Sustainability And Competition Law: Green Light For Sustainable Cooperation Agreements

Environmental protection and climate change are by far the hottest topics in contemporary competition policy. The European Green Deal, signed by the EU 27, sets out to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use.

In order to reach this goal, new approaches have been and are being developed by regulators and competition authorities at national and EU level in order to create a legally secure basis for sustainable cooperation agreements. We take a closer look at the debate and some of the solutions proposed.

How can competition rules support green goals in the first place?

In fact, sustainability and competition often go hand in hand. Just as competition fosters innovation in the form of new or improved products and processes for consumers, it can also stimulate innovation with regard to sustainability. Such innovations are usually most effective when as many companies as possible participate in