Competition Act ss. 74.01(1)(b.1)-(b.2), added by Bill C-59 (2024), amended by Bill C-15 (2026)
For marketing and sustainability teams in Canada working out what the Competition Act now expects behind an environmental claim. This page covers what you need to know and ways to avoid running into issues.
What we've seen reported
Canada's greenwashing rules, paragraphs 74.01(1)(b.1) and (b.2) of the Competition Act, cover claims about the environmental benefits of a product, a business or its activities. Bill C-59 added them in 2024; Bill C-15 amended them in 2026.1,2
Last updated October 2026 · General information only, not legal advice. Sources.
What the rules cover
These are the kinds of wording the Competition Act's greenwashing provisions and the Competition Bureau's guidance describe, according to the text and the guidance, and how they tend to show up in Canadian marketing.1,3
| Phrase or term | In practice |
|---|---|
| "Eco-friendly", "green", "sustainable" | Vague claims the Bureau says may suggest a benefit across the whole life cycle of a product. |
| "Protects our oceans", "better for the planet" | A product's environmental benefits, described in the Act as based on adequate and proper testing. |
| "Our operations protect the environment" | Claims about a business or business activity, described as based on adequate and proper substantiation. |
| "Net zero by 2050", "carbon neutral by 2030" | Future claims the guidance links to substantiation and a concrete, realistic plan with interim targets. |
| "50% less plastic", "greener than before" | Comparisons the guidance asks to be specific about what is compared and by how much. |
| "Made with recycled materials" | Judged on the general impression as well as the literal meaning, under the general provision. |
| "See website for details" | The Bureau says fine print may not fix a claim that misleads on its own. |
Where it goes wrong
One approved claim ends up in many channels, markets and languages. Along the way it gets shortened, translated and reworded, and some versions end up using the very phrases you are trying to avoid.
"The Aria 8 heat pump cuts home heating emissions by 30% compared with a gas furnace, based on our tests."
How Arbitr helps
Manually review everything? Or do what modern teams do and use AI to check that what you publish matches what you approved.
FAQ
In more places than the sustainability report. The Competition Bureau's guidance counts social posts, emails, in-store ads and endorsements as representations,3 and we usually find green claims in:
Mostly through shortcuts. A specific, tested claim in English turns into a broader phrase in French, or the other way round, because a translator or agency reached for the familiar term. Give translators the approved wording in both languages, plus the vague terms to avoid, and check each version against it. Our brand compliance page shows how teams keep claims in step.
One record per claim: the approved wording, the test or substantiation behind it, when that work was done, who approved the claim and where it's published. The Bureau's guidance says testing for product claims comes before the claim is made,3 so record the dates as well as the results.
How it applies to a specific claim is a question for your legal adviser. Where that claim appears across your markets and languages is a question Arbitr answers.
More than the sustainability team. Marketing, packaging, e-commerce and agency partners all publish environmental claims, and so do retailers working from your product feeds. A short briefing for each, built on your own claims, does more than a policy. Other markets are on our environmental claims hub, including the EU generic environmental claims rules.
It changed part of them. The Competition Bureau says Bill C-15, which received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, removed the requirement for an internationally recognized methodology.4 MLT Aikins reports it also stopped private parties taking claims about a business or its activities to the Competition Tribunal.5
On June 20, 2024, according to the Competition Bureau. Its guidance adds that private parties have been able to apply to the Competition Tribunal under the deceptive marketing provisions since June 20, 2025.3
They're separate laws. Canada's provisions sit in the federal Competition Act, which the Competition Bureau enforces, according to its guidance.3 The EU's Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends EU consumer law and is covered on its own page.
You update the approved version once. Arbitr checks what's already live against it and shows you every version still using the old wording.
