Global antitrust sustainability heatmap

Horizontal Agreements in the Environmental Context: In 2020, the OECD issued a paper that discusses whether competition policy should be influenced by sustainability. The 2020 paper follows the OECD's 2010 paper, which considers, from national perspectives, the interaction between horizontal agreements with environmental goals and competition law policies.

The 2020 paper also analyses the substantive application of competition law to sustainability issues by exploring the extent to which competition law can be interpreted in a way that fosters or limits sustainability initiatives. In addition, Australia and New Zealand, Germany, Greece, Lithuania and the Netherlands have submitted contributions to this discussion. The OECD's 2020 paper provides a thorough introduction to the state of play of sustainability in the context of competition law. It encourages agencies to be clear about their objectives and priorities in order to provide clarity on how sustainability fits into competition law, with formal and informal guidance emphasised. It also examines approval procedures, sandboxing, admissible evidence, capacity, fining, and international co-operation as possible measures to further sustainable goals. In December 2021, the OECD roundtable assessed these issues again and published a follow-up paper specifically on environmental considerations in competition enforcement. Additionally, the 2022 OECD Competition Open Day addressed, inter alia, Green Innovation. In December 2022, OECD Global Forum on Competition will discuss the goals of competition policy including the question on whether "competition law and policy needs to adapt as a policy instrument to better accommodate socio-economic trends such as the rising importance of sustainability".

Current position of the European Commission: Since 2025 Teresa Ribera is the executive vice president for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Teresa Ribera is a lawyer by education with a strong environmental background gained from her time as a politician in the Spanish government in charge of the climate change-related agenda. In her role she oversees competition as well as climate-change related policies. Given Ribera's background, there are hopes that DG COMP under her leadership may be more open to sustainability related arguments in merger control as well as antitrust enforcement. 

Potentially more room for sustainability related arrangements in merger reviews: On 30 April 2026, the EC published draft revised Merger Guidelines for public consultation (closed on 26 June 2026, final guidelines expected in Q4 2026), consolidating the 2004 Horizontal and 2008 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. For the first time, the draft expressly recognises sustainability as relevant competitive parameters and under certain circumstances, through a new "theory of benefit" framework, allows merging parties to rely on sustainability-related efficiencies.

In October 2023, the European Commission published a paper on how the European Commission takes into account sustainability considerations in its merger control review and provides examples with references to its decisional practice. It includes insights on how the EC views sustainability factors in market definition, competitive assessment, and remedies.

Guidelines on cooperations in the agri-food sector: In December 2023, the EC published guidelines for sustainability agreements for agriculture producers to clarify the application of the Article 210a exemption contained in Regulation 1308/2013. Article 210a exempts restrictions of competition in both horizontal and vertical agreements in the agriculture sector that are indispensable to achieving sustainability standards higher than EU or national mandatory standards. The exemption complements other exemptions that may be available to sustainability agreements including under the Horizontal Cooperation Guidelines, the Vertical Guidelines (see below) or more broadly under the exemption laid down in Article 101(3) TFEU. They describe in detail conditions under which agreements between actors in the agricultural and food chains can benefit from the exemption to Article 101 (1) TFEU's prohibition of anti-competitive agreements. The guidelines discuss each aspect of the exemption. These include the following: (i) scope of the exclusion specifying that the exemption applies to agreements including at least one agricultural producer as a party; (ii) eligible sustainability objectives and standards; (iii) the test to identify indispensable restrictions to competition; and (iv) the scope for the EC's and national competition authorities' right to stop or require amendments to the sustainability agreement. Read more in our alert here. On 14 July 2025, the EC issued its first-ever opinion on the compatibility of a sustainability agreement with Article 210a of the CMO Regulation, concerning an agreement among French (Occitanie) organic and Haute Valeur Environnementale wine producers to set indicative prices incentivising sustainable production. The EC found the agreement satisfied all Article 210a conditions, confirming the exemption can extend to price-related provisions where indispensable to the sustainability objective.

Guidelines on sustainability cooperation agreements between competitors: In June 2023, the EC revised Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to horizontal cooperation agreements ("Horizontal Guidelines"), which provide guidance on how to self-assess sustainability agreements under EU competition law. 

The Horizontal Guidelines use a broad definition of "sustainability" so as to include social objectives (e.g. labour and human rights), as well as environmental initiatives. The EC also takes a broad view of the "benefits" that are relevant to the competitive analysis, including: (i) individual use value (e.g. improved product quality or variety); (ii) individual non-use value (where the consumers' use experience with the product is not directly improved, but consumers value the impact of their sustainable consumption on others); and (iii) collective benefits (where, irrespective of the consumers' individual appreciation of the product, objective benefits accrue to a larger group of which the consumer is part). The Horizontal Guidelines provide examples of four type of agreements that are unlikely to raise competition concerns. These examples are merely illustrative and non-exhaustive: (i) agreements that aim to comply with legally binding international agreements whether they have been implemented by national law; (ii) agreements that do not concern the economic activity of undertakings but their internal corporate conduct; (iii) agreements to set up a database containing general information about suppliers that have (un) sustainable values chains; and (iv) agreements between competitors relating to the organisation of industry-wide awareness campaigns raising customers 'awareness of the environmental impact or other negative externalities of their consumption'.

The Horizontal Guidelines also introduce a "soft safe harbour" for sustainability standards. A sustainability standardisation agreement is unlikely to raise concerns where it secures transparency, open and non-discriminatory access, voluntary participation, freedom to adopt a higher standard and does not involve exchange of commercially sensitive information. At the same time, at least one of the following conditions should be satisfied: (i) the sustainability standard must not lead to a "significant" increase in price or "significant" reduction in quality of the products; or (ii) combined market share of the participants must not exceed 20% on any relevant market. Sustainability standardisation agreements will raise competition concerns if they restrict competition by object or lead to "appreciable actual or likely negative effects on competition". 

The Horizontal Guidelines encourage companies to rely on the EC's Informal Guidance to provide clarity on "novel or unresolved questions on individual sustainability agreements". So far only few companies have formally asked for such guidance. In January 2025, it was reported that Teresa Ribera said at one of the conferences that her team is working on how to provide businesses with a faster response when providing such response. 

Sustainability considerations in vertical agreements: In June 2022, the EC adopted the guidelines on vertical restraints ("Vertical Guidelines"), which provide guidance on how to self-assess vertical agreements under EU competition law. When assessing the qualitative criteria for distributors to be part of a selective distribution system, the Vertical Guidelines specify that sustainable objectives may be taken into account, including: (i) climate change; (ii) environmental protection; and (iii) limiting the use of natural resources.  Finally, the Vertical Guidelines make reference to the fact that non-compete clauses of a longer duration may be justified in order to offset the investment risk in a project aiming to produce sustainable products or services.

Sustainability considerations when defining markets: In February 2024, the EC published the revised Market Definition Notice, marking the first update since its initial adoption in 1997. In contrast to the Market Definition Notice from 1997, which treated price as the key competitive parameter for market definition, the revised notice codifies the EC's more recent thinking around key competitive parameters. This now also includes the product's quality in various aspects including its sustainability.

