Revised draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements

ClientEarth welcomes the European Commission's draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements but argues that the Commission must move away from a "full compensation" theory for consumers toward a "fair share" and "polluter pays" approach. The submission advocates for the recognition of global out-of-market benefits—such as biodiversity protection and greenhouse gas reduction—and suggests that competition rules should not protect unsustainable production. It further recommends that agreements ensuring compliance with statutory requirements should fall outside the scope of Article 101 TFEU and calls for greater transparency through comfort letters and published guidance.

• ClientEarth supports the broad definition of sustainability in the guidelines, which extends beyond environmental factors to include human rights, animal welfare, reducing food waste, and fostering resilient infrastructure.
• The authors argue that the European Commission should abandon the "full compensation" requirement for direct users in the relevant market, as it contradicts the "polluter pays" principle and the urgency of the climate crisis.
• The submission advocates for a global approach to sustainability benefits, asserting that benefits occurring outside the EU, such as the reduction of global CO2 emissions and the prevention of deforestation, should be considered in competition assessments.
• ClientEarth suggests that competition policy should not protect unsustainable production or consumption, proposing that the "foreclosure of alternative standards" should not apply when those standards are unsustainable.
• The document proposes that collective agreements between businesses to ensure compliance with national or international statutory requirements, such as bans on child labour or protections against deforestation in Brazil, should fall entirely outside the scope of competition rules.
• Regarding sustainability standardisation agreements, the authors argue that mandatory standards for participants are critical for success, especially when substantial investments are required, and that such agreements can remain competitively neutral even with high market coverage if other parameters of competition remain.

APA

Holmes, S. (2022). Revised draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/hjqb42um/clientearth-and-simon-holmes-contribution-to-ec-draft-revised-horizontal-guidelines-on-sustainability-agreements-april-2022.pdf

Chicago

Holmes, Simon. Revised draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements. ClientEarth, 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/hjqb42um/clientearth-and-simon-holmes-contribution-to-ec-draft-revised-horizontal-guidelines-on-sustainability-agreements-april-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Holmes |first1=Simon |title=Revised draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements |publisher=ClientEarth |date=April 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/hjqb42um/clientearth-and-simon-holmes-contribution-to-ec-draft-revised-horizontal-guidelines-on-sustainability-agreements-april-2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{holmes2022revised, author = {Holmes, Simon}, title = {{Revised draft Horizontal Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/hjqb42um/clientearth-and-simon-holmes-contribution-to-ec-draft-revised-horizontal-guidelines-on-sustainability-agreements-april-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }