Under The Green Lens: New Greenwashing Provisions Under The Competition Act

Amendments to the Competition Act, which took effect on June 20, 2024, introduce more stringent protections against “greenwashing,” a term commonly used to describe deceptive claims regarding the environmental attributes of a product, service or business activity. These amendments follow a period of focused enforcement activity in respect of potentially deceptive environmental claims on matters such as a product's carbon neutrality, recyclability of packaging, or a company's climate change or sustainability targets.

Armed with a codified statute that prescribes specific infringements for greenwashing, and reverses the onus on defendants to substantiate their claims, we can expect these developments to drive the Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) towards further enforcement in 2025. The groundswell of accompanying media and political attention is also likely to fuel more complaints from consumers and public interest groups as public awareness of sustainability issues