White & Case Contacts:

James Killick, Partner, Brussels

Dr. Michael Engel, Partner, London

Nina Frie, Professional Support Lawyer, Brussels

Antitrust Rules: The Austrian Cartel and Competition Law Amendment Act 2021 ("KaWeRÄG 2021") includes the aim of increasing sustainability initiatives. Austria was amongst the first countries globally and the first in the EU to formally address sustainability considerations in its competition legislation. In particular, the KaWeRÄG 2021 introduced the so called "sustainability exception" reflecting Article 101(3) TFEU under the Austrian competition law: "Consumers shall also be considered to be allowed a fair share of the resulting benefit if the improvement of the production or distribution of goods or the promotion of technical or economic progress contributes to an ecologically sustainable or climate-neutral economy". The scope of the exception is limited to ecological sustainability. Broader sustainability considerations, such as social aspects, fall outside its remit. A key feature of the sustainability exception is that the ecological benefits of a cooperation are not required to arise in the same relevant market in which the restriction of competition occurs. In EU law, there is no explicit antitrust privilege for "sustainability cooperations".

There is not yet any decisional practice on the applicability of sustainability exception by the Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde, "FCA") or the Austrian cartel courts. 

Merger Control: Sustainability aspects can be relevant in the context of merger control (Sections 7 et seq. KartG). According to Section 12(2), no. 3 KartG, the Cartel Court shall declare that the merger is not prohibited, despite the conditions for prohibition being met, if "the macroeconomic advantages significantly outweigh the disadvantages of the merger". The respective explanatory notes refer to economic policy objectives, whereby environmental standards are also to be taken into account.

Sustainability Cooperation Guidelines: In September 2022, the FCA published its sustainability cooperation guidelines. The guidelines aim to provide more legal certainty for companies that envisage entering into cooperations and cover, inter alia, guidance on (i) the scope for application of the sustainability exception, (ii) the parameters companies have to demonstrate and prove with regard to the efficiencies brought about by the cooperation and the indispensability of the restriction of competition, and (iii) the relevance to demonstrate that the efficiencies brought about are substantial (including in certain cases to quantify qualitative efficiencies). 
The FCA acknowledges the current challenge to provide practical examples regarding the various aspects of the sustainability exception, and plans the guidelines to become a "living document" updated on a regular basis. The FCA explicitly encourages companies to reach out early to discuss potential competition law implications of an envisaged initiative. According to the FCA, only in certain isolated cases may cooperation among competitors or undertakings along the value chain in the form of sustainability cooperation be necessary in order to achieve sustainability objectives. The FCA emphasises that "compliance with competition law rules does not, in general, stand in the way of a sustainable and climate-neutral economy, and that free competition is in most cases the best driver for change".

On 2 April 2026, the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") adopted its Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements. The first part of the guidelines sets out the general principles applicable to the assessment of sustainability agreements under competition law. The guidelines identify sustainability agreements that are unlikely to restrict competition and explain under which conditions sustainability agreements that restrict competition may qualify for an exemption. The guidelines also address the specific rules applicable to sustainability agreements in the agricultural sector. In particular, it clarifies in which circumstances companies may benefit from an exemption under Article 210bis of the European CMO Regulation (Common Market Organisation). 

The BCA can provide further guidance through informal opinions, in order to assess the compatibility of envisaged agreements with competition law. For instance, on 19 December 2025, the BCA informally cleared a joint commitment by coffee suppliers, representing over 90% of the Belgian market, to sell only industrially compostable coffee pods from 12 August 2026 - 18 months ahead of the statutory deadline under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, finding the commitment necessary and not an appreciable restriction of competition.

General position of the Competition Authority: The Czech Competition Authority (the “CCA”) has not yet issued any formal guidelines on sustainability considerations. The CCA has been taking a rather conservative approach in addressing the issue of how a positive environmental impact may act as a counterweight to potential anti-competitive effects of agreements between competitors. The CCA has not addressed sustainability considerations in its annual reports since 2022, when it stated that environmental and sustainability policy considerations in antitrust impact assessments are very topical and that competition authorities can undoubtedly contribute to sustainability and climate protection through their policies. Furthermore, the chairman of the CCA highlighted in a 2022 press release three key approaches towards sustainability and environmentally friendly solutions:

1. The CCA intends to severely punish prohibited anticompetitive practices aimed at slowing down or frustrating the progress towards sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions;
2. The CCA intends to strongly punish prohibited anticompetitive agreements that are only pretending to be justified by bringing benefits to sustainability and the environment – so-called “greenwashing” practices – and considers such agreements to be hardcore cartels; and
3. The CCA intends to maintain a reserved approach towards markets with natural consumer demand for green products and services since undertakings should be motivated to deliver sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions in order to get more customers and increase profits on such markets, which is why there is no need to take a more lenient approach to agreements that increase sustainability and distort competition.

Czech antitrust legislation does not formally account for sustainability considerations: There is a general trend across various economy sectors in the Czech Republic to recognise sustainability benefits; nevertheless, Czech antitrust legislation (i.e. the Act on the Protection of Competition) has not yet been amended to take into account sustainability considerations to authorise sustainability cooperation agreements, which may otherwise fall within the general prohibition on anti-competitive practices between competitors.

Despite two sets of major changes to the Act on the Protection of Competition – an amendment implementing the ECN+ Directive, which entered into force on 29 July 2023 and introduced a number of procedural changes, and an even more substantial draft amendment, which is currently being prepared by the CCA and focuses on introducing a new competition tool, enabling sanctions against individual managers for anticompetitive conduct, and introducing a call-in model for sub-threshold merger review – sustainability considerations are not among the proposed changes.

In line with EU law, the Act on the Protection of Competition allows for exemptions from the ban on anticompetitive agreements when certain efficiencies and benefits are met. As can be seen from the decision-making practice to date (below), the CCA accepts sustainability considerations or contributions to environmental objectives as suitable efficiencies. However, the CCA maintains a reserved view towards such efficiencies, meaning that every efficiency justification is carefully scrutinised. 

Sustainability considerations in the CCA’s decision-making practice: Notwithstanding the CCA’s conservative approach on sustainability considerations, White & Case has been successfully advising four Czech banks on their ATM pooling arrangement, which brought important efficiencies and benefits for consumers, including reducing the banks’ carbon footprint, but at the same time combined direct competitors with significant market shares. This was one of very few projects of horizontal cooperation where the CCA accepted that it is justified by sustainability considerations. The banks have subsequently agreed to extend the cooperation also to ATM deposits. The CCA perceives the project as one of only a handful cases of cooperation where greater weight was given to the sustainability benefits than to the risk of raising antitrust concerns.

White & Case Contacts:

Ivo Janda, Partner, Prague

General position of the competition authority: The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority ("DCCA") has indicated it considers sustainability as a parameter of competition important to its mission. It is active in monitoring markets facilitating sustainable development.

Publications: The Competition Council's report for 2024 highlights the competition authorities' role in green transition. The report indicates that the DCCA will focus on ensuring that its competition policy supports the green transition, and that regulation does not unnecessarily restrict competition. With respect to the market for charging electric cars, the report concludes, e.g. that regulation in this market has affected competition negatively. It hence issued recommendations to strengthen competition, which included an update of several regulations concerning the sector. 

In September 2022, the DCCA published guidelines on environmental considerations in public procurements. The guidelines contain a review of the rules on sustainable/green procurement, supplemented by relevant practical examples from completed tenders. The purpose of the guidance is to help public buyers to conduct sustainable/green procurement in accordance with the existing framework for procurement.

Decisional practice: In its assessment of SEAS-NVE's acquisition of the Danish power company Ørsted, the DCCA considered sustainability arguments in its delineation of the market for retail sales of power and natural gas. It concluded that consumers view power and natural gas sold by different suppliers as differentiated products e.g. due to environmental considerations (see the Danish Competition Council's decision of 24 June 2020, here).

