The UK Competition Authority publishes draft guidance on sustainability agreements to provide greater certainty for businesses on how competition rules apply to agreements aimed at achieving environmental and sustainability goals

On 28 February the CMA published its long-awaited draft guidance on sustainability agreements, setting out the circumstances under which collaboration between competitors aimed at protecting or enhancing sustainability may be compatible with competition law. The aim of the guidance is to ensure that businesses are not unnecessarily deterred from cooperating, in a competition compliant manner, in order to achieve sustainability objectives that benefit consumers. In adopting its draft guidance the CMA follows in the footsteps of other competition regulators such as the Dutch, Austrian, Greek regulators and the EU Commission, who all recognise that sustainability growth may in some instances require a collaborative approach. For the most part, the CMA has aligned its draft guidance with the