwashing is an important problem that current competition law does not adequately address. It shows that.”
Ecojustice filed several complaints with the department.
Hulse called for further legislation, including requiring companies to publish evidence of environmental claims “ideally at the point of purchase, so that consumers and others can verify the truth of the claims.” I added that I wanted it.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which oversees the competition bureau, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A spokesperson told National Observer that the government was fully committed to combating greenwashing and would take Mr Boswell’s recommendations into account.
The Democratic Party of Japan wants to move forward
Earlier this year, new Democratic Rep. Charlie Angus introduced a private member’s bill that would ban what his party calls misleading fossil fuel advertising, similar to how tobacco advertising was regulated in the 1990s.
Julia Levin, associate director at Environmental Defense, supports that step. But she said Boswell’s proposed changes would provide “additional tools to combat greenwashing” for now.
“We need to do for oil and gas what we did for tobacco,” she said. “But in the meantime, companies should not be allowed to run misinformation campaigns without any public response, oversight or accountability.”
