Experts endorse Canada’s plan to certify companies’ green collaborations

Competition authority closes consultation as government kicks off search for members of transition and taxonomy body

Plans by Canada’s competition authority to introduce certificates exempting companies’ collaborative environmental efforts from anti-cartel rules have been welcomed by lawyers.  

A consultation on new enforcement guidance closed on Thursday, in response to an overhaul of the Canadian Competition Act which included the introduction of substantial fines for non-compliance. 

The proposal isn’t dedicated to green issues, but does suggest the introduction of a scheme for businesses considering collaborating on environmental pursuits, through which they could apply for a certificate that would exempt them from scrutiny by the country’s Competition Tribunal.  

In a joint response, competition lawyer Simon Holmes, who co-chairs the International Chamber of Commerce’s sustainability and competition taskforce, and non-profit law firm ClientEarth welcomed the plan. 

“Such a process for providing comfort/informal guidance has been widely called for by the business community (and its absence in the past has been a major inhibitor of important cooperation agreements),” it said.  

Canada is the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions trying to reassure companies that they can cooperate to help contribute to nationally- and internationally-agreed sustainability objectives.  

Others include the EU, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, Korean, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. 

Elsewhere, particularly in the US and Brazil, lawmakers have argued that exerting shared influence over suppliers and portfolio companies to make them behave differently is a breach of anti-trust law – regardless if it is in support of sustainability goals. 

Meanwhile, the Canadian government has kicked off a search for experts to help it “create a common language for capital markets around the types of projects and activities that are aligned with Canada’s climate and economic goals”. 

The Canadian Climate Institute and Business Future Pathways were selected by the Department of Finance to set up a green taxonomy, overseen by a Taxonomy and Transition Planning Council. 

The pair are now looking to appoint a chair and three members to the Council.  

Applications are being accepted until the 20th of February.