Assessing the Consumer Benefits of Corporate Sustainability Initiatives under EU Competition Law
$ 45.5
Description
As sustainable development becomes more important globally, cooperation between private companies has become necessary because government regulation has limits. However, bringing green initiatives into competition law creates a difficult question: how can we balance environmental goals with the protection of consumer welfare? The author examines how European competition law deals with this issue. It analyses the European Commission’s 2022 draft guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements and looks at how unilateral actions are assessed under Article 102 TFEU. The paper argues that the European Commission's current approach is too strict when deciding if consumers truly benefit from these agreements. By comparing the EU drafts with more flexible models, such as the guidelines from the Dutch competition authority (ACM), the author suggests that the EU needs to adopt a more consumer-centric approach. Ultimately, the rules on abuse of dominance and horizontal agreements must be updated to create a fair balance between green initiatives and consumer protection.