Antitrust and Sustainability: What Actions Should Firms Take in a World Without Clear Rules?
American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section, 2024
As calls for businesses and other organizations to commit to sustainability goals have grown in recent years, so too have concerns regarding the scope of action that firms can take to achieve these objectives. The gravity of these issues was highlighted by a June 2024 hearing of a US House Judiciary Subcommittee on climate investment initiatives that featured strikingly differing views on how, and even whether, firms should participate in group initiatives to combat environmental concerns.
Against the backdrop of these questions, Analysis Group Vice President Anne Catherine Faye convened a group of colleagues to examine how businesses can pursue sustainability goals, particularly in the absence of clear guidelines as to whether collaborative efforts may violate competition and antitrust laws. Their discussion – which grew out of a panel discussion moderated by Ms. Faye at an American Bar Association (ABA) conference at Howard University – is the basis for an article published on the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s website.
The panelists – who include former Analysis Group Managing Principal Judy Chang, Sarah Flanagan of Intel, Stacey Halliday of Arnold & Porter, Denise Hearn of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, and Peggy Otum of WilmerHale – tackle a wide range of issues in the article, including how to implement, benchmark, and measure sustainability goals; the interplay of federal and state standards; and how firms should approach questions of collaboration on climate initiatives. Ms. Faye and panel participants see both risk and opportunity as these issues continue to evolve.