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (the FCCA) assesses sustainability agreements on the basis of the EU guidelines and current competition legislation. The FCCA provides case-by-case guidance for companies. Sustainability agreements were flagged as a relevant topic for competition and consumer policy during Finland's Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2019. The Finnish Competition Authority has not issued any specific guidance yet.

The competition authorities of the Nordic countries published a joint report in 2010. The report underlines the importance of competition in achieving environmental goals in a cost-effective way, and advocates for market-based approaches, such as pricing emissions in environmental policy. Exemptions for proportionate and clear environmental benefits are possible.

White & Case Contact:

Marika Harjula, Counsel, Brussels

General position of the competition authority: In recent years, the Autorité de la Concurrence ("ADLC") has increasingly focused on sustainability matters within the context of competition law. The ADLC's investigative services are integrated into an internal network devoted to addressing sustainability concerns, known as the "Sustainable Development Network". 

Since 2020, the ADLC has adopted an "open door" policy, enabling stakeholders involved in sustainability-related projects to seek the ADLC's guidance on assessing the compatibility of their initiatives with competition law.

The ADLC has published its 2025-2026 roadmap, once again emphasising its commitment to sustainable development as one of its core priorities. Building on the information set out in its previous roadmap, the ADLC highlights its ongoing work on implementing a procedural framework enabling undertakings to seek guidance on the interplay between competition rules and sustainability (together with its targeted sector-specific inquiries) and continues to mainstream sustainability considerations across all aspects of its practice.

Sector-specific inquiries: In February 2024, the ADLC started ex-officio investigations into the product rating system sectors aiming to provide sustainability-related information on products and services offered to consumers. 

In January 2025, the ADLC published its final opinion, emphasising the value of rating systems in providing consumers with information on the sustainability attributes of products or services. The ADLC issued recommendations for publishers of rating systems, urging them to ensure transparency regarding the companies whose products or services are rated and to inform consumers about the governance of the rating system. Furthermore, both the rated companies and consumers should be made aware of the sustainability criteria assessed and the factors used to generate and update the ratings (such as data, criteria, and weighting). The ADLC also stressed the importance of ensuring the robustness of the method (rating criteria and their weighting) and the reliability (accuracy and precision) of the data employed.

In March 2023, the ADLC launched a public consultation as part of its inquiry into the land passenger transport sector. In November 2023, the ADLC published its opinion on the competitive functioning in this sector. The ADLC notes that sustainable development is one of the objectives of the policy to open up land passenger transport to competition. It points out that intermodality (i.e. the combination of several transportation methods in the itinerary of travelers) creates alternatives to individual car use and is one aspect of the link between sustainable development and competition policy. In its analysis, the ALDC endeavoured to include intermodality, an essential passenger need that is now systematically taken into account in public transport policies and the strategies of sector players, in the competitive functioning of the sector. 

In February 2023, the ADLC initiated an inquiry specific to the charging infrastructure for the electric vehicles sector. The purpose was to examine the competitive dynamics within the market for this environmentally friendly mode of transportation. This inquiry offers a platform for discussing how the competition landscape in this sector can be assessed in light of sustainable development principles.

Guidance on receiving an informal "comfort letter" on sustainable cooperation agreements:  In May 2024, the ADLC issued a notice on informal guidance regarding sustainability, designed to assist companies in evaluating whether their sustainability-driven projects align with both competition regulations and sustainability goals. To request informal guidance, a project must satisfy the following criteria: (i) it must be at a sufficiently advanced stage of development, (ii) it must aim at achieving one or more sustainability objectives (e.g. combating climate change, conserving natural resources, reducing pollution, promoting fair income, or safeguarding animal welfare, etc.), and (iii) it must have the potential to impact in France. In June 2026, the ADLC launched a public consultation to conduct an initial review of its informal guidance framework, two years after its introduction in May 2024. The consultation is open to all economic stakeholders. The review reflects the ADLC's ongoing commitment to sustainability as a strategic priority and may result in modifications to the framework.

Five informal guidance letters have now been issued: 

The first letter of informal guidance was released in July 2024. In the guidance letter 24-DD-01, the ADLC advised Coopération Agricole and the Syndicat National de l'Industrie de la Nutrition Animale on their project to standardise environmental footprint calculations in the animal nutrition sector. The ADLC evaluated this project in light of the European Commission's horizontal guidelines and recommended expanding the methodology to include factors beyond greenhouse gases, recognising the project as a first step toward broader initiatives, and clarifying that it currently measures only the carbon footprint, not the full environmental footprint.

In February 2025, the ADLC published another informal guidance. This is the first case that is potentially falling under the scope of Article 210a of the CMO Regulation (see the EU entry). An association consulted the General Rapporteur on a project to determine and finance – on a collective basis – the agro-ecological transition needs of agricultural holdings across several regions in France. The project brings together numerous players in the value chain, around a shared objective of supporting the agro-ecological transition of agricultural holdings in France. The General Rapporteur highlighted, in particular, the need to set transparent, objective and non-discriminatory conditions for participating in the project, unless otherwise justified. He also insisted on the need to use (i) scientifically sound tools to measure the transition of an agricultural holding and identify financing needs and (ii) a third party to collect, aggregate and anonymise the commercially sensitive data needed to implement the project.

In October 2025, the ADLC published informal guidance in response to a request from two professional retail organisations, the Fédération du commerce et de la distribution and Perifem, on their project to create a platform for collecting and sharing data on suppliers' carbon footprints in the French retail sector. The General Rapporteur found the project broadly compatible with competition rules, given its open, voluntary and non-exclusive nature and the absence of any exchange of sensitive information between competitors. He nonetheless stressed the need to ensure non-discriminatory access for all suppliers, preserve competition between existing tools, and avoid any coordination on decarbonisation strategies.

In February 2026, the ADLC published informal guidance on the "ReUse" project submitted by eco-organisation Citeo, which aims to deploy a harmonised national reuse scheme for household food packaging sold in supermarkets. The General Rapporteur identified three main areas of vigilance: (i) Citeo, as a dominant player, must avoid favouring its own scheme over competing initiatives and must prevent exchanges of commercially sensitive information with competing eco-organisation Léko; (ii) service provider selection criteria must be objective, transparent and non-discriminatory, with contracts of limited duration to preserve competitive tendering; and (iii) exchanges of individual cost data must be avoided, with the use of a third party recommended to handle sensitive information, as certain cost-sharing arrangements could fall within the scope of Article 101 TFEU. 

In March 2026, the ADLC issued a further informal opinion on a voluntary charter promoted by ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition), pursuant to which retailers would undertake to promote products demonstrating strong sustainability performance in the household electrical and electronic equipment sector. The General Rapporteur found the initiative to be broadly compatible with competition rules, in light of its open, voluntary and non-exclusive character, and the fact that individual commitments are determined independently by each signatory without knowledge of competitors' commitments. The General Rapporteur nonetheless flagged several points requiring vigilance: (i) the wording of the charter should not discourage signatories from exceeding the minimum commitments; (ii) the exchange of commercially sensitive information between competitors must be avoided throughout the implementation of the charter; and (iii) the cumulative effect of individual commitments could result in reduced consumer choice and the exclusion of certain suppliers. On one point, the General Rapporteur went further still, inviting ADEME not to proceed with the project as submitted: participants must not collectively undertake to ensure that their own rating systems do not supersede mandatory regulatory schemes, as such a commitment would constitute a restriction of competition.

