"Competition law does not stand in the way of
cooperations [between companies] that aim to achieve sustainability
objectives – quite the contrary" – stressed
the president of the German Federal Cartel Office
("FCO"), thereby demonstrating the
intention of the German government and the FCO itself to support
sustainability initiatives as long as they truly serve
sustainability goals and do not unduly restrict competition.
However, this intention and, in particular, the framework
conditions are not (yet) explicitly established in German law or in
concrete guidelines. It is therefore currently difficult for
companies in Germany to reliably assess the competition law
compliance of planned initiatives or cooperation. The FCO´s
current case practice supports sustainability initiatives, always
provided companies can show that the project in question brings
about (collective) consumer benefits that outweigh the
anti-competitive effects of the collaboration and that
