A spokesperson for Rimrock Renewables mentioned the corporate will not be offering any interviews or remark because of the present regulatory state of the undertaking.
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The corporate behind a contentious biogas undertaking close to Excessive River eliminated its web site after Canada’s anti-greenwashing guidelines got here into impact.
Rimrock Renewables, in partnership with Tidewater Renewables Ltd. and Korova Feeders Ltd., is proposing the event of a biodigester facility that might use manure and different waste from a 35,000 head of cattle feedlot in Foothills County to provide pure gasoline, a course of the corporate has mentioned comes with main environmental and financial advantages. However since new truth-in-advertising amendments to the Competitors Act in Invoice C-59 grew to become legislation on June 20, requiring companies present proof to assist environmental claims, the Rimrock Renewables web site has been offline.
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Below the laws, any assertion a couple of product’s advantages for shielding the setting or mitigating the consequences of local weather change should have “enough and correct substantiation in accordance with internationally acknowledged methodology.” If discovered liable, corporations or people may very well be fined.
A model of the Rimrock Renewables web site archived on June 16 particulars a few of the environmental claims manufactured from the biogas undertaking, together with decreasing greenhouse gasoline emission, offering a sustainable waste administration technique, managing odour from the feedlot, and producing 450,000 gigajoules of renewable pure gasoline (RNG) per 12 months, which the corporate says will scale back dependence on fossil fuels.
A spokesperson for Rimrock Renewables mentioned the corporate will not be offering any interviews or remark because of the present regulatory state of the undertaking.
The provisions in Invoice C-59 that particularly goal deceptive environmental advantages claims prompted a number of organizations, principally in Canada’s oil and gasoline sector, to equally take away on-line content material associated to the environmental affect of their merchandise. Critics of the anti-greenwashing guidelines say there may be an excessive amount of uncertainty round how the legislation shall be interpreted and utilized.
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The Canadian Cattle Affiliation mentioned in an announcement it’s nonetheless in search of extra particulars in regards to the attain of the invoice for agriculture and meals industries and “has requested that the enforcement of the brand new provisions be delayed till the affect to the Canadian beef trade is best identified.”
Emilia Belliveau, program supervisor for Power Transition with Environmental Defence, mentioned it isn’t stunning that trade associations and fossil gasoline corporations have opposed the brand new legislation, however mentioned the usage of greenwashing is pervasive and never restricted to anybody sector.
A 2022 survey of executives from international corporations from The Harris Ballot discovered 72 per cent of respondents from North American corporations admitted to overstating their sustainability objectives and engaged in greenwashing.
“It is a main downside, and whereas there are challenges with regulating trade round its promoting claims, notably as loads of these claims are obscure or use feel-good branding to create an impression, what we’d like to be able to have a an sincere and good dialog about Canada’s power future and addressing local weather change, is for that dialog to be grounded in proof and actually and within the local weather science,” Belliveau mentioned.
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The livestock trade is liable for about 5 per cent of greenhouse gasoline emissions in Canada, and extra producers wish to biogas tasks to assist meet emission targets. The Canadian Biogas Affiliation estimates the variety of biogas tasks will quadruple within the years forward and has recognized agriculture because the sector with the sturdy potential for progress.
The fossil gasoline trade has additionally taken elevated curiosity in biogas, selling it as a greener different to traditional sources. In 2022, Rimrock Renewables introduced a 20-year settlement to promote as much as 525,000 gigajoules of renewable pure gasoline to the British Columbia pure gasoline utility FortisBC.
Belliveau mentioned whereas it’s encouraging to see efforts to cut back emissions wherever doable, “what we’ve seen so removed from trade is that corporations are utilizing biogas or renewable pure gasoline in very small percentages, mixing it into their total gasoline provide, after which making these exaggerated claims about it being inexperienced or sustainable.
“The primary concern right here is that when the fossil gasoline trade promotes pure gasoline as a local weather answer, or greener than alternate options, it’s actually preserving folks reliant on an trade the place the overwhelming majority of pure gasoline comes from fracking, which is extraordinarily emissions intensive, water polluting and results in loads of methane leaks,” she mentioned.
Earlier this 12 months, the Stand Environmental Society filed a lawsuit towards FortisBC, accusing the corporate of “greenwashing” and “obstructing efforts to cut back emissions.” The go well with alleges the corporate’s ads make deceptive claims by emphasizing its renewable pure gasoline provide, although 90 per cent of the gasoline it delivers is produced by way of fracking.
The claims haven’t but been confirmed in court docket, and FortisBC has mentioned it disagrees with the allegations.
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