Canadian Energy Giants Accused of Greenwashing Over Emissions Targets

Canadian energy giants Cenovus Energy and Enbridge face a greenwashing complaint from Investors for Paris Compliance, accusing them of misleading investors with "systematic greenwashing" by claiming a commitment to zeroing out emissions while failing to allocate significant capital expenditure to reach net zero. The complaint was filed with the Alberta Securities Commission, which has the power to compel changes in how companies disclose information and fine those that fail to comply.

Calgary — A shareholder advocacy group has filed a greenwashing complaint with Alberta's securities watchdog, alleging that Cenovus Inc. and Enbridge Inc. have misled investors in their environmental disclosures. Investors for Paris Compliance (I4PC) argues that the companies have breached the Alberta Securities Act with "long-standing and widespread inaccurate and incomplete disclosure" related to net-zero commitments [1].

The complaint, filed with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), claims that Cenovus and Enbridge have led investors to believe their business models are aligned with the net-zero energy transition, when in fact, their plans threaten both their existing business and fossil fuel expansion [1]. The companies have been accused of exaggerating or misrepresenting their net-zero commitments, omitting Scope 3 emissions (emissions from customers burning fuels) in their targets, and offering scant details about concrete plans to achieve their ambitions [2][3].

Michael Sambasivam, senior analyst at I4PC, said, "We don't believe the burden for enforcement for these kinds of complaints should be on private citizens and private groups." He added that the group chose to file its complaint with the ASC instead of the federal Competition Tribunal under new anti-greenwashing rules because "investors have a strong interest in the credible and timely enforcement of securities law" [1].

Enbridge, in response, stated that it remains committed to pursuing net-zero GHG emissions from its operations by 2050 and has reduced absolute emissions from its operations by 22% compared to its 2018 baseline [2]. However, the complaint argues that the companies' net-zero claims are overly promotional and misleading, potentially in breach of securities rules [2][3].

The Alberta Securities Act prohibits misleading or untrue statements by companies, and the ASC has the power to compel changes in how companies disclose information and to fine those that fail to comply [1][5]. Cenovus and Enbridge have both set the target of achieving net-zero emissions from their operations, but the complaint argues that their commitments are not credible due to the lack of detail and allocation of capital expenditure towards achieving these goals [2][3].

References:
[1] https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/group-files-greenwashing-complaint-securities-080010432.html
[2] https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/cenovus-enbridge-accused-greenwashing-under-040554027.html
[3] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4487432-cenovus-enbridge-accused-of-greenwashing-by-shareholder-group
[4] https://www.facebook.com/groups/914050332696240/posts/2043107046457224/
[5] https://www.energyconnects.com/news/renewables/2025/august/greenwashing-complaint-filed-against-canadian-fossil-fuel-companies/