Consultation Period:  July 9, 2026 – August 13, 2026

Deadline for submissions: August 13, 2026 by 11:59 pm PT

Canada’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy will be a voluntary tool to identify opportunities for climate-aligned investment in Canadian projects, sectors, and economic activities, and will help drive investments that align with Canada’s clean growth and decarbonization priorities. Developing Canada’s own national taxonomy strengthens credibility and harmonization of investments with global peers, while also reflecting Canada’s unique economy and geography.

The public comment draft of the Methodology Report provides the foundation of Canada’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, informing its future development and implementation. It is informed by a jurisdictional and literature review, engagement with the Taxonomy and Transition Planning Council and advisory groups, and the recommendations laid out in the Taxonomy Roadmap Report published by Canada’s Sustainable Finance Action Council in 2022.

The Council is specifically seeking public input and feedback on three key areas outlined in the draft report:

1. Categories and Definitions: Setting out clearly defined categories for sustainable investment is the primary purpose of a taxonomy. The consultation draft proposes an “activity classification framework” – a list of categories (green, transition, and abatement) as well as their respective definitions. This framework will be used to determine which economic activities are eligible for inclusion in the taxonomy, in which category, and under what conditions.
2. Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) and Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS): Jurisdictions globally have developed Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) criteria and Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS) to ensure that a taxonomy’s climate mitigation objectives do not adversely impact Indigenous rights, human rights, or environmental and social values. The consultation draft recommends core elements of a proposed approach to the DNSH and MSS frameworks. It also identifies specific areas where consultation is needed to further develop these frameworks.
3. Technical Screening Criteria: While the taxonomy’s activity classification framework outlines which types of activities are eligible, technical screening criteria—which will be developed in Fall 2026—determine whether a specific eligible activity actually meets a high enough bar for inclusion. The consultation draft proposes a consistent approach for the development of all sector-specific criteria.

Important Reminders

Before you begin your submission, here are a few important reminders:

• Transparency is an essential part of this process. All submissions made through the portal will be shared publicly on the Business Future Pathways website. This will include the name of the organization making the submission.
• Business Future Pathways welcomes constructive and diverse perspectives on the issues addressed through its public comment processes. We encourage participants to express disagreement, challenge proposals, and raise concerns respectfully and in good faith. To maintain a constructive consultation process, submissions of feedback should focus on the draft report content. Content that can be perceived as demeaning, discriminatory or dehumanizing language, a personal attack, threat, harassment, discriminatory statements, or content that targets individuals or groups rather than their ideas or positions may be rejected. Business Future Pathways reserves the right to decline to publish, remove, or publish only part of any submission or commentary that does not meet these standards.
• Your submission may take 1-3 days to appear below.
• To protect your privacy, we will not publish individual names or the email address that you supply with your submission. We request this information for verification purposes only. Please do not include personal or private information in any other fields or in documents that you upload to the portal.
• Once you begin the questionnaire, you will be able to save and resume your progress at any time during the consultation period. You must finish and submit the questionnaire before the consultation deadline.
• You do not have to answer every question in the questionnaire. Feel free to focus only on questions that are of most the interest or relevance to you. Mandatory questions will be marked with an asterisk.
• You will be able to upload complementary documents in PDF format once you have completed the questionnaire.
• Should you require support or accommodation to participate in this process, please contact secretariat@businessfuturepathways.ca and we will do our best to meet your needs.