Draft guidance on environmental sustainability agreements
The CMA is consulting on draft guidance on the application of the Chapter I prohibition in the Competition Act 1998 to environmental sustainability agreements between businesses operating at the same level of the supply chain.
The CMA is consulting on draft guidance on the application of the Chapter I prohibition in the Competition Act 1998 to agreements between competitors or potential competitors in relation to environmental sustainability agreements. The CMA is seeking responses by 11 April 2023.
The Competition Act 1998 (CA98) prohibits agreements between businesses that restrict competition in the UK (unless they meet the conditions for exemption in section 9(1) of the CA98 or are otherwise excluded). This is known as the Chapter I prohibition. An agreement can be exempt from the Chapter I prohibition if it creates sufficient benefits to outweigh any anti-competitive effects.
The purpose of the draft guidance under consultation is to provide guidance on the application of the competition rules to agreements between competitors or potential competitors in relation to environmental sustainability (referred to as ‘environmental sustainability agreements’). This document also sets out guidance that is specific to agreements which combat or mitigate climate change where a more permissive approach is proposed.
In accordance with our policy of openness and transparency, we will publish non-confidential versions of responses on our webpages. If your response contains any information that you regard as sensitive and that you would not wish to be published, please provide at the same time a non-confidential version for publication on our webpages which omits that material and which explains why you regard it as sensitive.
Please email your response to sustainabilityhbersreview@cma.gov.uk. You can also contact us with any queries using this email address.
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