New legislation: In July 2026, France adopted a law aimed at reducing the environmental and social impact of ultra-fast fashion. This legislative development may be relevant to the ADLC future assessments of the textile sector, insofar as it directly addresses the competitive distortions resulting from the asymmetric environmental obligations imposed upon market operators. 

Notice on fines: The ADLC published in July 2021 a revised procedural notice on the method for determining the value of fines imposed on companies for anti-competitive practices. The non-exclusive list of factors, which may be taken into account when assessing the seriousness of such practices, explicitly refers to the environment.

Decisional practice: The ADLC already takes sustainable development into consideration in its decisional practice. For instance, in its decision 17-D-20, the ADLC imposed sanctions in a cartel case involving a non-competition agreement relating to environmental communication. Several floor-covering manufacturers signed a charter barring each company from advertising the individual environmental performance of their products. Manufacturers were permitted only to communicate on the environmental performance of their product through joint data sheets produced by a trade association. Such agreement eliminated "competitive marketing practices based on environmental characteristics", leading to the adoption of a consistent marketing approach to prevent "reckless green marketing".

In its decision 21-D-21, the ADLC fined several organisations for engaging in anticompetitive behaviour, specifically boycotting road transport companies to hinder the adoption of new digital intermediation platforms aimed at optimising services to reduce empty returns. According to the Agence de la Transition Écologique, a 1% reduction in empty returns could result in a 0.70% decrease in GHG emissions. In determining the fines, the ADLC considered the detrimental impact of these practices on efforts to enhance the sector's environmental efficiency.

In its decision 23-D-15, the ADLC imposed fines on professional canning associations and a manufacturers' trade union for adopting a collective strategy aimed at preventing manufacturers from competing on the presence or absence of Bisphenol A in food containers. The ADLC considered this as a competition parameter related to both environmental and health concerns.

White & Case Contacts:

Jérémie Marthan, Partner, Paris

Camille Coulon, Associate, Paris

General position of the Competition Authority: The Bundeskartellamt ("BKartA") published a note for the OECD Paper on Sustainability and Competition Law, acknowledging that there may be times when competition law and sustainability come into conflict, although this should not generally be the case. The BKartA stated that "it is primarily the task of the democratically elected lawmaker to strike a balance between the opposing interests". The president of the BKartA, Andreas Mundt, positioned himself quite clearly publicly in 2021 – he was "not very happy" about the debate to implement more public interest considerations (including sustainability) in competition law, because public and political interests may change quite quickly. He reiterated his concerns during an interview in May 2023, emphasising that competition law becomes "very politicised", where sustainability is interpreted too broadly, i.e. not only relating to environmental issues, but also broader topics like social and governance issues. In the published BKartA annual reports of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 President Mundt emphasised, however, that antitrust law did not stand in the way of cooperations to achieve sustainability goals – sustainability and competition law rather go "hand in hand". The annual report 2024/25 features BKartA's general approach to initiatives and cooperations between companies seeking to jointly pursue sustainability goals and portrays key fields of application. However, the topic has lost momentum in both the political and competition law discourse following the collapse of the federal government in early 2025. In the most recent annual report of 2025/26, sustainability is not mentioned at all.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action announced in September 2022 that a 12th amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition ("GWB") shall be expected in this legislative period that will focus on sustainability initiatives. The Ministry conducted a public consultation in that regard which ended in December 2023 and also commissioned a study on Competition and Sustainability in Germany and the EU, which was published in March 2023. The study assesses how antitrust law affects achieving sustainability goals and what options for developments there are. In November 2023, the Ministry also highlighted its role in the adoption of the European Commission's new horizontal guidelines. Repeatedly pointing out the problem, the Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to greater legal certainty and appreciation of sustainability cooperations and the increased consideration of "out of market efficiencies". In March 2024, representatives of the Ministry announced a first draft of the revised legislation with specific proposals regarding sustainability cooperations by approximately the end of April 2024. However, the ministerial draft of the 12th GWB amendment published in June 2026 does not address sustainability as a factor to be taken into account in the assessment of competition at all.

In May 2024 the academic advisory council of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published an opinion on antitrust law and sustainability advising not to broaden the general objectives of antitrust law to include sustainability. The council states that restricting competition usually does not result in improving sustainability. It advocates that the objective of antitrust laws should remain purely focused on the protection of competition, and warns that including other objectives like sustainability would open antitrust up for politicisation. Instead, general regulatory law should be used to address sustainability concerns (e.g. via taxes or subsidies). Adjustments made within the framework of existing antitrust law would provide the possibility to account for external considerations and at the same time keep antitrust law narrow and focused on competition, e.g. by revising Horizontal Merger Guidelines ("HMG"), especially broadening the safe harbours on information exchange. Draft Merger Guidelines were published on 30 April 2026 which recognise sustainability as a relevant parameter for competition and accept efficiencies referring to sustainability benefits.

Public interest objectives in competition law: In the BKartA's background paper on public interest objectives in competition law, the regulator acknowledged the work completed by other competition authorities and recognised that "the issue of a more sustainable use of the resources available to us is moving to the centre of the debate on competition policy". The contribution of the Dutch competition authority was brought into particular focus in the BKartA's background paper.

Assessment of sustainability considerations in cooperation agreements and merger control: The BKartA has so far mostly given specific individual guidance to businesses related to cooperation between competitors. Some general overarching guidance is provided through the past annual reports. 

In May 2024, the BKartA concluded that it did not have serious concerns about the introduction of a reuse system in the plant tray sector. The Euro Plant Tray project (a cooperation of various European companies) that wants to introduce a shared reuse system for B2B transport of pot plants to replace single-use trays, had asked the BKartA to assess their plans. The decisive factors for the BKartA to support the project was that coordination and the exchange of information will be reduced to the necessary extent for the introduction of the reuse system. Strategic data of individual companies is collected by neutral third parties and only accessible to participants in an aggregated form. Furthermore, participating in the reuse system is voluntary and open to all market participants, and members of the system can continue to use trays from other providers.

In 2019, the German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs overruled the BKartA's prohibition of a joint venture between Miba AG and Zollern GmbH & Co KG concerning the market of plain bearings by way of a ministerial authorisation. The minister found that public interests, such as safeguarding know-how and innovation, outweighed competitive concerns, and that the deal contributed to energy transition and thus the achievement of environmental policy goals. 

In January 2022, the BKartA assessed an initiative to introduce fair wages in the banana sector and, separately, plans to expand the animal welfare initiative, "Initiative Tierwohl", finding that these were compatible with competition law, in particular their proposed pricing and financing models. At that time, the BKartA encouraged "Initiative Tierwohl" to gradually introduce more competitive elements going forward, upon concern by the BKartA, the initiative indeed decided in May 2023 to replace the standard premium with a recommended premium. The BKartA emphasised that the initiative was then well-established and thus "a standard premium for animal welfare does not appear indispensable for implementing the initiative and observing animal welfare criteria". In respect of the banana sector initiative, there are plans to agree to voluntary common standards and strategic goals in order to introduce responsible procurement practices and develop processes to monitor transparent wages. Importantly, no competitively sensitive information will be exchanged, nor are compulsory minimum prices or surcharges to be introduced. In March 2022, the BKartA assessed and did not have any material competition concerns related to an initiative to increase animal welfare in the milk sector (the "QM+ programme"). The initiative aims to introduce a label for products that meet certain animal welfare criteria and finance the additional costs via an "animal welfare surcharge" to be paid by food retailers. Participating in QM+ programme is voluntary. By contrast, in January 2022, the BKartA found that another sustainability initiative in the milk sector amounted to a price fixing agreement that did not ultimately pursue sustainability goals and infringed competition law.  

In June 2023, the BKartA did not see any reason for detailed examination of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa ("Kakaoforum") – a joint initiative of public authorities, companies of the cocoa and chocolate industry, retail grocery companies, and NGOs. One of the initiative's main objectives is to help cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire earn living wages by encouraging its members to voluntarily commit to individualised minimum prices, quotas, and premium systems to achieve better farm gate prices for the producers. The voluntary nature of the commitment (i.e. lack of a sanctioning mechanism) was particularly important for the BKartA. The BKartA also took into account that members' commitments were published on an anonymised basis and that the producers' shares account for only a small percentage in price formation along the value chain.

General position of the competition authority: The Hellenic Competition Commission ("HCC") has declared sustainable development to be among its top public interest objectives. For this purpose, the HCC has undertaken various initiatives, aiming at taking into account sustainability concerns when addressing competition issues. 

Technical Report on competition and sustainability: In January 2021, the HCC co-authored a technical report on competition and sustainability with the Dutch competition authority. The report tackles the main concepts of welfare economics and relevant externalities and seeks to quantify sustainability as part of the total economic value.

Authorisation of agreements based on public interests: The article 37A of law 3959/2011 provides that the president of the HCC may issue a no-action letter against a horizontal or vertical agreement for violation of article 1 of law 3959/2011 and Article 101 TFEU or against a practice for violation of article 2 of law 3959/2011 and Article 102 TFEU, on grounds of public interest, such as sustainability goals. No-action letters related to sustainability goals are now issued through the sandbox process (see under Sustainability Sandbox below), but do not bind the HCC or the courts.

Draft Staff Discussion paper on sustainability issues and competition law: In September 2020, the HCC published a Draft Staff Discussion Paper, in which it analyses convergence areas and conflicts between sustainable development and competition law in all its aspects. The paper highlights the parameters of sustainable development that can be promoted: (i) without proceeding with any changes with regard to competition law enforcement; (ii) by following a smooth adaptation of the notion of sustainable development followed by specific suggestions; or (iii) by adopting an innovative approach or even an adjustment of the established theories of harm. 

Sustainability Sandbox: In October 2022, the HCC created a regulatory sandbox, in order to encourage and allow companies to undertake sustainability initiatives without the fear of breaching competition rules. The purpose of the sandbox is to attract innovative business solutions that will enhance sustainability whilst eliminating practices that could harm competition (e.g. "greenwashing" practices). The sandbox is a supervised environment where the HCC, following an application and the evaluation of a business proposal, assesses and approves sustainability initiates from the perspective of both competition law and sustainable development, "with the aim to strengthen legal certainty for undertakings and reduce the regulatory risk for investments in line with the broader public interest objectives for sustainable development". In its Decision No. 789/2022, the HCC sets out the criteria and conditions for the issuance of the no-action letter under article 37A of Law 3959/2011 and determines other relevant matters relating to the implementation of this provision. We are not aware of any submitted application to the sustainability sandbox. In November 2023, the HCC re-announced the nomination process for the position of the Sustainability Advocate. Amongst others, the Sustainability Advocate will contribute to the academic support, as well as to the education and training of the HCC staff on sustainable development and competition issues. The sustainability advocate will also support the submission and processing of proposals for sustainable business initiatives under the sandbox.

Guidelines on sustainability agreements on the horizon? A few years ago, the HCC announced that it envisages issuing guidelines providing the conditions under which the private sector may proceed with collaborations in order to promote sustainability. It is unclear if and when those guidelines will be issued.

White & Case Contacts:

Dr. Assimakis Komninos, Partner, Brussels

Iakovos Sarmas, Associate, Brussels

Marios Gavriiloglou, Associate, Brussels

General position of the competition authority: The Icelandic Competition Authority ("ICA") considers the energy industry as one of its main priorities. In this regard, it may take effects on sustainability into account.

ICA's focus plan: In its focus plan for 2023 to 2025, the ICA emphasised an enforcement focus on the forces of competition to accelerate actions to reduce global warming and increase sustainability. The ICA noted that competition can be a driving force for sustainable development and that it, in particular, would monitor indications of competition restraints for this development.

In its updated focus plan for 2024 to 2026, the ICA did not repeat sustainability as a focus area. However, the ICA held that the energy industry is one of its main priorities, considering the energy transition and other changes in the field to reduce global warming. The ICA further noted that it is important that it has discretion to supervise the energy industry.

General Position of the Competition Authority: The Italian Competition Authority's (ICA) position is that the interests underpinning competition rules and environmental protection are complementary and, therefore, there is no tension between the two. The ICA's competition enforcement in this area initially focused on the waste management sector – in particular, competition between waste management consortia covering plastic packaging, polyethylene goods, electrical and electronic equipment, and lead-acid batteries – but as those markets have matured, the ICA has more recently shifted its focus towards sectors with greater potential for competition policy to contribute to sustainability and decarbonisation objectives, notably the energy and electric mobility sector and the bioplastics market.

Specifically, in its 2024, 2025, and 2026 Annual Reports (all only available in Italian), the ICA has consistently stated that although antitrust enforcement is not the primary tool for pursuing environmental sustainability objectives, ensuring the correct functioning of market mechanisms can make a significant contribution to achieving them. In practice, the ICA sees this complementary role as entailing, for instance, a prioritisation of its enforcement efforts towards markets with the greatest potential for sustainable development, so as to ensure that competition infringements do not impede the ecological transition in those sectors. In 2025, this approach was reflected in two areas in particular: the electric mobility sector, where the ICA pursued both enforcement and advocacy action in relation to public EV charging infrastructure; and the bioplastics market, where the ICA sanctioned exclusionary conduct that it considered harmful to environmental protection objectives as well as to competition. In the electric mobility sector, the ICA investigated the nascent EV charging market, finding that Enel had engaged in a margin squeeze against competing charging service providers; a parallel investigation was opened against A2A for similar conduct. The ICA also exercised its advocacy powers in relation to municipal procedures for the installation of charging infrastructure. Its advocacy was taken up by the Annual Competition Law for 2025 (Law No. 190 of 18 December 2025), which introduced an obligation for municipalities to structure competitive procedures so as to ensure a plurality of operators and, where comparable applications are received, to give priority to applicants holding less than 40% of the total charging infrastructure already present in the municipality. In the bioplastics market, the ICA concluded an abuse of dominance investigation, fining Novamont (and its parent, ENI) approximately €32 million for a system of double exclusivity arrangements that foreclosed competitors, noting that this could also negatively affect environmental protection objectives. 

