Net Zero Tolerance? Competition Law & Sustainability Agreements

Last month, the Dutch competition authority (ACM) cleared a joint agreement among soft-drink suppliers including Coca-Cola to discontinue plastic handles on multipacks to make the packaging more recyclable and reduce plastic. Applying its draft sustainability guidelines, the ACM found that the arrangements did not harm competition given that evidence showed the handles did not play a role in the competitive process and participants remained free to decide on, e.g., when and how to discontinue the handles.

The ACM has been at the forefront among competition authorities in trying to find a workable approach to balancing competition policy and sustainability goals. A key challenge of these efforts has been how to apply the exemption criteria which permit agreements which do restrict competition law but offer countervailing benefits because: