CMA gives green light to corporate climate collaboration

The competition regulator has given a green light to companies that team up to tackle climate change. The Competition and Markets Authority has issued new guidelines aimed at eliminating the “first-mover disadvantage”, with companies facing higher costs if they clean up their supply chains before their competitors do. Deals that limit competition between rival companies generally must demonstrate that customers will receive a fair share of the benefits the companies reap, for example by delivering higher quality or cheaper goods, and that these benefits will outweigh any harm to the market. But the CMA said it “does not expect to take enforcement action” against environmental sustainability agreements that meet certain public interest tests. Agreements that have a tangible impact on climate change will be especially protected from enforcement action, given the benefit to UK consumers as a whole. It listed collaboration between homebuilders and developers to meet energy efficiency standards as an example of permissible collaboration. The FT (£)