Focus on informing consumers: Alongside its antitrust enforcement, the ICA has used its unfair commercial practices powers to tackle misleading sustainability claims. In its Annual Reports, the ICA has reiterated that environmental claims have become important enough to materially influence consumers' purchasing decisions and companies' competitive standing, and that false or misleading claims can unduly steer consumers' choices and confer unjustified advantages over competitors. The ICA has expressly framed this enforcement strand as covering sustainability in the broad "ESG" sense, rather than environmental claims alone. In earlier years, the ICA used "moral suasion" interventions to obtain the removal of absolute, unqualified green claims (e.g., "100% sustainable", "zero emissions") used by EV manufacturers, a bottled water producer, and a gorgonzola producer. In 2025, the ICA fined the operator of the Shein e-commerce platform €1 million for misleading "circular design" and recyclability claims, and for generic greenhouse gas reduction commitments contradicted by the company's actual increase in emissions. In the logistics sector, it fined the GLS group €8 million for a complex practice amplifying its "green" image, including ambiguous claims and an unrequested paid "Climate Protect" certification imposed on customers. The ICA also fined Shiseido Italia €400,000 for misleading claims about the protective efficacy of its Sun Care solar products. On ethical and social sustainability, proceedings opened in July 2024 against Armani and Dior group companies for allegedly false claims regarding working conditions at their suppliers concluded in 2025, with the ICA accepting commitments from Dior (including a €2 million, five-year fund to support victims of labour exploitation) and fining Armani for untrue claims where sub-suppliers had reportedly removed safety devices from machinery and employed undeclared workers. Separately, Italy has adopted Legislative Decree No. 30/2026 implementing EU Directive 2024/825 on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, which introduces specific provisions to combat misleading environmental claims and expands pre-contractual information requirements regarding product durability and reparability.

White & Case Contact:

Giuseppe Tantulli, Associate, Brussels

Policy Rule on sustainability agreements: On 4 October 2023, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt ("ACM") published a Policy Rule, replacing previous draft guidelines of ACM on sustainability agreements between businesses.

The Policy Rule follows the approach to sustainability agreements adopted by the European Commission in its Guidelines regarding horizontal cooperation agreements. The ACM will apply the European Commission's guidelines when assessing sustainability agreements. However, the ACM's Policy Rule explains that it will not take enforcement action in the two following situations if all conditions are met: 

• Businesses can agree to comply with a binding national or European sustainability rule that is not fully implemented or enforced by a signatory state; and
• Businesses can agree to efficiently achieve environmental goals, such as reduction of CO2 emissions, if a consumer receives an appreciable and objective part of the benefits.

Businesses that have questions about sustainability agreements may contact the ACM.

On the same date the ACM decided that collectors of commercial waste are allowed to collaborate to promote waste-recycling on the basis that this initiative is consistent with a statutory waste-separation obligation applicable to (almost) all businesses that deliver waste. This initiative marks the first time that the ACM has applied the Policy Rule.

Prior to the introduction of the Policy Rule, the ACM had assessed five sustainability initiatives using the draft guidelines on sustainability agreements: the first relating to the joint purchase of electricity from a wind farm by businesses and organisations; the second concerning the agreement of grid operators to the use of a uniform price for CO2 in calculation models for grid investments; the third relating to the collaboration in the storage of CO2 in empty natural-gas fields in the North Sea; the fourth concerning arrangement between soft drink suppliers to discontinue use of plastic handles; and the last one focusing on arrangements of garden centres to curtail use of illegal pesticides. The ACM found that it had no objection to these initiatives, stating that they helped make the relevant sectors more sustainable, whilst not being at odds with competition rules. 

Recent ACM's informal assessments on collaboration agreements: In December, July and August 2024 the ACM has informally assessed collaborations in the asphalt production, banking and coffee capsule sectors. In all cases the ACM did not find any objections from competition law perspective. Factors that positively contributed to the decision were: collaboration being voluntary, not leading to higher prices, and no exchange of sensitive information.

In February 2025, ACM has informally assessed a collaboration in natural stone sector among competitors in the Netherlands and Belgium and concluded there are no objections from competition law perspective. Natural stone companies have made joint arrangements to counter the negative impact on people, animals and the environment throughout their entire production and supply chains. 

The ACM has continued to issue informal assessments clearing sector-wide sustainability cooperation, including in clothing and textiles (March 2025), metal production (November 2025), maritime shipbuilding, and brick manufacturers' pallet deposit scheme (January 2026) and charity/thrift shops in the circular textile chain (June 2026). 

Technical Report: The ACM has co-authored a technical report on competition and sustainability with the Greek competition authority. The report tackles the main concepts of welfare economics and relevant externalities and seeks to quantify sustainability as part of the total economic value.

Farmers Guidelines: In September 2022, the ACM published Guidelines regarding collaborations between farmers, which outline different opportunities available to the agricultural sector that are allowed under the competition rules. Those guidelines were revised in January 2024. In May 2024, the ACM concluded that Dutch certifying organisation Stichting Milieukeur ("SMK") is allowed to introduce a sustainability fee for fruit and vegetable producers with the certification label On the Way to PlanetProof. SMK had asked ACM to test the initiative against the competition rules. The ACM noted that the fee has a sustainability objective and will have little to no influence on consumer prices in the supermarket.

ACM's focus on greenwashing: The ACM actively monitors sustainable claims made by companies. For example, in February 2024 the ACM filed a request for enforcement with the German consumer authority asking it to take enforcement actions against Zalando in relation to its sustainability claims and icons displayed next to goods. In March 2024, Booking.com agreed to take the so-called Travel Sustainable programme offline. According to the ACM, the claim "Travel Sustainable" can wrongly give the impression that travelling is sustainable. It was also not sufficiently clear to which aspects the claim relates. This could create a distorted picture of the actual sustainability efforts of accommodations. In December 2023, the ACM ordered for the supermarket chain Plus to remove unsubstantiated sustainability claims from its stores and brochures.

General position of the competition authority: The Norwegian Competition Authority ("NCA") views competition as an important tool to promote sustainability, e.g. it may consider impact on sustainability when selecting cases. 

NCA's strategy plan: In 2022, the NCA published a strategy plan for 2022 to 2027, including a strategic focus in 2022 to 2025 on sustainability through competition. The NCA noted that whereas cooperation between companies can facilitate sustainability, it can also negatively impact sustainability. Impact on sustainability will be a separate priority criterion for the NCA in selecting cases. In its 2023 annual report, the NCA notes that is has actively contributed to promoting competition in markets that are important for Norway to achieve its climate goals, such as offshore wind. This is mainly through advocacy. 

The NCA has also published thematic pages on sustainability to provide guidance, including on how competition can contribute to sustainability, impact of the EU and other international institutions, sustainability and cooperation, sustainability and abuse of dominance, and sustainability and merger control.

General Approach of the Polish Competition Authority: No formal guidelines on sustainability have been adopted in Poland to date. The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (the "UOKiK") has never commented on how sustainability considerations could influence its assessment. Nor has it explicitly addressed the issue in its decisional practice.

UOKiK's decisional practice: The UOKiK has initiated several investigations concerning co-operation between waste removal companies. In 2021, it conducted investigation into the waste market on the suspicion of bid rigging. The UOKiK also conducted waste market surveys in 2019 and 2020, when it analysed whether waste collection fees might have increased based on anticompetitive behaviour (see the 2019 and 2022 press releases). The investigations and surveys conducted did not reveal any anticompetitive practices, but the UOKiK recognised the problem of increasing fees for waste collection and formulated some policy recommendations aimed at improving market performance, some of which appear to be driven by environmental considerations. This included more pro-actively supervising the industry, further investment in increasing the potential for managing combustible fractions stored in warehouses, establishing a new packaging waste management system, increasing the scale of industry-financed recycling, as well as introducing measures to separate waste at source and a deposit-return systems (which was ultimately launched in 2025). The UOKiK has also conducted a market survey of the medical waste sector in 2024, examining whether recent price increases in hospital tenders for medical waste collection and disposal services were justified. Given the uniquely hazardous nature of medical waste, its policy recommendations, including allowing such waste to be disposed of in municipal waste incineration facilities, were intended to promote competition in local markets and, consequently, reduce disposal costs rather than to advance environmental objectives.

