Greenwashing and the Sustainable Energy Transition
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Annual Grand Challenge 2024-2025: Greenwashing and the Sustainable Energy Transition
Cash Prizes to Top 3 Teams
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Target audience
Open to Canadian undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, business, law, arts, science or any other relevant discipline.
Team composition
Student teams must be multidisciplinary. Teams should be comprised of a minimum of 4 members and a maximum of 6 members.
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Timeline |
2024-2025 |
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Announcement of Annual Grand Challenge |
November 2024 |
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Deadline for team registration (4- 6 members) |
December 20, 2024 Participant package including materials and guidelines |
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Deadline for registered teams to send their proposal |
January 6, 2025 |
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Announcement of top 3 finalist teams. The teams will be invited to present their final solution in person at McGill University. |
January 20 2025 |
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Remote workshop/coaching session for the finalists |
February 2025 |
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Annual Grand Challenge Final with presentation by the top 3 finalist teams in person at McGill University and announcement of grand prize winner team. |
March 12, 2025 |
Problem statement
In recent years, the global shift towards sustainability has driven both consumer demand and regulatory changes.
In June 2024, the Government of Canada passed Bill C-59, adding 鈥済reenwashing鈥� 鈥� making unfounded public claims about the environmental benefits of a product, business or business activity 鈥� to the list of activities prohibited by the Competition Act. This legislation adds substantial accountability to businesses by mandating that environmental benefits be substantiated through proper evidence and testing. The has solicited public advice and feedback concerning implementation of the legislation.
This year鈥檚 Annual Grand Challenge invites teams to tackle the complex task of implementing, enforcing and complying with these new anti-greenwashing provisions within the context of Canada鈥檚 energy transition.
Teams can propose concrete means (e.g., tools, instruments, methods, procedures, protocols) that will support application of anti-greenwashing law to emerging processes, technologies or products associated with the energy transition (e.g., alternative fuels, renewable energy systems, energy storage technologies, electric vehicles, etc.). Solutions can also address how consumer-facing businesses can ensure their commitments to emissions-reductions align with the new anti-greenwashing provisions.
This year's Annual Grand Challenge is organized by the Power Sustainable Office for Decarbonization, in collaboration with the McGill Centre for Innovation in Storage and Conversion of Energy (McISCE) and is proudly sponsored by Gildan, reflecting our mutual interests in the clean energy transition and shared values.
Teams can address questions such as:
- How can the legislation be implemented in a manner that supports innovation, competition and accountability in energy transition rather than undermining them?
- By what processes and according to which criteria should public claims about the greenhouse gas emissions reductions benefits of products and businesses be assessed?
- How should potential greenhouse gas emissions reductions benefits of a product or business be measured? How should data concerning claims about these benefits be generated, collected, verified and analyzed?
- How can transparency and confidentially be balanced in making these determinations?
- What role should citizens, communities, and scientists play in implementing and enforcing this legislation? What resources, strategies and tools might encourage and support them in playing these roles effectively?
- How can innovators, technology and product developers, and companies be supported in complying with the legislation, and developing best practices in promoting their products and businesses?
- What remedies would be most effective in cases where unfounded claims are made?
Teams are not limited to addressing the questions above, and are encouraged to propose creative, multi-dimensional solutions. These could include technological designs, novel business models, legal and regulatory frameworks, designs for public agencies, codes, standards and certification methodologies, consumer awareness tools, etc.
Highlights of AGC 2023-2024
Further Reading and Resources
- Articles on the legal implications of the amendment:
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- A CBC article on the response to the legislation by the Government of Alberta and the Pathways Alliance:
听 - In response to the passage of the legislation, the Pathways Alliance took down its website content, replacing it with this:
听 - Similarly, a听Biogas project removed their website after the law came into effect:
听 - An article in La Presse on the potential implications of the legislation for graphite mining in Quebec:
听 - To better understand Canada鈥檚 energy, use today and its transition pathways, consult the Canadian Energy Regulator鈥檚 2023 study to net-zero by 2050:
听 - Finally, here is a message from the Competition Bureau indicating its plans for public consultations of operationalizing and implementing the legislation:
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Past events
February 28, 2024
Powered by Gildan
Objective 鈥� To raise awareness about the social and environmental impact of waste in apparel supply chains and to encourage students to come up with innovative solutions to address this issue.
AGC Winners
Team NRG (University of British Columbia)
We're tackling the urgent issue of textile waste head-on with SoFafilling, an impact-driven solution that harnesses cutting-edge respinning technologies to repurpose landfill-bound materials for upholstery. Our vision? To establish a Global Apparel Coalition, uniting major fast fashion and luxury brands to be a part of the change from acting as a source of feedstock to being partners in the solution. By transforming discarded fabrics into high-quality upholstery for commercial furniture, we're not only reducing environmental impact, but also creating sustainable solutions for commercial spaces like universities, offices, and beyond. Let's revolutionize apparel waste with SoFafilling to make a lasting impact on both the planet and the way we approach textiles.
Team NRG:听Elizabeth Chung, Azar Chatur, Arav Bubna, Bella Chan, Hypatia Behar-Gryl.
