Greenpeace Canada v. Shell Canada

Greenpeace Canada, submitted a formal complaint to the Competition Bureau of Canada alleging that Shell’s Drive Carbon Neutral products are making false and/or misleading representations to the public in contravention of the federal Competition Act. In its complaint to the Competition Bureau of Canada, Greenpeace Canada takes issue with Shell’s alleged claim that, through Shell’s Drive Carbon Neutral program, customers can reduce the carbon emissions from their fuel purchases by offsetting those emissions from three forest-based offset projects that Shell supports. Greenpeace Canada claims that Shell is making false and/or misleading representations to the public with respect to its Drive Carbon Neutral products as (i) Shell has not demonstrated the validity of their carbon neutral claim and (ii) the offsets used have serious legitimacy concerns. Moreover, Greenpeace Canada alleges that by making its Carbon Neutral Drive program (and the use of offsets) a public part of Shell’s action to address climate change, Shell is using greenwashing to distract from the need to reduce the use of Shell’s fossil fuel products and for Shell to take its own actions to reduce GHG emissions. In December 2023, the Bureau closed its investigation because Shell removed its advertising from Canadian platforms.