2023 saw a number of developments concerning the interplay between sustainability considerations and competition policy. This blog post highlights the five key developments that businesses need to know when collaborating to achieve sustainable aims.
Key takeaways
- Authorities in the EU and UK resisted calls for introducing a sustainability safe harbour and adopted guidelines based on a case-by-case examination of sustainability agreements.
- However, sustainability agreements concerning agri-food and environmental damage may benefit from “soft(er)” safe harbours in certain jurisdictions.
- A combination of formal and informal guidance and case law provides increasing clarity over lower risk forms of collaboration.
- It further provides clarity over the circumstances in which sustainability agreements will be considered indispensable and benefit consumers.
- Finally, in merger control, sustainability-related issues have not yet led to novel theories of harm in the EU – but outside the EU, sustainability benefits have helped parties to get their deals cleared.