How to choose the right environmental certification for your business
Environmental certifications require your company to meet certain environmental criteria and standards. A third-party organization, often a government agency or industry association, assesses the performance of a product, process or model created or adopted by your business.
Some certifications are very specific, measuring companies’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or food waste, while others are broad, incorporating environmental criteria into holistic evaluations of business-wide sustainability efforts. Not all certifications have equal value. Some require a fee and a limited commitment, while others demand rigorous work and reporting.
What are environmental certifications?
Environmental certifications are assessments by third parties of a product, process or model created or adopted by your business. These certifications can cover specific areas such as greenhouse gas emissions or broader evaluations of business-wide sustainability efforts. Some certifications require a fee and limited commitment, while others demand rigorous work and reporting.
The benefit is that environmental certifications can give you a competitive edge because they signal good environmental practices to customers, peers and stakeholders.
Environmental certifications offer several benefits. They can give you a competitive edge by signalling good environmental practices to customers, peers and stakeholders. They can also help you identify opportunities to reduce costs and optimize operational efficiency. And their costs, for the audit and the paperwork process, may be offset by the eventual reductions in operating costs or improved reputation.
What environmental certifications are available for Canadian businesses?
Broader certifications, like B Corp, are designed to support comparability across sectors. Choose this type of comprehensive assessment if your company’s goals are to tackle environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues holistically. Product, issue or sector-specific certifications let you focus on just one element of your business.
BDC has compiled a comprehensive list of common and reputable environmental certifications for Canadian businesses.
Widely applicable environmental certifications
| Certification | Focus | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability | Every three years | |
| Environmental management, and the establishment, implementation, maintenance and improvement of organizations’ systems | Every three years, with an annual surveillance audit | |
| ISO 50001 | Energy performance, cost reduction and sustainability | Every three years, with an annual surveillance audit |
| 1% for the Planet | The investment of 1% of your business’s annual revenue in environmental causes | Annual certification process |
| Single-Use Plastic Free Certification | Cutting reliance on single-use plastics | Every two years |
| The Climate Label | The demonstration of your ongoing commitment to decarbonization | Annually |
| GreenStep Certified | The recognition and measurement of your business’s environmental performance | Every two years |
Product-specific environmental certifications 
| Certification | Focus | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Cradle to Cradle | The environmental impacts of products and materials | Every three years |
| Rainforest Alliance Certification | The economic and environmental sustainability of ingredients | Every three years |
| Green Seal | Environmental management and the curbing of resource consumption | Every three years |
| Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) | Assessment of the sources harvested to make organic cotton, wool and linen | Annually |
| Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) | Responsible forest management for wood and wood-based products | Annually |
| ECORESPONSIBLE | Quebec-based companies committed to following a circular economy model. | Depends on the type of certification |
Industry-specific environmental certifications
Food and beverage
| Certification | Focus | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Feast On | Locally sourced ingredients for Ontario food service businesses | Every five years |
| Canada Organic Standards | Food safety regulations for organic products | Annual on-site inspection |
| Better Table | The reduction of food waste and associated costs for restaurants and other food service businesses | Not applicable. Certification suggests a continuous improvement loop. |
| Ocean Wise | Responsible seafood sourcing | Annually |
Hospitality and tourism
| Certification | Focus | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Tourism (from GreenStep) | The ESG impacts of tourism businesses and destinations |
For destinations, every three years For businesses, every two years |
| Green Key Global | Energy, water and waste management for establishments and destinations in the hospitality sector | Every three years |
Top 3 benefits of certifying your business
Angela Nagy, Founder and CEO of GreenStep, a sustainability consulting and certification firm, has helped thousands of organizations assess their performance and pursue certifications. She has helped them boost their marketability and, importantly, deliver positive and tangible results for the environment.
She points to three ways the certification process benefits your company:
1. Improves your business processes
The work your company undertakes to achieve an environmental certification will help it streamline its business practices in areas such as reducing waste and lowering GHG emissions.
2. Elevates your brand and reputation
Certifications allow you to publicly showcase your commitment to minimizing your environmental impact. You will stand out from the competition and demonstrate to your customers, employees, investors, suppliers and partners that you are serious about sustainability.
Some purchasers, such as governments and other large buyers, require proof that their suppliers and contractors are meeting specific sustainability targets. Certifications such as ISO 14001 can help your company access these opportunities.
3. Future-proofs your business
Certifications and the work they entail can also help your business protect itself from market fluctuations. Nagy points to Canada’s plan to increase the federal carbon tax by $15 per tonne annually until 2030. By pursuing emission-cutting certifications today, you can get ahead of your competition and demonstrate a vision for the future of your business. “Stakeholders don't just want to know what you're doing now; they want to know what your plan is to improve in the future,” Nagy says.