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The EcoSolutions Label (McGill University)
Our Threaded Treasure is the solution we have all been looking for to give a new life to the clothes we love. Each material used in our bags narrates infinite stories. Our mission revolves around fabric upcycling, transforming old garments into stylish, fashionable handbags, enabling your cherished clothes to accompany you in the milestones you've yet to achieve.
Team EcoSolutions Label:听Alexandra Nitu, Abby Li, Neha Lalany, Laetitia Doumet.
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Team Desaustainable (McGill University)
The Collector Initiative: Redesigning Fast Fashion Waste Disposal
Team Desaustainable:听Brett Kwan, Mariapaz Pajares, Camila Sabogal
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AGC finalists
Due to the high quality and calibre of the presentations and innovative ideas, it was decided that 5 teams would move on to the final round.
Close the Loop (McGill University)
We bring together textile manufacturing and recycling by focusing on garments鈥� eco-conception, guiding consumers鈥� choices with Eco-labeling, and streamlining disposal programs. Our ultimate goal is to permanently close the loop in the garment industry's material lifecycle.
StyleSphere (University of Waterloo and McGill University).
StyleSphere is a solution enabling consumers and brands to have and provide transparency surrounding the fashion supply chain and sustainable practices. Designed to connect fashion and the circular economy, the extension provides consumers with a sustainability score regarding products they are interested in purchasing as well as more sustainable alternatives, whereas brands will have the opportunity to receive gently used inventory and resell at similar margins. StyleSphere is reshaping the future of the fashion industry through circular consumption.
We also acknowledge听all remaining semi-finalists for their solid presentations, unique solutions, and passion for sustainability. We hope to see you again in future editions of the Challenge!
The competition will leverage human centered design to develop compelling solutions and will serve as a platform for students to showcase their research, creativity, and analytical skills, and provides students with direct exposure to industry practitioners through coaching, mentoring, and case presentation sessions.
The Environmental Impact
- $120 billion dollars of excess fabric found in apparel supply chains (Forbes 2021).
- Annual apparel production = 100 billion pieces out of which 20% are never sold (Forbes 2020).
- In Canada, customers dispose approximately 1.34 million tons of clothes annually out of which only 240 thousand tones are recycled/reused, and the remainder is landfilled or incinerated (Environment Canada 2022).
- A European Parliament report estimates that waste in apparel supply chains (including wastewater in the dyeing process) accounts for 20% of water pollution and 10% of global GHG emissions.
The Human & Social Cost
- In several manufacturing nations, including Bangladesh, China, and India, the minimum wage only covers half to a fifth of what a family needs to make ends meet (Earth.org 2022).
- In America, workers put in grueling 12-hour days, making garments that will be sold for anywhere from $5 to $75 for around three cents apiece paid out (Forbes 2020).
- A reported 9 out of 10 garment workers in Bangladesh are paid so unfairly for their labor that they cannot afford food for themselves or their families. Yet to provide workers with a livable wage would cost some companies as little as an estimated 1% of the retail price of garments (Centre for Biological Diversity 2023).
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The Grand Challenge
Component 1*
To identify and define a problem and the end-user that is being impacted with respect to the management of waste in the fashion supply chain;
Component 2**
To develop a human-centered, desirable, viable and impactful proof-of-concept solution that can be implemented by the end-user.
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* The problem can be related to any part of the apparel supply chain (farmers, fabric production, dyeing, clothes manufacturing, labor practices, sales and marketing, consumption, second-hand clothes collection, sorting, grading, thrift stores, recycling, or ultimate landfill waste).
** A concept solution may be a business model (e.g., ), a technology (e.g., ) , an educational campaign, an exhibition (e.g., ), a social platform, transparency into apparel supply chains (e.g., ) or legal frameworks.
Cash Prizes to Top 3 Teams
Target Audience
Open to Canadian undergraduate and graduate students from fashion and textile design, engineering, business, law, arts, or any other relevant discipline.
Team Composition
Student teams must be multidisciplinary.
Teams should be comprised of a minimum of 4 members and a maximum of 6 members.
Format
Design-thinking format, focused on a human-centered approach. Inspiring creativity and encouraging experimentation from the students, teams will be coached by experts throughout the competition, benefitting from a customized learning methodology.
Teams will be lead through a design thinking process by a lead facilitator via online workshops. Specific coaches will be assigned to teams to provide more personalized coaching throughout the competition.
Five Phases of the Design-Thinking Process
- Empathize 鈥� The problem space is broadly presented to the student teams in the first workshop. The students will then be required to speak to end-users and subject matter experts in their respective domains (relevant organizations and community groups) who can provide varying perspectives and who are impacted by the grand challenge). The students are required to interview these stakeholders.
- Define 鈥� Based on research conducted in Phase 1, the students will be required to define the problem that they want to tackle by reframing what they learned in Phase 1. Problem statements should focus on the needs of a particular group of people, with a defined persona.
- Ideate 鈥� Students brainstorm creatively on possible solutions, choosing an idea that is innovative and impactful. The ideas are communicated to the team coaches who provide feedback throughout this phase.
- Prototype 鈥� Create draft solutions, test, and iterate, based on feedback.
- Present to judges 鈥� Have the solution evaluated by a panel, obtain constructive feedback, learn from experience
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