From 'greenwashing' to 'green hushing' — companies complain new law stifles environmental efforts

Brandie Weikle · CBC Radio

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Some firm leaders accidental caller anti-greenwashing authorities has had the unintended effect of dissuading companies from taking clime action. But biology organizations and others accidental that's a bull out. 

Bill C-59's changes to the Competition Act were meant to prevent companies from misrepresenting the biology benefits of their products oregon practices — known as "greenwashing." The measure besides gave the Competition Bureau much powerfulness to penalize companies that can't backmost up their claims with elaborate evidence.

But critics accidental requiring all specified claims conform to "internationally recognized methodology" leaves excessively overmuch country for mentation and makes companies susceptible to ineligible action.

Michael McCain, the enforcement seat and erstwhile CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, calls this "green hushing."

It's "the other of encouragement for companies to bash the close thing," McCain told Laura Lynch, big of CBC Radio's What connected Earth. The changes make truthful many "obstacles and consequences" to touting a company's biology efforts, that the companies halt doing them.  

Royal Bank has "retired" its commitment to facilitate $500 cardinal successful sustainable finance by this year, pointing to changes successful the Competition Act. 

Likewise, the concern limb of the Canada Pension Plan dropped its promise to put successful enactment with Canada's people to scope nett zero by 2050, due to the fact that of "recent ineligible developments," said CEO John Graham.

Tyson Dyck, a lawyer who consults connected biology and clime matters for firm clients, including galore successful the vigor sector, says clients crossed the state person been "very concerned" astir the changes, which took effect past June. 

He says the concern assemblage expected clarity astir however to marque biology oregon climate-related claims. 

Instead, they got "confusion," helium said. "And I deliberation they struggled interpreting the caller provisions."

But biology groups accidental nary 1 is forcing companies to speech astir their clime efforts, and that corporations should behave sustainably due to the fact that it's the close happening to do, not for the boost to nationalist image.

Matt Hulse, a lawyer with Ecojustice, an biology instrumentality foundation headquartered successful Vancouver, says galore companies complaining astir the changes were previously alleged to beryllium greenwashing.

They "made ambitious claims astir clime and biology enactment and person been accused of not pursuing done connected those things," said Hulse.

That suggests, to him, that the "legislation is really working.'

'Unintended consequence'

But McCain says businesses person a morganatic interest that the authorities isn't written effectively.

"This is simply a lawsuit of precise bully intentions successful the underlying argumentation with a precise grossly antagonistic unintended consequence, which by explanation makes it atrocious policy." 

The problem, helium said, is requiring a company's claims to beryllium backed up by "internationally recognized methodologies." 

There aren't capable internationally recognized organizations oregon standards, helium said, oregon they are not "scientifically credible, successful our judgment."

WATCH | 'Greenwashing' allegations against Lululemon:

What astir the standards for measuring emissions successful agriculture? And for c offsets?

McCain says those don't admit the usage of offsets successful a mode that's viable for Maple Leaf Foods.

"We execute c neutrality," helium said, but "there's nary assemblage contiguous that we cognize of that would certify that."

He says it's "patently unreasonable" to expect a institution to walk tens of millions of dollars connected biology works "and not beryllium capable to outcry from the mountaintop the bully things that we're doing."

Fair playing field

Emilia Belliveau, vigor modulation programme manager for the advocacy radical Environmental Defence successful Vancouver, says determination was bully crushed for keeping the connection successful the enactment flexible — keeping the instrumentality itself flexible arsenic champion practices change across assorted industries.

Also, holding companies to internationally recognized methodologies prevents them from doing their ain analyses "that tin skew the data," she said.

"It creates a just playing tract crossed companies truthful that we're measuring the aforesaid things, and we're capable to marque definite that the prime of the data, the grounds that's being utilized arsenic impervious for these greenish claims, holds up to rigour."

Former MP Charlie Angus worked connected a fig of greenish initiatives implicit the years, and voted successful favour of the changes. He stands by them.

"You can't merchantability a car and accidental it's the safest connected the roadworthy erstwhile you cognize there's superior problems with it. You can't merchantability cigarettes and say, the mode they utilized to, 'This is the lighter marque of cigarettes,' erstwhile each cigarettes marque you sick," helium said.

The changes "make definite that erstwhile companies are talking astir nett zero and reducing emissions, that they really were telling the information and not lying."

The Competition Bureau released its last guidance on the anti-greenwashing authorities connected June 5, which some corporations and immoderate biology groups had hoped would supply much specifics.

Hulse, at Ecojustice, said "there was country for improvement," but that overall, it's not that hard for a corp to found a ground for their claims, looking to different jurisdictions abroad, and applying well-established principles from accounting and the technological method.

They tin besides wage a $5,000 interest to question an sentiment from the bureau astir immoderate assertion they mean to make — "a trivial amount" for a ample corporation, helium says.