Certification process steps
“Getting certified doesn’t mean that you’re green and you’re done. This is just a step in a process of continuous improvement and learning as an organization,” says Nagy.
Here are the five steps she suggests your business takes to complete a certification process.
1. Identify your business goals
It’s important for your company to assess its environmental goals before committing to any given certification. Ask yourself, what do you actually hope to achieve?
Getting certified doesn’t mean that you’re green and you’re done. This is just a step in a process of continuous improvement and learning as an organization.
Angela Nagy
President and CEO, GreenStep
Companies can emerge from a certification process with a better understanding of their opportunities, improved operational practices and a clearer path toward greater sustainability.
2. Survey your stakeholders
Surveying your staff, clients, and even your communities can provide valuable information and help you identify how your business can make positive differences in its operations.
“Ask yourself what your goals are in those areas and identify the actions needed to achieve them,” Nagy says. Then, find a certification that will guide your progress.
A good certification should take some work. We want some rigour in the assessment process, and we want someone to check our answers and challenge us on our responses.
Angela Nagy
President and CEO, GreenStep
3. Select credible certification
“Consumers are becoming much more savvy. They’re really looking into the credibility behind certifications,” Nagy says. When a sleuthing consumer finds a company boasting a certification that requires little or no proof and has weak standards, then accusations of greenwashing may follow.
“Make sure that you’re associating your organization with certifications and badges that you’re confident have a high level of credibility.”
Here are some basic questions you should ask yourself to get a sense of any certification’s weight and credibility:
- What do they ask of you?
Generally, the quicker the certification process, the less credible it tends to be. That’s because thorough certifications—ones that represent the work a company must do to achieve a given standard—require applicants to submit and demonstrate their efforts, such as on emissions metrics or waste-cutting practices. - What are its criteria based on?
A reputable certification should be able to show applicants how it determines its standards and which expert bodies back up its criteria. - What follow-up exists?
Certifications that require ongoing reporting from a company, even after they have been granted a badge, are typically more credible because they demonstrate that a company takes its goals seriously and didn’t just pay an annual fee to get a marketing boost. - How much does it cost?
As a general rule, the cheaper the certification, the less rigorous it will be. That’s because in-depth options will involve more work from the certifiers: things like discussions with assessors, reporting requirements and periodic check-ins. - Broad or sector-specific?
Some may choose to take a broad approach and start with a certification like B Corp. Others may want to zero in on a certification that is more product or industry-specific. “There’s no one-size-fits-all approach,” Nagy says.
4. Start small and set benchmarks
Nagy recommends starting small, with goals that follow the SMART principles: they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. This results in an organized and measurable approach, where everyone understands the company’s goals and can track their progress towards them.
When a company understands how its current practices compare to its goals, it can distinguish between SMART goals and those that may require more time and resources to accomplish.
Many certifications include initial assessment stages. This can help your company establish a baseline for a given issue and plot out an action plan to improve on it.
For example, certifications like B Corp offer free assessment tools that companies can use to gauge their standing on metrics related to sustainability, including green and environmental metrics.
5. Avoid common “greenwashing” pitfalls
Not all certifications are equally recognized by stakeholders, so it’s important to choose a credible certification that has earned the trust of consumers. When businesses do not make an informed choice regarding certification, they may be subject to claims of greenwashing by consumers.
Some rules of good practice include:
- Use verified third-party verification.
- Do not create your own labels.
- Avoid vague terms such as “eco-friendly” or “green.”
How much do green certifications cost?
Fees for certifications can vary widely, often depending on a business’s size and sector. Here are some examples:
B Corp costs an upfront application fee, plus annual fees. Equity pricing, based on revenue, is available for companies owned by people from underrepresented groups, including Black and Indigenous people, women, veterans, LGBTQIA+ people and persons with disabilities. The fees get higher as your gross annual revenue increases. For the most up-to-date costs, use their fee calculator.
Cradle to Cradle’s fee structure is more complex. First, there is the annual community fee, which varies depending on an applicant’s gross annual revenue. Beyond that, a company must also pay certification fees for each product or product group it wishes to certify, and for recertification every two years.
Get started on certifying your business today
Although environmental certifications require time and money, if chosen wisely, their benefits can make them worthwhile.
Impactful certifications can help you build a more sustainable business, attract customers and employees, and demonstrate to your stakeholders that you are serious and committed to sustainability and the environment.
And if you’re struggling with where to start, BDC can help you set goals and pick certifications that make sense for your business.
Next steps
Constructing a new building? Retrofitting an existing one? Download the free BDC guide, LEED, ENERGY STAR and BOMA BEST: A guide to Canadian green building standards and certifications. It will help you put together a presentation to financial institutions on the environmental impact and intentions of your project.