A general view shows a Syncrude oil sands mining facility near Fort McKay, on Sept. 7, 2022. The oil industry is pushing back against a bill that would make it validate its environmental claims.Last month’s passage of anti-greenwashing Bill C-59 has caused an extremely strong reaction in the oil industry. As a former industry executive with more than 30 years of experience leading major research and engineering at ExxonMobil, I struggle to understand what the fuss is about.
But if, on the other hand, the oil industry cannot support their environmental claims with evidence, why are they making such claims in the first place? And, most importantly, how are they to be believed? Lack of transparency seeds distrust, and the new legislation will offer much-needed protection against false, unfounded, or misleading advertising.
The oil industry has cast doubts on Bill C-59′s requirement that claims must meet an internationally recognized methodology. Yet credible international standards already exist, even industry-created ones. Consider for example the, a key tool published in conjunction with the American Petroleum Institute and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers .