Cenovus and Enbridge challenged on net zero claims
Toronto, August 20, 2025 – Today the shareholder advocacy organization Investors for Paris Compliance (I4PC) filed a complaint with the Alberta Securities Regulator (ASC) alleging misleading disclosure regarding net zero by Cenovus and Enbridge. The choice of the ASC may come as a surprise to observers who have been expecting complaints to the federal Competition Bureau, sparked by Bill C-59.
“Investors should not have to rely on citizens complaining to the Competition Bureau to ensure accurate and complete disclosure by public companies when securities regulators have said repeatedly that greenwashing runs counter to securities legislation,” said Michael Sambasivam, Senior Policy Analyst with I4PC. “Lacklustre enforcement of securities law has led to the current situation where oil and gas companies clearly misaligned with net zero are claiming otherwise, misleading investors who often have their own net zero commitments to uphold.”
The complaint alleges systematic greenwashing by Cenovus and Enbridge, including:
- Engaging in significant fossil fuel expansion while claiming alignment with net zero – a fundamental contradiction;
- Setting misleading emissions targets that allow for such expansion, either missing or mischaracterizing scope 3 emissions;
- Failure to allocate more than a fraction of capital expenditures towards activities consistent with net zero;
- Public communications, both directly and via industry associations, engaging in overly promotional disclosure regarding net zero; and
- In the case of Cenovus, incomplete information regarding the current state of its net zero targets and strategies, as the company pulled all net zero disclosures last summer.
The complaint requests that the ASC conduct an investigation into the net zero disclosures of Cenovus and Enbridge and peer companies to remedy specific instances of overly promotional disclosure, and work with other provincial securities regulators on guidance related to net zero claims by publicly listed companies in Canada.