In 2009, the UOKiK prohibited a horizontal (two-to-one) merger in the national market for battery recycling. The UOKiK dismissed the parties' environmental defence because environmental benefits were not sufficiently established and, in any event, they did not counterweigh the merger's negative effects (see the contribution of Poland to the OECD paper on Horizontal Agreements in the Environmental Context). Whilst the UOKiK's recent decisional practice in merger cases does not explicitly confirm the agency's increasing interest in sustainability goals, some statements indicate that the UOKiK recognised environmental benefits generated by certain transactions. For example, in its 2021 press release relating to the merger clearance decisions concerning the construction of wind farms at the Baltic Sea, the UOKiK commented that: "[t]he use of the Polish maritime zone for energy production is extremely important from the point of view of the interests of Polish consumers and entrepreneurs and contributes to the protection of the environment". 

Nonetheless, it does not appear that the ESG objectives will become a criterion used by the UOKiK in the assessment of deals or market conduct in the near future. Notably, in the context of merger control, a 2022 judgment by the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection confirmed that the UOKiK's merger control reviews must concern exclusively competitive consequences of the transaction and that the UOKiK is not competent to assess the transaction based on non-competition considerations.

UOKiK is active in tackling greenwashing claims: Within its jurisdiction related to protection of collective consumer rights, the UOKiK has been particularly active in combating greenwashing practices among undertakings operating in cosmetics, clothing and e-commerce sectors. Recently, it has brought charges against Allegro, DHL, DPD, InPost, Zara, Tchibo and Bolt. 

The charges against Allegro concerned a misleading tree-planting campaign. DHL, DPD and InPost were charged in connection with unsubstantiated "eco-friendly" claims and "green fleet" declarations, where most parcel deliveries were made using combustion-engine vehicles. Bolt faced similar charges in relation to unsubstantiated "zero-emission rides" claims.

Zara and Tchibo were charged over misleading certification and labelling systems under which products were described as "eco-friendly" or "sustainable", despite, for example, being largely made from fossil fuel-derived synthetic materials. Zara also published unsubstantiated environmental claims on its website. Tchibo was additionally alleged to have misled customers about the recyclability of its Cafissimo capsules.

In its Report on activities in 2025, the UOKiK has stressed the importance of active enforcement in this area as: "[t]he long-term consequence of dishonest practices by companies engaging in greenwashing may be to discourage consumers from choosing products and services that actually have a neutral or positive impact on the environment. This also discourages reliable and responsible companies who implement environmentally friendly and often costly solutions for the benefit of the environment from taking pro-environmental measures".

The UOKiK also actively combats practices which infringe on collective consumer rights in the renewable energy sector. It has frequently noted growing consumer interest in renewable energy sources, which, in the UOKiK's view, offer the prospect of lower electricity costs and a cleaner environment. The president of the UOKiK stated that: "[t]he green transition is a tremendous opportunity for a better future and genuine savings, but only if it happens on fair terms".

White & Case Contact:

Katarzyna Czapracka, Partner, Brussels

Iwo Małobęcki, Associate, Warsaw

Contribution to EU debate: The CNMC has released a response to a European Commission consultation on how competition rules can better support the Green Deal, in which it expressed the view that competition policy can play an active role in promoting sustainability; provided that greater legal certainty and predictability of EU competition law is adopted.

White & Case Contacts:

José Antonio de la Calle, Local Partner, Madrid

Sanna Orkan, Counsel, Madrid

Diego García Adánez, Associate, Brussels

General position of the competition authority: The Swedish Competition Authority ("SCA") has indicated that it will follow the European Commission's approach on sustainability and competition law. Instead of adopting its own policies, the SCA will likely align its approach with ongoing EU developments.

Green transition as one of the SCA's strategic focus: In its 2025 – 2027 work programme, the SCA refers to the green transition as one of its strategic focus areas due to the corresponding adaptation of EU competition policy. The SCA also notes that sustainability will continue to have a strategic impact on its activity in the coming years. The strategic focus mainly concerns knowledge development and there is no mentioning of sustainability in, for instance, the SCA's enforcement priority policy.

In relation to the focus area, the SCA is currently conducting studies into, e.g. environmental considerations in public procurement and the impact of competition on the establishment of renewable energy (see here). The SCA has also previously studied competition in relation to charging infrastructure.

In April 2020, the SCA submitted a written opinion in response to the European Commission's Green Deal consultation. The SCA did not reject the view that sustainability can play a role in the assessment of restrictions of competition but indicated that consideration to sustainability should be aligned with the principal aim of competition law, namely, to protect consumer welfare. The SCA held that the European Commission is best suited to provide further guidance on sustainability and competition law.

Sustainability considerations in merger control review: Environmental sustainability has been flagged as a relevant customer benefit in the Competition & Markets Authority ("CMA") Merger Assessment Guidelines published in March 2021. In its Draft Annual Plan 2024/25, the CMA noted that it is a priority to help accelerate the UK's transition to a net zero economy.

On 3 June 2026, the CMA launched a consultation (closed on 1 July 2026) on draft revised guidance on rivalry-enhancing efficiencies in mergers. Key changes include expressly recognising non-price factors (such as quality and innovation) alongside price when assessing sufficiency. The draft does not address sustainability as a standalone category, though the broadened non-price framework may offer residual scope for sustainability arguments on a case-by-case basis. The draft revised guidance includes the statement that "benefits in the form of environmental sustainability and supporting the transition to a low carbon economy" may be considered to be relevant customer benefits in some circumstances and notes that "[a] merger may lead to lower energy costs and some benefits that customers may value (such as a lower carbon footprint of the firm's products)". The final revised guidance is expected to be published later in 2026. 

Green Agreements Guidance: On 12 October 2023, the CMA published its Green Agreements Guidance, which advises on environmental sustainability agreements ("ESAs") and climate change agreements ("CCAs") between businesses operating at the same level of the supply chain (i.e. horizontal agreements). ESAs are agreements that support environmental sustainability, for example, improving air or water quality or conserving biodiversity and natural habitats. CCAs are a subset of ESAs. They specifically combat climate change and many aim to reduce greenhouse gases emitted from goods and services. Examples include agreements between delivery companies to switch to electric vehicles, or an agreement to pool funds to support carbon capture technologies.

The guidance covers three elements related to the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements (Chapter I Competition Act 1998): (i) ESAs between competitors which are unlikely to be anti-competitive; (ii) ESAs which could be anti-competitive; and (iii) ESAs between competitors which could be exempt. The CMA considers that a more permissive approach to exemption is appropriate in the context of CCAs. The guidance is intended to supplement the Guidance on Horizontal Agreements, published in August 2023. Agreements between parties at different levels of the supply chain (i.e. vertical agreements) are directed towards using the Green Agreements Guidance in addition to the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order ("VABEO") guidance.

Sustainability Taskforce: The CMA has launched an in house "Sustainability Taskforce". The taskforce focuses on sustainability issues and carries out the following roles:

1. leads engagement with stakeholder and government organisations;
2. develops formal guidance related to sustainability (e.g. the taskforce helped develop the Green Agreements Guidance);
3. maintains a network of experts to inform the CMA's work going forward; and
4. supports the CMA's approach to environmental sustainability (e.g. carrying out research on how green claims impact consumer decision making).

Informal guidance on cooperation agreements: The CMA continues to operate an open-door policy. Businesses wanting to enter into ESAs are encouraged to approach the CMA for informal guidance beforehand. This policy is set out in the Green Agreements Guidance. In April 2024, the CMA published a submission guide to assist businesses in preparing requests for informal guidance under its "open-door" policy, setting out the process for approaching the CMA and the information required. To date, the CMA has published four pieces of informal guidance under this policy: 

1. On 14 December 2023, the CMA published its first response to a request for informal guidance. This related to the Fairtrade Foundation and its new scheme on the sourcing of Fairtrade bananas, coffee and cocoa products by participating UK grocery retailers. The scheme provides longer-term contractual stability to enable producers the opportunity to invest in more environmentally sustainable farming practices, in which they must agree to commit to purchase minimum additional Fairtrade volumes of bananas, coffee and/or cocoa from a pool of Fairtrade producers. The CMA confirmed that this arrangement does not raise competition concerns.
2. On 19 March 2024, the CMA published its second informal guidance under its Green Agreements Guidance, giving WWF-UK the green light with respect to a cooperation aiming to help the grocery sector to reduce emissions coming from the sector's supply chains. The CMA stated that "it would not expect to take enforcement action in respect of the proposal" and published informal guidance to support similar agreements by other businesses and industries who may want to proceed with similar arrangements. 
3. On 28 March 2025, the CMA published its third informal guidance, addressed to the Builders Merchants Federation ("BMF"), relating to a proposal for the construction supplies industry to adopt a single preferred platform for supply chain assurance assessments. Following engagement with the CMA in which competition concerns were raised, BMF revised its proposal and incorporated additional safeguards including data portability and a commitment to run a competitive process.
4. On 23 January 2026, the CMA published its fourth informal guidance, addressed to 3Keel in relation to its Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs 2.0) scheme, which facilitates collaboration between businesses, farmers and land managers to co-fund regenerative agriculture and nature-based projects. The CMA confirmed it would not expect to take enforcement action against the LENs 2.0 scheme framework, subject to conditions relating to the scheme's eligibility criteria, use of guide prices, and risk of coordination. Notably, the CMA's analysis addressed the risk that sustainability activities (including the purchase of ecosystem services) can constitute a parameter of competition.

The CMA's Annual Plan 2025/26 contains fewer references to sustainability than in prior years, reflecting the government's growth-focused strategic steer.   Looking forward, the CMA's Annual Plan 2026/27 identifies facilitating pro-competitive collaboration in relation to environmental sustainability agreements as a specific annual priority for competition enforcement.

Greenwashing investigations: In September 2021, the CMA published the Green Claims Code. The Code tackles greenwashing and aims to guide businesses when making environmental claims. 'Green claims' or 'environmental claims' are claims that show how a product, service, brand or business provides a benefit or is less harmful to the environment. Businesses use green claims as a marketing tool in the form of slogans, logos, statements, colours and brand names.

The CMA has launched a number of investigations into products and services marketed as 'eco-friendly' to determine whether customers are being misled. In July 2022, the CMA launched an investigation into environmental claims made by ASOS, Boohoo and George (ASDA) that potentially breach consumer protection law. The CMA was interested in whether broad and vague statements used to sell products create the impression that such products are more sustainable than they actually are. On 27 March 2024, each of the businesses committed to modify the display, description, and promotion of their green credentials to make sure that their green claims are accurate and not misleading. Alongside the commitments the CMA also published an open letter to the fashion retail sector highlighting the need to avoid the greenwashing otherwise businesses risk a fine of up to 10% of global turnover.  

On 17 October 2023, the CMA opened an investigation into Worcester Bosch's "confusing or inaccurate green claims" in its advertising related to 'hydrogen-blend ready' home boilers. The CMA closed this investigation in July 2024 when Worcester Bosch provided voluntary undertakings to remove the term "hydrogen-blend ready" from its marketing materials and to make its advertising claims more accurate. In January 2023, the CMA launched an investigation into the accuracy of green claims made about household essentials in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, such as food, drink, and toiletries. On 12 December 2023, the CMA announced it is scrutinising green claims made by Unilever to ensure that shoppers are not being misled. The CMA closed its investigation on 6 November 2024 without formal enforcement action, following voluntary updates to product marketing and sustainability claims.   

On 18 September 2024, the CMA published a tailored practical guide to help explain how fashion retail businesses can follow the Green Claims Code when making environmental claims, drawing on the ASOS/Boohoo/ASDA undertakings. Alongside the guide, the CMA issued letters to 17 fashion brands advising them to review their practices.

Green heating and insulation sector guidance: On 16 July 2024, as part of its broader consumer protection review of the green heating and insulation sector (launched September 2022), the CMA published sector-specific greenwashing compliance guidance for businesses marketing green heating and insulation products. The advice addresses: (i) headline price information and (ii) product claims, requiring substantiated claims and avoidance of exaggerated or unrepresentative performance claims. The CMA has indicated further work in the sector is forthcoming. A complaint lodged by Opportunity Green against Scotland Gas Networks in 2026 relating to alleged greenwashing concerning its hydrogen home heating trial in Fife, Scotland remains ongoing.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) parallel regime: The ASA operates a parallel and increasingly active regime on environmental claims in advertising alongside the CMA's consumer protection enforcement. Unlike the CMA, the ASA cannot impose financial penalties, but its rulings carry significant reputational consequences and can feed into CMA investigations.

Supply Chain Guidance on Green Claims (January 2026): On 22 January 2026, the CMA published "Making green claims: Getting it right, across the supply chain", building on the Green Claims Code. The guidance clarifies how responsibility for misleading environmental claims is shared across supply chains, particularly where claims rely on information provided by upstream suppliers or manufacturers. The guidance also notes that environmentally conscious consumers may in certain circumstances be treated as a "vulnerable group", and that supply chain green claims and substantiation processes are relevant to consumer law due diligence in M&A where valuation is linked to sustainability credentials.

Unfair commercial practices under the DMCC Act – first enforcement: The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ("DMCC Act") received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 has bolstered the CMA's powers to enforce consumer law in the UK with fines and penalties(including in relation to green claims), with direct fines and penalties of up to 10% of global turnover or £300,000 (whichever is greater). The CMA may also impose daily penalties for continued non-compliance. The relevant consumer law enforcement provisions came into force on 6 April 2025.

In April 2025, the CMA published a suite of guidance including: (i) its Approach to Consumer Protection document, setting out enforcement priorities under the DMCC Act; (ii) Guidance on Unfair Commercial Practices, which expressly includes examples of greenwashing as an unfair commercial practice (for example, marketing a product as "greener" while omitting material information about what qualifies it for that description; and (iii) Guidance on Fake Reviews.

Market Studies: In July 2021, the CMA completed its market study into electric vehicle charging, which looked into promoting change in a market that is essential for the transition to low carbon. The study was followed by a CMA investigation into long-term exclusive arrangements for the supply of electric vehicle charge points on or near motorways. A year later, the CMA launched a market study into the supply of road fuel in the UK and did not make a market investigation reference. As a result of this study, the government accepted the CMA's recommendation to establish a new fuel finder scheme and fuel monitor in the UK. This will help them understand the demand for fuel as the UK transitions to net-zero. The scheme now awaits statutory backing.

White & Case Contact:

Dr. Michael Engel, Partner, London