ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

Keurig Canada Inc. has reached an agreement with Canada’s Competition Bureau to resolve concerns over false or misleading environmental claims made to consumers about the recyclability of its single-use Keurig K-Cup pods.

The Competition Bureau had investigated claims made about the recyclability of Keurig’s single-use coffee pods, which were found to be false or misleading. The Bureau found that, outside Quebec and British Columbia, Keurig’s K-Cups were not widely accepted by recycling programmes. The Bureau also concluded that Keurig’s claims about the steps involved to prepare the pods for recycling were false or misleading in certain municipalities.

The agreement was registered with the Competition Tribunal and has the force of a court order; it is binding for a period of five years.

As part of the agreement, Keurig has agreed to pay a CA$3 million penalty in addition to making a CA$800,000 donation to an environmental charity, and payment of $85,000 for the Bureau’s expenses in handling the case.

Keurig is also required to change its product packaging, publish corrective notices about the recyclability of its product on its websites, on social media, in national and local news media, in the packaging of all new brewing machines and via email to its subscribers, and enhance its corporate compliance programme to promote compliance with the laws and prevent deceptive marketing issues in the future.

Shortly before the Bureau’s investigation, it was reported that Keurig settled a class action lawsuit in the US over the same matter.