Competition law can be an obstacle for companies trying to be more sustainableBoris Johnson congratulated Joe Biden on his early action to tackle climate change after America’s 46th president was inaugurated, which suggested that with senior world leaders turning green, businesses will have to follow. In the UK the Environment Bill was debated in parliament this week. SponsoredCompanies face mounting pressure to become greener, but lawyers claim that the threat of heavy financial sanctions for breaching competition law by collaborating on environmentally friendly initiatives is stifling progress. Green technology and sustainable options, says Susan Bright, a partner at the Anglo-US law firm Hogan Lovells, are often not commercially achievable by businesses acting alone. “The investment may be too great,” she says, “putting the business at a ‘first mover disadvantage’ or raising concerns that others will free-ride

Source: The Times January 28, 2021 00:10 UTC